The High Line: Turning wasteland into parkland

The reclamation of disused industrial land has added a welcome green space to the heart of New York.

A marker of modern cities, especially in central business districts, is their tendency to be ever wakeful. There is a constant hum of traffic and noise, and the lights are never dimmed. No matter what the time, there is always a shop or cafe open to cater for hungry bellies or those in search of a coffee.

The epitome of these ever wakeful cities is, of course, New York, the most populous city in the United States and an important centre for culture, fashion, finance, research, education and commerce. However, it has always retained its appeal as a place to live in part because of its famous Central Park, a haven of green in the busiest city in the world.

A newer addition to New York’s parks is adding more welcome green space and a refuge for quiet respite—not through the setting aside of new greenfield spaces on its fringes but through the reclamation of disused industrial land at its heart.

Abandoned tracks

The High Line is a unique elevated park created from a freight train track that had fallen into disrepair after it ceased operating in 1980. The track had been designed to traverse the centre of city blocks, so is positioned three stories high and is adjacent to warehouses, factories and other buildings that had once been the recipients of the transported goods. After it ceased operation, large sections of the track were demolished while remaining portions became overgrown with wildflowers, weeds and grasses. Many locals considered it an eyesore.

So what to do with this space? The obvious option was the demolition of the remainder of the High Line and many residents supported this course of action. However, two locals at a 1999 community meeting—Joshua David and Robert Hammond—wanted to save the historic train track and retain it as public space.

Big dreams

The Friends of the High Line, a non-profit organisation set up to save the High Line, was born. What happened next was 10 years of work, including endless feasibility studies, permits and wooing of government officials, to make what many saw as an outlandish proposal come to fruition. A feasibility study showing that the retention of the High Line would reap economic rewards may have been the deal clincher in bringing the vision of reclaiming the space for the use of all citizens.

With supporters like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well as Senator Hillary Clinton, and high profile backers and benefactors, the first section of the High Line, half a mile in length, was opened in June 2009.

“Ten years in the making, The High Line is a testament to what New Yorkers can accomplish if they dream big and work together, said Robert Hammond at the opening.

Mayor Bloomberg was equally enthusiastic: “Rather than destroying this valuable piece of our history, we have recycled it into an innovative and exciting park that will provide more outdoor space for our citizens and create jobs and economic benefits for our City. Ten years ago, detractors thought the High Line was an eyesore. Thankfully, there were a handful of people who looked at the High Line and saw also an extraordinary gift to our city’s future.”

A popular park

This elevated public park has been extremely successful since its opening with millions of residents and visitors taking advantage of its varied environments within an overall cohesive landscape scheme. In June this year, the second section of the High Line opened, doubling its length to one mile. A third and final section is in the planning phase.

One reason for its success is its popularity as a green space with New Yorkers. “Empty parks are dangerous,” Joshua David told The Atlantic magazine in June. “Busy parks are much less so. You’re virtually never alone on the High Line.”

Another element of its success is its unique multi-faceted design, which has been the result of a collaboration between James Corner Field operations, architecture firm Diller Scofidio & Renfro and planting designer Piet Oudolf. The park, which acts as a green roof over sections of the city, incorporates features such as the Overlook, a balcony sitting above the street, and the Woodland, a dense planting of trees. There are also, among other settings, the Washington Grasslands, with old train tracks embedded among the plantings; the Tenth Avenue Square, which hosts a grove of tall red maples, and the Chelsea Grasslands, which were which were inspired by the landscape that grew out of the abandoned railway line.

“We like to think of it as a place where people revel in doing nothing, which is an anomaly for New Yorkers,” architect Elizabeth Diller told the New York Times. “It has an unscripted, unintended unprogrammed timelessness. You just get lost in there.”

Landscape architect for the project James Corner suggests another reason for its success: “It feels more removed from the big city and more immersed in the neighbourhood,” he said.

It also provides a welcome refuge in nature for busy New Yorkers, somewhere they can lie on grass, appreciate a variety of natural features, and find sanctuary among trees, waterways and grasses. Its elevated position allows visitors to enjoy extensive views of the city and experience a sense of space and freedom not possible while walking at street level. It is also practical, its linear design providing walkers with a pleasant alternative to get across town.

Future challenges
Maintained by the Friends of the High Line, who work with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, the park relies on private funds for around 90 per cent of its maintenance and operating costs. Whether this funding model is sustainable over the longer term remains to be seen.

“The High Line is many things—an historic artefact; a unique urban landscape; a social center for a changing neighbourhood,” said Robert Hammond at the opening of Section 2 in June. “But it is also an inspiring example of what can be accomplished when communities and their elected leaders work together for the common good.”

The High Line is not the first park of its type to be created—that honour goes to the Promenade Planteé in Paris. It does, however, provide a stunning example of the creation of a successful and peaceful green space within a highly urbanised setting despite a multitude of complexities.

Initially, the idea of the High Line founders David and Hammond was just to retain the track out of recognition of its value as a historic and remarkable piece of urban infrastructure. It was only later that the vision of an urban park was born. The fact that the park is already so treasured park by New Yorkers shows how welcome green spaces are in cityscapes.

There is enormous potential for other disused or under-used industrial spaces in urban settings to provide a green haven and much-needed open space for city residents. Whether such projects get off the ground may depend on: garnering support from diverse sectors, including securing financial backing; having people committed to the project who transmit their passion to others; advocating for the potential of green spaces to deliver economic and other benefits to communities; and perseverance to endure lots of bureaucratic red tape and unexpected complications.

Is there a space in your neighbourhood that could be green open space? Well, what are you waiting for?

Joshua David and Robert Hammond’s book ‘High Line: The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky’ is released In October 2011. Publisher is Farrar, Straus and Giroux and it retails for $US29.95.

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