Following our September story on New York City High Line founder Robert Hammond’s forthcoming visit to Australia, LG Focus heard from one reader who has already been inspired by the ‘paragon of urban revitalisation’.
Pam Robinson, Environment & Climate Change Strategic Planner at the City of Palmerston and President of the Australian Local Government Women’s Association Northern Territory Branch visited New York City in 2012.
“I had the great pleasure in April 2012 of spending time with New York City Council Parks Section – particularly with their Director at the NYC Parks Headquarters at Central Park…I spoke with staff on Parks, Community and Landcare and we shared ideas.
“I went along with Garry to the High Line. High Line is a fabulous and wonderfully saved area of an old rail line. It absolutely has such a ring about it – how it was saved by the community around it and in particular a few activities who drove the project and brought it together. A real ring of Landcare attitude and community engagement about it all. Indeed some of the care of the beds is done by a volunteer army. The whole thing is fabulous and goes for quite a distance.
“Interestingly enough – and like any park – it has developed so well and is so popular it now needs a management strategy to attend to all the users – some like to walk, some are visitors and walk along daydreaming and want to stop a lot to take photos, some wish to jog along it and others want to sit in it as a park or to make it their commute to work. So a lot of people use it and all with different needs.”
