REPURPOSING SPACES
The night brings a sense of intimacy to those who dare to seek it. That was the feeling I got when I went to High Line Park for the second time. A more intimate perception and quite different from the first time I walked there. Light and darkness provide contrasting emotions regardless of whether the spaces in which we live those emotions are the same.
Amphitheater at nighttime, 10th Avenue Square & Overlook at 17th St – High Line Park
The first time I visited this linear park, I started my walk in Lower Manhattan at the Meatpacking District. That day I was enjoying a beautiful summer afternoon. The place was full of people walking in both directions. At that moment, I felt the idyllic scene sold in the typical advertisement about New York City. A scene where anyone can enjoy New York’s bonanza no matter where they come from or who they are.
Amphitheater at daytime, 10th Avenue Square & Overlook at 17th St – High Line Park
On my way, I crossed paths with locals laying on benches enjoying a Sunday afternoon and groups of tourists taking pictures of the renowned buildings. As I went, I found beautiful corners of the Manhattan landscape that can only be seen from the elevated walkways of the old train tracks.
AFTER FORGOTTEN
Nowadays, this linear park has become one of the most interesting viewpoints in New York. This change has been remarkable, since this space was abandoned from the 80s until the beginning of the 2000s. This is the perfect example of how forgotten places can bring vibrancy to cities’ urban life again.
Manhattan’s street art seen from the High Line Park – Nighttime
The High Line Park extends parallel to the Hudson River from the Meatpacking District until the Vessel at Hudson Yards.
This translates into more than 2 kilometres of a linear park bordering Manhattan’s borough. That extension combined with an elevated view of the city is the perfect mix for a successful urban intervention and an ideal place to enjoy the city from an elevated platform 30 feet high.
As I went on my walk, I was able to see and hear the river from the distance, admire incredible perspectives of open roadways in Manhattan, appreciate iconic buildings as the only construction made in New York by the renowned architect Zaha Hadid located at 520 W 28th Street and also, to have a great look of New York emblematic street art.
High Line Park during nighttime – Manhattan
This elevated platform can be described as an open-sky museum. This museum presents an exhibition of iconic urban pieces, including some original elements of the train tracks, while walking through various plant species that are harmonised with landscaping.
CHANGING PERSPECTIVES
A week after my first ride, I decided to check out High Line Park at night. Since at the time I was working as an intern at the studio that did the lighting design for this place, L’Observatoire, I wanted to experience being in a public space that had been purposefully designed to give users a nocturnal urban experience.
High Line Park during nighttime – Manhattan
Previously to my visit, I had seen some drawings and read about the concept of the project. In that text, designers explained how the lighting design in this project had been focused on the lower plane. This means lighting fixtures are located at the height of the hips of an average person to the floor. So you can find light integrated into benches and railings and placed among some shrubbery along the path.
My experience when I was walking the catwalk during the night was that for much of the way people’s faces faded away among the shadows. In general, the lighting was directed at the ground giving the park a warm and soft atmosphere. This brought me a sense of intimacy opposite to what I felt during the daytime. That first night, even though the place was crowded, I felt a sense of anonymity knowing my face couldn’t be noticed either.
High Line Park during nighttime – Manhattan
As I continued exploring the High Line, I kept experiencing places where people’s faces faded away and other places where their faces appeared again tinted by the colour of the light coming from the surrounding facades. That was an interesting way of interacting with strangers. I was immersed in a corridor where their faces vanished and appeared as I walked.
“SEE AND BE SEEN”
“See and be seen” is the second of the “Principles of Cities Work” developed by The City of Montreal. This is a principle that I experienced vividly at High Line Park. As I walked through the catwalk, I felt some kind of anonymity that made me feel strangely comfortable, while walking alone at night. Although my invisibility also meant other people’s invisibility, I also felt safe in that place.
High Line Park during nighttime – Manhattan
Even though, in general, being able to identify people’s faces gives me a sense of security, especially in public spaces, in High Line Park the reflected light from the facades and the interior of some buildings was enough to make me feel comfortable walking along the path. The transition between the lightest and darkest sections of the linear park was smooth enough for my eyes to adjust smoothly between them.
For me, the perception of safety was connected to the presence of other people in this space. As Jane Jacobs mentioned about urban surveillance with her concept of “eyes on the streets”, the perception of security is based on how we can rely on others and how we perceive a space. This idea of being able to get help from other people in case I feel uncomfortable or threatened always strengthens my perception of security, no matter where I am.
High Line Park during nighttime – Manhattan
After many years, I became conscious of all those thoughts and steps I take before enjoying public spaces at night. These are self-defence mechanisms I have learned and developed with the passing of time and I know many girls and women also do it. In the end, although urban spaces’ physical configuration contributes to having more friendly environments for women, the principal challenges continue to be socio-cultural ones.
WOMEN AND THE NIGHT
After some thinking about my experience exploring cities during night, the major difference I find walking along at night between the city I currently live in, Bogotá, and other cities abroad such as New York, is that in these last are more women walking and dwelling at night. Definitely, I find the presence of other women in public spaces comforting.
…I find the presence of other women in public spaces comforting…No matter if I know or not those women, the mere fact of their presence makes me feel safer.
No matter if I know or not those women, the mere fact of their presence makes me feel safer. It is because of this situation that I have felt more comfortable in foreign cities at night than in my own city. I hope one day to have that same feeling of freedom in the city I live in every day.
Night-time traveller
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