FastCoExist: “While it’s still not known what caused the gas explosion and building collapse tragedy that killed two people in New York City last week—the mayor has said the building owner might have been “inappropriately” tapping the gas line—what is clear is that one of the nation’s oldest cities has a problem with its aging gas infrastructure, both inside and outside of buildings. This was true about a year ago when an East Harlem building collapsed after an explosion, killing eight people, and it’s still true today. According to the Center for an Urban Future, of 6,400 miles of gas mains and 800,000 gas service connections in NYC, 53% and 9%, respectively, were built before 1960—a time when cast iron, unprotected steel, and other materials that can easily corrode or crack were used (new pipes are made from plastic).”