New York High Line, New York City, US
The last train ran on the New York High Line on Manhattan’s West Side in 1980. Decades of battle ensued as rail enthusiasts and local residents fought developers to turn the 30ft-high track into a public space. Owned by the City of New York, the 1.45-mile infrastructure is maintained and run by nonprofit organisation the Friends of the High Line, which raises the lion’s share of the park’s $12 m annual operating budget.
Photo: Iwan Baan
The Goods Line, Sydney, Australia
In August 2015, a disused rail corridor between Sydney’s central station and Darling harbour opened up as a green space. The 500m pedestrian and cycle path connects some of Sydney’s best known cultural and educational institutions. The award-winning AUS$15m redesign preserves elements such as the track, signal box equipment and Australia’s oldest iron bridge.
Photo: Anna Kucera/Destination NSW
Westway Gardens, London, UK
The Westway, the 2.5-mile (4 km) flyover slicing through Kensington and Chelsea, opened in 1970, with 23 acres of derelict space below it. It hosts a vintage clothes market three days a week and has one million visitors a year.A further 3.5 acres of community gardens are tended by staff and volunteers. This year the Westway Sports and Fitness Centre became a temporary refuge for residents evacuated from blocks close to Grenfell Tower.
Photo: Westway Trust
Seoul, South Korea
The Seoul station overpass, completed in 1970, used to be an icon of industrial progress for South Korea. But the 1km road bridge has undergone a radical makeover. It reopened in May as a sky garden with more than 23,000 trees, shrubs and plants. It includes miniature gardens with cafes, paddling pools, fountains, performance spaces, trampolines and even a puppet theatre.
Photo: Yu Cheong O/Korea Tourism Organization
Monks Bridge, Leeds, UK
The area to the west of Leeds central station is about to get some New York treatment after planners gave developer Foundation Real Estate permission to convert an abandoned Grade II-listed viaduct into a 300m-long park. The project is part of a £70m scheme that will also create more than 600 homes for rent and private sale on the former steelworks site.
Photo: Foundation Real Estate