SOCIAL ASPECTS OF URBAN FORMS IN NYC: HIGH LINE PARK

High Line Park is another Manhattan park that is both successful and massive in scale. This is a park that in some ways is used differently from the other parks we visited.

Much different from how Paley Park is used mainly due to the difference in scale
High Line Park, could also is a good case study of adaptive reuse architecture. Just thinking of this site prior to the existence of the park it has been transformed much different use from its original railway functions, which is no longer need in this part of the city. Reassigning the use of such a space at this elevation, 15-20 feet above ground, was done very well in this project. It is amazing to see the great number of people and how well this space is put into use during its day time opening hours, especially on weekends.

Views of the city from this elevation, the seating provided - including the movable one, the entertainment that people enjoy, the long stretch of this park are some of the things that make this space a design success and a great place to visit as evidence in the huge numbers that visit High Line.

Comparing this park to Paley Park, which is well used and successful in its own way, becomes almost impossible. Looking at the scale of these two parks, which is most likely the first thing that comes to mind, one can easily dismiss this comparison as parks that are just completely different.

The views of the city from the High Line is a major difference between these two parks. Paley gives a nice view of a water wall from both within the park and from the street and on the other hand, High Line has all these vantage points, different locations and different angles, that the visitors enjoy views of the community. In fact there is a nice view of a portion of the park from the street(picture to the left), which William Whyte would have referred to as a secondary use of the park, that is so spectacular from a distance it can give the impression of watching motions from big screens. Of course behind these glass windows are park users sitting down and also watching the street activities in the picture to the right, which

also features comfortable seating as the

other parts of the park has. The different

seating areas, almost all of which gives some kind of the city view are spread out over the long stretch of the park and very frequently used by visitors. With this park stretching for several city blocks, unlike Paley which is just in the middle of a block, even though you do not see joggers here like you would at say Central Park may be due to its width of about ten feet across along many parts of it, most of the visitors are getting some exercise due to the nature of the park. Because of the narrow width and long stretch there is always movement of the bigger crowd along the long stretch of the park.