Repurposed Infrastructure

Adding more green spaces to the community is also a bonus, what if it beautifies that eyesore of an old railroad line as well? Even better! This article, “Why turning old city bridges into new urban parks is such a great idea” highlights a few projects that has transformed old infrastructure into park space. From the article, check out this video showing the transformation of a bridge into a “skypark!” Currently, the plan is for it to be a temporary park, but if it’s popular enough it could be permanent.

Perhaps the most famous example of this concept is New York City’s High Line. The High Line was an freight rail line that stopped being used in the 1980’s. The community started ideating about what the rail line could be used for, but it didn’t get much steam until the early 2000’s. Through creating a new zoning district and zoning text amendments, the High Line as it stands today became possible and the first potion of the park opened in 2009. Now, it is a 1.45 mile long (and 30 feet high!) greenway containing public space, gardens, community programs and artworks. /check out this video from Time Magazine.

Check out the article to see more great examples of adaptive reuse. Can you think of any examples of how this can be implemented on a smaller, local scale?

-Jess