Aside from thermal cracks, a related focus for structural engineers are gaps between dissimilar materials that respond to heat differently. For both of these reasons, New York City buildings will likely see an uptick in thermal cracking and weathering this century, according to Rutgers’ Andrews.
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Clinton Andrews
How a major hurricane could upend Cape and Islands’ economy
“The houses that were affected by Sandy that suffered damage, for three years they were worth less than neighboring houses, but by year four the market had forgotten. And they were worth just as much as neighboring houses,” Andrews said.
NYC lawmaker wants to require landlords to provide air conditioning during the summer
Clinton Andrews co-authored a recent study on senior apartments in public housing units in Elizabeth, N.J. found that cooling centers could “significantly reduce morbidity and mortality rates during heat disasters, especially among socially isolated and physically frail low-income seniors,” and recommended mandatory cooling requirements for all renters in its findings. He applauded the move by NYC lawmakers.
Extreme heat broke a New York City bridge. Expect more infrastructure mishaps like this
Cities all over the world that lie closer to the equator than [New York] build infrastructure to a more heat-resistant standard,” Andrews says. “We have to adapt ours in that direction, over time.”
How the heat will continue to affect your commute
Clinton Andrews discusses how the ongoing heat wave is affecting transit infrastructure in and around New York City.
Amid extreme heat, US infrastructure and transportation systems buckle under pressure
Rising temperatures are also taking a toll on transit workers, from rail maintenance staff to ground crews at airports who are exposed to “really life-threatening levels of heat,” according to Andrews. And without them, trains and planes cannot operate
More trucks roll through NY, NJ ports after Baltimore bridge collapse
“An important dimension of this potential impact from the increased truck traffic is what you might call a microclimatic impact,” Andrews said. “In other words, more intense pollution levels directly along the streets that are bearing the brunt of the traffic and not much difference further away.”
Rutgers: Bike Lanes Reduce Traffic Speeds
“We are giving you more evidence that bike lanes save lives,” said Hannah Younes, a lead author of the study and a postdoctoral research associate at the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center in the Rutgers Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
Traffic Speeds Decrease When Bike Lane is Present
Rutgers University–New Brunswick researchers conducting a study at a high-traffic intersection in a Jersey Shore town have found that the installation of a bike lane along the road approaching the convergence reduced driving speeds.
Bicycle Lanes Have a Calming Effect on Traffic – Study
Computer vision techniques were used to detect and classify the speed and trajectory of over 9,000 motor-vehicles at an intersection that was part of a pilot demonstration in which a bicycle lane was temporarily implemented.