What Park Visitors Survey Tells Us: Comparing Three Elevated Parks—The High Line, 606, and High Bridge

Abstract

Many cities have replaced abandoned transportation infrastructure with an elevated park to gain increased economic benefits by developing old fabric. By following this trend, most studies to this point have only focused on the economic rewards from the replacement rather than its uses in the real world. This study aims to understand how park visitors use elevated parks through a park visitors' survey. The authors selected three representative elevated parks-the High Line in New York City, the 606 in Chicago, and the High Bridge in Farmville-for the study and asked visitors about their activities, perceived benefits, and satisfaction. Results indicate that the 606, a mixed-use elevated park, allows visitors to engage in high-intensity activity, the High Line as an elevated urban park provides visitors public arts and gardens, and the High Bridge as an elevated green park provided visitors with a connection to unique natural scenery. This study, as the first to compare three different elevated parks, contributes to an understanding of who uses elevated parks and how they use elevated parks.

Analyze the usage of urban greenways through social media images and computer vision

“…Our user composition results generally align with previous studies (Sim et al, 2020; Veitch et al, 2015). We saw more females than males in both sites (Figure 4).…”

“…So more handbags seen in the High Line may indicate a lower level of usage of physical exercises for females. This resonates with Sim et al (2020) who found that the High Line could not accommodate high-intensity physical activities. Elevated urban greenways have limitations to support physical activities since facilities such as bike lanes, skate ramps, drainages, and fences are usually more expensive to construct.…”

“…The long-term usage and experiential patterns of users are key to understand the impact of urban greenways. Sim et al (2020) have recently compared the differences in the uses of three elevated greenway parks through field observations and surveys. But each park was only studied for two weekdays and two weekend days.…”

Pedestrianization Impacts on Air Quality Perceptions and Environment Satisfaction: The Case of Regenerated Streets in Downtown Seoul

“…Furthermore, the greenway footpath appears to have lower connectivity than the sidewalk. According to Sim et al [ 68 ], connectivity is an important characteristic of an elevated park because it allows pedestrians to access the surrounding areas [ 69 ]. In this respect, not only is the greenway footpath of Seoullo difficult to access from the sidewalk, it is also not connected to the surrounding areas.…”

Lessons from New York High Line Green Roof: Conserving Biodiversity and Reconnecting with Nature

“…The total number of visitors to the park jumped from 4 Additionally, the High Line Project represents a successful example of green roofs that engage people with nature. The total number of visitors to the park jumped from 4 million people in 2011 to 7 million in 2018 [54]. This has led the project to become one of the most visited places in New York City and on the list of top New York City landmarks [ibid].…”