Green walkways: a brilliant way to link and rejuvenate inner-city areas. In 2009, New York opened the High Line park, using a 1.5-mile stretch of abandoned elevated railway, while Chicago has plans for a nearly three mile-long Bloomingdale Trail, again along a disused rail line. In London, two architecture firms have won a competition to design a landscaped walkway just south of the River Thames, joining galleries, public works of art and an open-air auditorium.There’s also a proposal by Thomas Heatherwick, the designer behind the stunning Olympic cauldron, for a floating garden to bridge the Thames from Covent Garden to the South Bank.
But the project that started it all is in Paris - the Promenade Plantée, an aerial nature walk opened late last century (above and left). It snakes through the 12e arrondissment, using a derelict 19th c railway viaduct that once took passengers from Bastille, in the city centre, out to the leafy Bois de Vincennes. When the line was closed in 1969, the structure became a decaying eyesore. But instead of pulling it down, the authorities transformed it into a garden. The arches below became the Viaduc des Arts, with shops showcasing crafts such as cabinet making, tapestry restoration and interior design.
