Built Density
Over the course of 30 years, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) increased both the height of buildings and the open space around them, balancing both factors in order to keep densities close to 250 people per acre.
Queensbridge Houses, one of the earliest NYCHA projects (1938), also remains the largest public housing development in the Western Hemisphere,, had a density of 245 people per acre with 6-story buildings that covered 26% of the site.
At Polo Grounds Towers in 1968, NYCHA built 30 stories tall, but covered 16% of the site, creating a density of 268 people per acre.