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.
Pennsylvania Mall Conversion Bill Passes House
If passed, the bill would promote the adaptive reuse of defunct commercial buildings.
Coming Soon to Ohio: The Largest Agrivoltaic Farm in the US
The ambitious 6,000-acre project will combine an 800-watt solar farm with crop and livestock production.
World's Largest Wildlife Overpass In the Works in Los Angeles County
Caltrans will soon close half of the 101 Freeway in order to continue construction of the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing near Agoura Hills in Los Angeles County.
California Grid Runs on 100% Renewable Energy for Over 9 Hours
The state’s energy grid was entirely powered by clean energy for some portion of the day on 37 out of the last 45 days.
New Forecasting Tool Aims to Reduce Heat-Related Deaths
Two federal agencies launched a new, easy-to-use, color-coded heat warning system that combines meteorological and medical risk factors.
AI Traffic Management Comes to Dallas-Fort Worth
Several Texas cities are using an AI-powered platform called NoTraffic to help manage traffic signals to increase safety and improve traffic flow.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy & Planning
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
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