New Lives For Old Neighborhoods

Late last year, I traveled back east to visit friends in New York City and family upstate. I chronicled my observations traveling between those places in an earlier post- “Traveling Up The Hudson River”. Both on the journey, and at each end of the trip, there was a recurring theme- the rebirth of old neighborhoods , through both the  high-profile  re-invigoration of old  infrastructure in New York City, and a lower profile street by street revitalization of an inner city neighborhood in Syracuse.

Infrastructure As Catalyst- The High Line Experience

Hotel over the High Line

There may not be a more stunning transformation to see than that of the High Line rail spur, an  elevated freight rail spur along the lower west side of Manhattan. Built in the 1930′s   to serve  factories in the area, the High Line was elevated to cut the frequent at-grade accidents that were occurring in this largely industrial area. It was in service until 1980, and through the 80′s and 90′s, the still stout but deserted structure became home to a variety of shrubs, trees ,wildlife, and urban explorers. Slated for demolition , a group of neighbors (no doubt some of the explorers) began to campaign for its preservation; as  an elevated urban trail.

As we have seen repeatedly during our journeys of the past year, there is a certain magic in the sense of place that arises in and around abandoned structures, the intertwining of nature’s advance, and the resulting solitude that one can experience as a result. So, can one redevelop such a structure, while holding on to some of these qualities? The City hired the Architecture firm Diller Scofido, along with Landscape Architect James Corner, to give it a shot.

As the photos attest, on a glorious Sunday afternoon in New York, solitude may be hard to come by. But I think they were successful in  expressing the unique interplay of the natural and man-made. One example, aside from the obvious integration of the carefully selected  landscape,  is the use of pre-cast concrete planks for the walking surface, which are often separated to allow grasses to grow between the planks, a very effective strategy to elicit this interplay. In addition, the experience on path  varies greatly , weaving behind , under, and over old warehouses on the lower west side, and this variety adds to the High Line’s “in situ”identity  .

The Pre-cast planks

Bench detail

The High Line has spawned some new development in the area. Hotelier Andres Balasz’ Standard Hotel (seen in the first photo above) the prime example . The neighborhood has changed , there is the expected uptick in  new trendy restaurants and condos in evidence. But what also was in evidence was how captivated New York is by this place. We came here having visited Central Park earlier in the day, and this had every bit the same feeling- all of New York out for a stroll on a spectacular late fall Sunday; tourists, neighborhood residents, scenesters, kids, and little old ladies- my favorite:

A New Neighborhood- Syracuse’s near West Side

While the first example is a very well-known, even glamorous renewal, our second visit was lower profile, and in some ways a more typical example of rebuilding old neighborhoods: Syracuse’s Near West Side neighborhood. This neighborhood has the classic inner American city arc to it. It was a largely  Irish neighborhood in the late 19th and early 20th century, in fact it was the neighborhood that my family settled in when they arrived  from Ireland. It was a neighborhood of crowded homes (my Dad was one of 16!!) , corner shops, with factories and workplaces lining the perimeter. At its heart the catholic church seen here (the sign on the church says “sinners welcome”):

My Dad grew up here , was an altar boy at this church, and our tour of this neighborhood brought back a lot of memories for him. It had been a long time since he had been here. Our family, like many, migrated to other parts of the city, then the suburbs in the 60′s. The neighborhood  fell on hard times; houses deserted, neighborhood factories closed, the community became more impoverished. Syracuse has been hard hit over the years by a loss of jobs, by the loss of  1/3 of its population, and as a result, it has the third highest poverty rate of cities of at least 100K in the country. But the Near West Side  hasn’t stopped being a home for new arrivals, and the neighborhood is now largely Latino. This neighborhood felt like a ghost town just a couple of years ago, many vacant lots, boarded up homes and factories, but as we  walked through the neighborhood on this day, there was activity  everywhere, it was like watching a fallow garden bloom before your eyes. So how has this happened?

A couple of years ago, Syracuse University relocated its architecture school to a warehouse on the edge of this neighborhood, and this, among other things, began to bring attention to the neighborhood. Through their work, and a growing grass-roots coalition, an initiative evolved- “SALT”(Syracuse Art Life & Technology). Its mission:   to combine art, technology and innovation with neighborhood values and culture to revitalize Syracuse’s Near West Side neighborhood. Here’s what’s happening:

• First, current residents are full partners in the initiative. There is ongoing revitalization of residential properties within an 8-block area next to the commercial projects. Grants have been created and these homes are being renovated and becoming more energy efficient and sustainable in the process. (see the Green Homes photo below).
• New residents – professional artists and others – are being recruited to live and work in the affordable culture and easy lifestyle of Central New York. Existing homes can be bought in the neighborhood for as low as $30,000.
• There is redevelopment underway of two warehouses, designated as mixed-use facilities, which will include a green technology incubator, culinary center, and artist live-work space.
• There is construction of a new headquarters for the WCNY regional public broadcasting station.
• There is the rebuilding of long neglected public spaces in the neighborhood.
• Finally, a recently held  design competition to explore new housing prototypes for the neighborhood , and that has resulted in a number of the winning designs being built.

I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to see this in my old hometown. There are splashier redevelopment efforts around, but there may not be one as heart-felt as this, combining the best virtues of existing neighborhood residents, with those that have the additional means and vision to help create a new neighborhood. Urban Ambles is off to New Orleans this weekend, so it will be interesting to compare this with the huge rebuilding efforts there. In the meantime, here’s a tour.

An existing home- price: $30,000

"Green Homes" attacks an old home.

The first new homes built here in 50 years.

Design competition winner being built

Old factory now a community arts building

A local artist is being courted to live and work in the building behind him.

The literal greening of another factory building into a mixed use bldg.