Transforming toxic: a new vision for urban waterways takes shape in Brooklyn – in photos
The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn is undergoing a major environmental restoration project to address decades of industrial pollution and toxic sludge. Local non-profits and city planners are integrating green infrastructure to improve biodiversity and community access while mitigating climate-related flooding.
Why it matters
The project serves as a model for urban environmental remediation and climate resilience in historically neglected industrial areas.
Transforming toxic: a new vision for urban waterways takes shape in Brooklyn – in photos | New York | The Guardian
The Gowanus Canal, a 1.8-mile waterway in Brooklyn, has long been synonymous with stench and pollution. But in recent years, it’s undergone a green transformation
For more than a century, the heavy industry concentrated along its banks – including tanneries, manufactured gas and chemical plants, and paper mills – leached mercury, lead, benzene, coal tar and other contaminants into the water, forming a 10ft-thick sludge at the bottom of the canal. The sludge seeps into the water and surrounding soil, and vaporizes into the air. In 2010, the EPA designated the Gowanus Canal a Superfund site
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