image via Lisa Town

I’ve noticed some anti-love floating around Twitter about the new High Line, like the Design Observer (oddly enough based out of New York) links to Oobject.com’s “9 Reasons Why The High Line Sucks” with the comment “Finally, after all the endless love”.

What’s wrong with a little love for a park?

This article is pretty funny actually. It’s obvious that this person hasn’t even been to the High Line and is just pulling arguments out of thin air with no foundation. The article starts out by saying: “The Highline is fashionable in every sense. A park inspired by one in Paris, a combination of Euro chic, treehugging sanctity and hipster industrial grunge.”

image via Lisa Town

It also seems that perhaps the writer has not visited the Promenade Plantee and Viaduc de Artes in Paris. I have walked the converted viaduct in Paris and it acts as a model because it is successful and it works and not at all because it is simply fashionable or chic. It allows for uninterupted green space, saves and revives a piece of history and has helped to spur economic development and provide much needed space for small businesses. It also provides some really nice views out from the park and multiple levels of luscious vegetation from the street.

image via oobject

While I don’t feel the article has any grounds whatsoever, I find it actually ends up working in the parks favor because it shows that there are no relevant arguments to be had. The arguments in this particular article often don’t even seem geared towards the High Line and instead make general comments like “There is often an initial phase where spaces underneath look good, but after a while these places tend to become depressing or fall into disrepair” and they accompany this argument with an image of a graffiti-filled underside of a bridge in Tampere, Finland with garbage and not at all a city streetscape. At least if they are going to try to make arguments, they should be specific with the points and cite relevant examples like Granville Island in Vancouver, an area under a massive bridge converted from industrial to commercial.

Again, the writer has obviously not seen the High Line and has no grounds to criticize it. But the feeble attempt just goes to show that the High Line IS worth the hype. Instead, check out these great pictures my friend took from her own personal visit to the park.