2.5.2023, ♣ NYC: The High Line

The High Line, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Line: … a 1.45-mile-long (2.33 km) elevated linear park, greenway and rail trail created on a former New York Central Railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan … The abandoned spur has been redesigned as a “living system” drawing from multiple disciplines which include landscape architecture, urban design, and ecology … inspired by the 4.7 km (2.9 mi) long Coulée verte …, a similar project in Paris completed in 1993 … Originating in the Meatpacking District, the park runs from Gansevoort Street … through Chelsea to the northern edge of the West Side Yard on 34th Street … Due to a decline in rail traffic … effectively abandoned in 1980 … A nonprofit organization called Friends of the High Line was formed in 1999 …, advocating its preservation and reuse as public open space, an elevated park or greenway … The administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans for a High Line park in 2003. Repurposing … began in 2006 and opened in phases during 2009, 2011, and 2014 … 2019 … 2023 … the High Line has become an icon of American contemporary landscape architecture. The High Line’s success has inspired cities throughout the United States to redevelop obsolete infrastructure as public space. The park became a tourist attraction and spurred real estate development in adjacent neighborhoods, increasing real-estate values and prices along the route … by 2019, it had eight million visitors per year …