Like people, beautiful parks come in all shapes and sizes. Here are five urban parks that enhance their surroundings by sprouting up where you’d least expect them.

Cities are constantly changing. Businesses open and close. New buildings constructed while old ones are torn down. While exciting, this dynamic often leaves ugly gaps and holes. Vacant lots. Empty storefronts. Abandoned train tracks.

For many, these less-than-beautiful cityscapes are just the price of progress. For others, they represent unique opportunities to reintroduce the healing power of nature into the otherwise gray reality of city life. Now, more than ever, designers and architects are working to reclaim these abandoned areas, infusing them with life, both literally and figuratively.

If you’ve ever thought that moving to the big city meant giving up access to real grass, flowers, and fruit trees, here are five stunning urban parks that prove you can have both.

1. The High Line – NYC

Cities don’t have a lot of extra space, so creating a new park often means getting creative. The High Line is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. It is owned by the City of New York, and maintained and operated by dedicated citizens and donors. A stroll through the park allows visitors to enjoy many species of perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees. Many of the self-seeded species that originally grew on the High Line’s abandoned rail bed were incorporated into the park that their presence inspired.

2. Lost River Park – Seoul

It seems crazy, but city planners in Seoul, South Korea, once opted to bury a pristine river under a highway rather than find a different way around. For 30 years, the Cheonggyecheon Stream lay forgotten under a multi-lane freeway. Then, in 2003, officials decided to tear down the highway and restore the stream to its rightful place in the sun. In what has become Seoul’s “Lost River Park” visitors can now enjoy the more than twenty beautiful bridges that cross the stream. And according to Inhabitat, “over 75% of the material torn down from the old highway was reused to construct the urban park and rehabilitate the stream.”

3. Paddington Reservoir Gardens – Sydney

Australia is mostly desert, so water was very important to early settlers. A reservoir built on Sydney’s east side was a vital source of water for the rapidly growing city during the 19th century. It stopped supplying water in 1899, and went through a bit of an identity crisis–including stints as a gas station and a garage. In 2009, it reopened as the Paddington Reservoir Gardens, a unique urban park that some have called “a blend of the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.” Original brick, timber and iron fixtures were included in the upcycled design. Visitors can also check out a sunken garden on the roof, and vibrant graffiti art in the eastern chamber.

4. Eco-Park – Governor’s Island

Once a defunct military base, Governor’s Island is in the process of an eco-friendly transformation. An investment of more than $250 million from the Bloomberg Administration will turn this previously ignored island into an urban explorer’s paradise. New features will include Liggett Terrace: a sunny, six acre plaza that features moveable seating, public art, water features and seasonal plantings; Hammock Grove: 10 acres with 1,500 new trees and hammocks (sounds ama-zing); and complimentary wooden bicycles with which visitors can cruise the winding paths of the park. And that’s only a fraction of the new amenities.

5. Rail Overpass Public Garden & Orchard – Edmonton

It doesn’t look like much in the image above, but that dirty little overpass is about to become one of the city’s newest urban parks. Left over from a time when Edmonton was one of the busiest rail hubs in Canada, the “old overpass connecting 97th Street to Edmonton’s downtown rail yards has morphed into a poorly finished, unattractive concrete pedestrian walkway and bicycle path” reports ArchPaper.com. Now, three local female artists, with the help of a volunteer crew, will upgrade the bridge into an open public garden complete with edible crops from which visitors can actually pick fruit.

Images: HighLine.org, Iwan Baan, Inhabitat, newtown_grafitti, Governor’s Island Park, Google Maps

The post 5 Beautiful Urban Parks in Unlikely Places appeared first on EcoSalon.

Soot, screeching sirens and forbidding skyscrapers; is this your definition of the big city? Think again. The urban landscape might seem like the epicenter of everything that’s wrong with the world, but in fact cities are where some of the most interesting components of the green movement are currently taking place.

With everything from urban farms and electric cars, large cities are surprisingly livable, and now there’s another trend on the rise: urban hiking. Living the city life has long been equated with staying indoors and neglecting to feed our human need for spending time in nature, but the onslaught of urban hiking tours is showing us that it is in fact possible to get outside, be active and explore new places in the process.

What is Urban Hiking?

Forget the days of mindlessly jumping in a taxi to go from point A to point B. Urban hiking is all about planning, executing and enjoying the journey, another great example of slow travel. According to the Urban Dictionary, urban hiking is “the exploration of diverse urban environments on foot.” Conservation and travel groups alike promote urban hiking, as it not only gets people outdoors and active, but also allows them to explore the ins and outs of urban landscapes.

Choose a Theme

The key to a great urban hike is planning. Pick a theme to your hike so you can choose specific points of interest to visit. This allows you to explore a certain aspect of the city you’re in and makes it easier to plan an itinerary. Here are some possible themes to consider:

1. Local food – Find three restaurants or cafes that all focus on serving local food and plan for an appetizer at each.
2. Markets – Markets abound in big cities – Paris and San Francisco in particular come to mind – and offer everything from local foods to crafts. Pick out a few you want to explore and track your route.
3. Parks – For a more natural experience, explore the green spaces that your urban environment has to offer. Choose a few within a walkable distance and pack a picnic item for each.
4. Architecture – Explore the designs and spaces that make the city that you’re in unique. Cities like Los Angeles have already started offering architecture-inspired guided urban hikes.
5. Art galleries – If you want a chicer urban hike, give it an art theme. Many cities offer an Art Walk on a certain night of the month. This is a great chance to plan a quick and easy urban hike itinerary. Plot out some of your favorite galleries that you want to check out and end the evening with a glass of wine at a local bistro.

Planning your route

Easy tools like Google’s pedometer will help you track how far you will be walking. Plan realistically; if you’re going with a group of friends, you’ll go at a slower pace than you expect. Assume you’ll cover about one or two miles per hour. A great day trip could be 5 or 6 miles with several stopping points incorporated, keeping you active but also ensuring that the day is enjoyable.

Be sure to bring

Just because you’re in the city doesn’t mean you can throw traditional hiking rules of thumb out the window. Carry a bottle of water and some healthy organic nuts or dried fruit to snack on.

If you’re planning on making stop off at a cafe, bring your reusable thermos or mug. And just in case you come across a to-die-for item in an unknown corner boutique, make sure you’ve got a reusable bag on hand.

Resources

If you’re looking for urban hiking suggestions, tourism websites are a great place to start, and many have suggested routes if you don’t want to plan your own. Guidebooks that have walking tour routes are also a great resource.

But remember, the best part about urban hikes are that you can tailor them to explore all the things that you’re interested in, so don’t be afraid to break out of the box!

Do you have a favorite urban hike? Tell us about it!

Image: brartist

The post The City Girl’s Guide to Urban Hiking appeared first on EcoSalon.