New York - The High Line

In the few days following the closure of Broadway to cars. I started coming across pictures of the design for the new High Line Park also in New York. The High Line is a disused aerial rail track in New York City.

::Image by Joel Sternfeld

The first time I became aware of the High Line was in an episode of the TV series CSI (I think one of the baddies had buried passports and money within the overgrowth). I instantly thought the place looked pretty special, but had no idea that a complete redevelopment was in the works.

High Line from Ben Wu on Vimeo.

Some additional visuals of the design via thehighline.org:

Last week amidst lots of media coverage the new High Line Park was reopened and it has been getting excellent reviews.

:: Images vie NYTimes

Hopefully, these recent developments are a sign of things to come and represent a real awareness of the need for quality public space and green infrastructure. The work of Jeanette Sadik-Khan, the New York transportation commissioner and Joshua David and Robert Hammond, the founders of Friends of the High Line, will hopefully set the trend for many other inspirational projects in New York and beyond.