There are many reasons why not every building in Manhattan is 50 storeys. The most obvious one is that each neighborhood's infrastructure imposes limits on the

There are many reasons why not every building in Manhattan is 50 storeys. The most obvious one is that each neighborhood's infrastructure imposes limits on the density of the block. Other considerations are public transit, water main, and school capacity. So the effective amount of "land" today, is closer to what exists today, relative to a block of residential 50-storey skyscrapers.