Proposed Camden High Line in London Follows the Example of New York’s Famous Linear Park
It seems that London will be getting its own High Line, following in the footsteps of New York City which transformed 2.33 km of the disused railroad to the High Line linear park in 2009. London’s Camden High Line will be transforming a disused railway between Camden Town and King’s Cross station into “a temporary public park and new transport link.”
via Camden Town Unlimited
An invited competition was held for the project, and the two London-based practices Studio Weave and Architecture 00 were announced winners. The Camden High Line will be elevated 8m above the ground and will extend for 0.8km, crossing on its path similarly abandoned bridges and 8 roads. It will feature a garden walk and a park, and it will provide a faster traveling route for pedestrians and cyclists. The project was proposed by Camden Town Unlimited, in hopes of revitalizing the district of Camden and directly linking “two of London’s most diverse post-industrial districts.”
via Camden Town Unlimited
“We think the re-use of this railway line for the Camden High Line outweighs the benefits and costs of leaving it vacant,” said Simon Pitkeathley, Chief Executive at Camden Town Unlimited. “This new transport link can reduce overcrowding and journey times on the existing, cycling and pedestrian routes nearby like Regent’s Canal.”
The idea of an elevated linear park, along with the lines of New York’s High Line, was first followed by the cities of Bangkok and Mexico City before London reveals its own third in line High Line proposal. However, New York’s Highline itself was not exactly the original idea. It was inspired by the Promenade plantée, a 4.7km elevated linear park that was built on top of an abandoned railroad in Paris in 1993, 16 years before the opening New York’s High Line.
