The projects depicted here re-use and re-appropriate public space, filling gaps in the built environment with parks, open areas, and pedestrian walkways.
New York's High Line is only one example of the re-appropriation of heavy infrastructure and the spaces it leaves unfilled. This piece lists nine more projects: "What these types of retrofits mean for city dwellers: that any one of them has just as much a right to the use of their city's public space as do the large-scale, heavy-duty applications that previously had exclusive claim to it."
Ross Brady continues, "As for the designs of these new spaces, the evolution of this practice owes a lot to the theoretical emergence of landscape urbanism — that is, that a city should be defined by its open spaces and that its buildings should be understood as structures that simply occur around them." The projects reuse many kinds of spaces, and that reuse doesn't necessarily spell an end to original functions. Examples include:
- Queens Plaza Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvement Project; Long Island City, NY
- Times Square Reconstruction; New York City, NY
- Erie Street Plaza; Milwaukee, WI
- Seattle Art Museum: Olympic Sculpture Park; Seattle, WA
FULL STORY: Contested Landscapes: 9 Public Re-Appropriations of Urban Infrastructure
New York's First New Subway Station In 25 Years Opens Sunday
On Sept. 13, the Hudson Yards Subway Station, the new Manhattan terminal for the #7 line that terminates in Flushing, Queens, will open with a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony considering the $2.4 billion cost for the one mile extension.
Toronto to Explore Potential High Line-Style Park
City staff will study options for transforming a defunct rail corridor into a linear park.
High Line-Moynihan Connector Opens in New York City
Two footbridges now link the High Line park to the most recent expansion of the Penn Station complex, the Moynihan Train Hall.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
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Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
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