To say New York’s High Line is a successful project is putting it very lightly. From the moment the overgrown landscape opened, thousands have flocked to experience the amazing public space and dozens have been inspired to incorporate similar urban reuse attitudes in their cities. Ruth Samuelson shared Mexico City’s inspired project which seeks to apply the New York High Line’s sense of serenity to a busy intersection by mid-2012. “The High Line in New York seemed to me a fresh breath of air, completely. Mexico City just needs – within so many streets, so many avenues – respite like this,” explained Daniel Escotto Sánchez, the general coordinator for the city’s Public Space Authority.
More about the project after the break.
Taking cues from New York’s project, this High Line will feature regional plants and will change sectionally as it dips down to cross under the second level of one roadway.
Yet, the project incorporates a character of its own as it must function as a connecting pathway which will become a primary circulation option for pedestrians traveling from a metro stop to Chapultepec Forest, the largest city park in Latin America. Currently, those riding the metro encounter “steep steps, busy roads and generally not-family-friendly passageways to enter the park,” and Sánchez envisions this public project as a societal message to exclaim “…that the walker has the same dignity as the vehicle.”
The project, which is estimated to cost approximately $4.3 million and take a quick four months to build, will be funded by Sánchez’s public office.
