High Line New York: A post-industrial treasure, but is it keeping us on the 'straight and narrow'?

The High Line in New York has recently been completed. Built in the 1930s as part of a massive improvement plan to the West side of Manhattan. The 1.45 mile long elevated railway track was designed to lift the freight trains off the streets of Manhattan to reduce accidents.Until 1980 it was an active freight line before becoming redundant and useless.

image: www.thehighline.org/galleries/images/tags/historical

As nature took over and the tracks fell into disrepair the 'High line' was under threat of demolition. Luckily in 1999,a not-for-profit community group, Friends of the High Line, campaigned to maintain the industrial treasure and in 2002 CSX Transportation donated it to the City.

image: www.thehighline.org/galleries/images/joel-sternfeld

Nine years on the train line has been given its second breath with a renewed identity and use, providing New Yorkers and visitors accessibility throughout the year with a public space used for a multiple of organised and incidental programmes: recreational, transgressional, educational, cultural and leisure. These programmes and uses help to ensure that this intervention will never lose its use again.

image: www.thehighline.org/galleries/images/high-line-park-photos

I should make it clear that I am 100% behind The High Line development and think it should be held up as a model for redundant post-industrial sites. However, in response to the literature I am currently reading for the Edgelands unit, I feel it necessary to question where it the High Line is situated in terms of the 'regulated city'...

... To my surprise I came across a lengthy list of rules enforced to keep control of the space. I understand the need to regulate a place like this, it's a great intervention and has been an expensive investment for the City. However, could its program be considered over-regulated? Do some of the rules inhibit our enjoyment of the space? Will we enjoy this place less if we can't balance on a railway sleeper, picnic on the grass, feed a few birds, ride your bike or take the dog for a walk... these seemingly trivial activities are prohibitted on the High Line in order to maintain the 'vision' of the place.

My recent readings of the city have been raising questions of regulation and conditioning and what fulfilment can arise from the comfort of the ubiquitous, generic, controlled city compared to the city which offers the unexpected, encourages us to take risks and be open to elements of the city which take us out of our comfot zone. The difficulty arises when individuals or groups of individuals have agendas or programmes which conflict with the masses and pose a threat, thus regulation and law enforcement arises as a deterrent or a cure. In some cases it is necessary, but perhaps sometimes its just the State flexing its muscles and getting in the way of us truly experiencing the environments... 

image: www.thehighline.org/galleries/images/high-line-park-photos