How have humans altered New York City's environment?

Peggy Sandefer: We built a city on it. A very big city. The area used to be completely rural, heavily forested. Even as New Amsterdam, Jamaica, Richmondtown, Brooklyn, etc., were settled, the area was still mostly rural and a major farm land (Long Island was great for farming) through the Revolutionary period. Read up on some of the Rev War battles around New York, particularly the descriptions of the land and countryside, and see if you can spot these places in modern NYC, you'd never guess they were once distant wilderness.Most of the southern tip of Manhattan is artificial, look at old maps from even as recent as early 1900s, it was all water....Show more

Marcia Cheathan: Hudson River pollutionLandfill - much of the land area is not native, it's imported dirt to make the islands bigger, specifically ManhattanVegetated environment has been altered to a built environmentCreated an urban heat island - basically areas with asphalt are warmer than equal areas with! treesTall buildings alter the wind patternsCompetition for habitats, both plant and animalBringing in invasive species of plants and animals...Show more