From rust to radiance

As World Environment Day approaches, Ranjita Biswas highlights how transformations like New York’s High Line and Canada’s Butchart Gardens showcase sustainable design, turning abandoned or underused spaces into thriving green ecosystems that inspire environmental action

Renowned American architect Ricardo Scofidio died recently at the age of 89. Among his many signature creations is the High Line, a sylvan walkway in Manhattan’s tony Chelsea neighbourhood that runs parallel to Tenth Avenue.

The High Line, in fact, is built on a discarded railway track 25 feet above the street, which had become an eyesore for residents, prompting calls for its demolition. That changed when it was reimagined as the High Line, thanks to the vision of city planners and an architect like Scofidio. Today, it’s beloved by locals and a must-visit spot for tourists in the Big Apple.

If you’re wary of climbing the stairs to the park from the street, you can use the escalators instead.

The cosy autumn sun drew patterns on the path running between kelly-green trees and flowering plants as we walked among people from many nations. On one side, we could enjoy a fabulous view of the Hudson River, with a ship museum to boot, and on the other, streets busy with traffic.

Should you feel like stretching your legs after the long walk, the lane is conveniently lined with benches.

It’s remarkable to consider that this was once a railway track running through butcheries and modest homes in what was then known as the Meatpacking District.

In the early 1900s, the western area around this district and Chelsea was the largest industrial section of Manhattan. At that time, it was also a place where thugs and petty criminals roamed the streets.

The elevated railway track was originally commissioned in the 1930s when the municipal government decided to raise the street-level rails after years of accidents, so much so that Tenth Avenue was nicknamed ‘Death Avenue’. Accounts from those days reveal how wardens, known as West Side Cowboys, used to wave flags while riding horseback in front of the trains to warn New Yorkers to move out of the way.

However, after two decades, the city evolved, and the railway track became obsolete, especially with the rapid rise of truck transportation. The last train ran in 1980.

In 1999, a plan was made to convert the rusting strands of metal into a public green space as part of an urban renewal project. A committee called ‘Friends of the High Line’ was formed under the initiative of Joshua David and Robert Hammond to transform the tracks with the help of architects and landscape designers.

After ten years, on June 9, 2009, the first section of the High Line was opened to the public. Now complete, it stretches over 2.3 km (1.4 miles). It is a non-profit conservancy and part of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

The High Line also serves as an outdoor public space for contemporary art — an intention built into its design from the beginning. Besides, what better location could there be than next to Chelsea, known as an artistic hub with a great concentration of art galleries? There are covered spaces where artists can display and sell their work.

On average, five million people visit the High Line annually.

A thing of beauty

The Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, are another example of something discarded being transformed into a thing of beauty through imagination. The world-famous garden grew out of an abandoned lime quarry.

It is the brainchild of Robert Butchart and his wife, Jennie. Industrialist Robert Butchart started manufacturing cement in 1888 and moved from Ontario to the West Coast to take advantage of the region’s rich limestone deposits, necessary for cement production. In 1904, the couple set up home near the quarry on Tod Inlet in Victoria, calling it ‘Benvenuto’ (meaning “welcome” in Italian).

However, cement production eventually exhausted the limestone deposits, and the quarry had to be abandoned. But Jennie Butchart was fond of the place and wanted to preserve it. She began transferring topsoil by horse and cart, and the quarry blossomed into today’s enviable Sunken Garden.

Between 1906 and 1929, the Butcharts expanded the garden, designing the Japanese Garden on the sea-facing side, replacing their tennis court with the Italian Garden, and converting the kitchen garden into the fragrant Rose Garden.

The Butchart Gardens span over 55 acres, showcasing vivid floral displays, statues, water fountains, and a carousel. It receives over a million visitors annually and is now designated as a National Historic Site of Canada.

As I explored the vast garden through lanes welcomed by myriad blooms in every colour imaginable and trees in various shades of green, I recalled poet Keats’ musing: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” In this case, nature’s bounty is recreated by human hands and imagination.

‘Garden City’ Victoria does take gardening seriously. For the record, it has an annual flower count. In 2024, so far, its audit shows 38,031,937,388 blooms!

The Rock Garden in Chandigarh, created from scraps by government official Nek Chand, remained almost unnoticed until people discovered it. The famous garden, with sculptures spread over 25 acres, now attracts approximately 5,000 visitors daily. It’s so dear to the people of Chandigarh that a recent move by authorities to demolish part of the park for a road-widening project sparked widespread protests.

A new look at abandoned areas

With increasing urbanisation and the lack of public spaces for leisure activities, urban planners are now looking at sustainable uses for unused or abandoned areas in cities. In Jerusalem, for instance, there is the Rail Track Park, built on what was once the Jaffa-Jerusalem Railway from the Ottoman era in the 19th century.

It’s now one of the city’s most popular spots, with the Malha station at the head, now reconstructed into a four-acre leisure complex.

This space houses galleries, boutiques, restaurants, cafés, and a weekly farmers’ market, drawing constant foot traffic. The open area at the centre is also used for entertainment programmes on weekends with free entry.

In India, which has one of the world’s largest railway networks, some urban tracks or stations lie unused due to the modernisation of tracks.

Experts say these could easily be converted into green communal spaces for the community. All that is needed is entrepreneurship, innovation, and a willingness to enhance the cityscape.