Photo: Design by Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Courtesy of the City of New York.

 

Final designs for New York’s High Line park were released on Wednesday. The park, which will run from Gansevoort Street to 34th street along the Hudson River on 1.45 miles of elevated rail tracks, is comprised of three phases. The first, which runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street is scheduled to be finished by the end of this year, and the second, which runs from 20th Street to 30th Street, should be finished by the end of 2009.

    The new designs show details on the first phase of the park, including the “slow stairs” that allow for access at the southern end of the park, pathways comprised of concrete planks that allow for natural plant growth around the edges, a two-level sun deck, and an art installation space.

    The designs carefully incorporate the existing elements of the site, including the elevation, the wild plants that grew while the tracks were abandoned, as well as its narrow width and its relation to the street. One of the design highlights is an area in which glass windows replace steel barriers, allowing High Line visitors a view of 10th Avenue, and pedestrians a view of the park.

Photo: Design by Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro. Courtesy of the City of New York.

    When completed, the park should be a prime example of a public space which is both highly designed and user-friendly. The opening of the High Line park has not been scheduled, as the third phase is still in planning.

• In Winds of Winter, Midair Park Takes Shape [www.nytimes.com]
  
  
• High Line Design [Friend of the High Line]
  
  

Following the lead of innovative cities such as Bogota, El Paso, Ottowa, Guadalajara and Paris, New York City is shifting its focus from cars to people on its streets.  Through its Summer Streets program, the city will close down a 6.9-mile stretch of road to cars on three consecutive Saturdays between the Brooklyn Bridge and East 72nd Street, creating an opportunity for safe cycling, walking and exploring.

The program is modeled off of Ciclovia, a similar initiative in Bogota, Colombia, that provides 70 miles worth of car-free streets each weekend to pedestrians and cyclists.  Now in its 32nd year, Ciclovia is considered to be an enormous success.

The road closure isn’t favored by all.  Taxi drivers and business owners alike are concerned about the financial impact of their livelihoods.

The Summer Streets route will include stretches of Centre Street, Lafayette, Fourth Avenue and Park Avenue and will take place on August 9, 16 and 23 from 7am until 1pm.

Further Reading:

• Car-Free Streets, a Colombian Import, Inspire Debate [NY Times]
• City to Experiment with Car-Free Streets [CityRoom] 

On Monday, June 16^th, PPS President Fred Kent delivered an inspiring lecture entitled “Creating Successful Parks, Squares, and Waterfronts” at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park.  Sponsored by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, the lecture was part of its “Uncommon Ground” series, which features presentations by visionary planners and practitioners that speak to the future growth of the parks system.  In his speech, Mr. Kent described the core principles of successful public spaces and encouraged the use of Placemaking as a citywide community building agenda.  His remarks were followed by a lively question and answer session that reflected both the shared goals of the Parks Department and PPS, as well as opportunities for further collaboration.

In the June 2008 article, “Revolution in the Stacks,” Governing magazine discusses the creative methods being embraced by libraries around the country in order to retain users and woo a younger generation. Innovations include computer rooms that allow users to make and record music, play video games, and use digital photography and video equipment. Some libraries have even eliminated the Dewey Decimal System, organizing books by category like they would be in a book store.

Movements towards services such as these position the modern library as a “Third Place” — not home and not office, but a place where people like to spend a lot of their time.

Governing interviewed PPS Vice President Cynthia Nikitin for the article!

Related information:

• Libraries That Matter [PPS]