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News about a proposed 21-acre park that would be built above an active rail corridor in Downtown Toronto has Canada's largest city buzzing. The scheme envisions a sprawling strip of green space stretching east and west, and if constructed, would certainly go a long way toward addressing the scarcity of parkland in the core. It's an innovative and ambitious way of providing more spaces for relaxation and recreation as the city centre expands at an overwhelming rate. But decking over existing transportation arteries isn't an entirely new concept. Cities around the world have already embarked on very similar and successful projects that have become signature must-see destinations. The projects below serve as a model for Toronto and an inspiration for other cities hoping to tap into the potential of underused spaces.
One of the most notable examples comes from Chicago, where the world's largest rooftop garden was created in 2004. Previously occupied by a smattering of parkland, parking lots, and the Illinois Central rail yards, the 24.5-acre Millennium Park trails only Navy Pier as the top tourist attraction in the city. A parking garage and the commuter rail Millennium Station are situated underneath a vast green space populated by a collection of unique public art pieces. The Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker Pavilion joins Cloud Gate, the Crown Fountain and the Lurie Garden as Millennium Park's foremost attractions.
Above the busy West Side Rail Yard in New York City, the largest private real estate project in American history, Hudson Yards, is vigorously taking shape. The Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group are spearheading the total transformation of the area that will see 17 million square feet of commercial and residential space assembled. Much of that will be housed within numerous skyscrapers, with retail, cultural facilities, and parkland enhancing the public realm at ground level. This newly unlocked area of Manhattan is expected to be fully built out and ready for enjoyment in 2024.
The eight-acre Federation Square in Melbourne's central business district was built atop the city's busiest rail corridor in 2002. It consists of a central open-air square with buildings surrounding it in a U-shaped formation. The ochre-coloured sandstone paving spurs images of the rough Outback landscape. A large public screen displays major sporting events, including the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio. An assemblage of deconstructivist-style buildings house shops, restaurants, theatres, an arts gallery, and broadcasting facilities.
While rail corridors seem to be the most visually offensive aspect of urban life that we try to hide with new development, the trend is apparently gravitating towards roadways too. A three-block below-grade section of the Woodall Rodgers Freeway in Downtown Dallas was covered with the 5.2-acre Klyde Warren Park which opened in 2012. Featuring a mix of active and passive gathering places, the pedestrian-oriented design of the park invites users to activate the space. A children's playground, reading room, restaurant, performance pavilion, dog park, games area, fountain plaza, and a botanical garden provide quiet places for respite and energetic areas for recreation. Though the land is owned by the City of Dallas, a private foundation manages and funds the park's yearly operating budget.
Obsolete railway infrastructure, even just a single elevated track, can also play host to linear parks. The High Line in New York, which was influenced by the Coulée verte René-Dumont in Paris, has stitched together parts of Manhattan's urban fabric. Elsewhere, entirely new infrastructure can be manufactured to hover above streets in a dramatic display of engineering — San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center does just that. Rail corridors and expressways don't have to be physical barriers. Decking over them, creating new land in the process, is an opportunity to knit communities together and attract an audience eager to participate in city life.
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