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38-731: The Torrens Linear Park was completed in 1997 as the first of its kind developed in Australia where it is the largest hills-to-coast park. It began as a flood mitigation scheme along the River Torrens running westward from the Adelaide Hills , through the Adelaide metropolitan area , to the sea. Cyclists and walkers can use a trail that runs the 30 km (19 mi) length of the park, from Gorge Road, in Athelstone in

76-641: A 19th-century filling project, the Back Bay was a bay, west of the Shawmut Peninsula (on the far side from Boston Harbor ) between Boston and Cambridge , the Charles River entering from the west. This bay was tidal: the water rose and fell several feet over the course of each day, and at low tide much of the bay's bed was exposed as a marshy flat. As early as 5,200 years before present, Native Americans built fish weirs here, evidence of which

114-482: A former KTM rail line has been encouraged and maintained through public opinion. Convincing the Singaporean government of the land's value, the citizens of Singapore were able to turn a neglected KTM railway in to a linear park that now runs 10 km(6.21 mi) long and offers unique perspectives into Singaporean wildlife. Rail Corridor differs from the typical linear park in a way that promotes and integrates

152-672: A major highway. The Torrens Linear Park concept, using the river valley for combined use as urban open space with flood mitigation , was initially set out in the River Torrens Study (1979) and the River Torrens Flood Mitigation Study (1980). The River Torrens Linear Park and Flood Mitigation Scheme was approved by State Parliament in 1981. A further elaboration, the River Torrens Linear Park Study , included

190-627: A pathway, trees and grass connecting different areas together. There are examples of this in some US cities and some Canadian cities, such as Saskatoon, Canada. Houses connected with linear parks are more common in suburban and rural areas where space is much less in-demand. A linear park system under development in Atlanta, Georgia is the BeltLine . Part of the foundation for this project consisted of reclaiming 22 miles (35 km) of unused rail trails. Totaling approximately 33 miles (53 km),

228-496: A residential-only area, commercial buildings were permitted from around 1890, and Back Bay now features many office buildings, including the John Hancock Tower , Boston's tallest skyscraper. It is also considered a fashionable shopping destination (especially Newbury and Boylston Streets , and the adjacent Prudential Center and Copley Place malls) and home to several major hotels. The Neighborhood Association of

266-726: A transport option for a section of the park east of the CBD, which became the O-Bahn guided busway . The scheme required the cooperation of the state government, responsible for land acquisition and flood mitigation works, and the then 12 (now 8) metropolitan councils bordering the river, responsible for landscaping and construction of cycling/walking trails. Construction works began in January 1982, and were completed in September 1997. The Linear Park became protected against further development with

304-526: Is a cool and shady retreat from the nearby bustling streets. In Hong Kong , a prominent example of a linear park is the Avenue of Stars . Located at the waterfront surrounding East Tsim Sha Tsui , the Avenue of Stars is a 440-meter(0.27 mi.) promenade offering scenic views to the public. As a public amenity, the park provides much needed urban space to the dense city of Hong Kong. The walking road itself

342-526: Is dedicated to famous Hong Kong celebrities, and as such is an attractive tourist area lined with souvenir stalls at some sections. In addition to the dynamic waterfront location, the Avenue of Stars provides visitors a "front-row seat"(stand) to the Symphony of Lights , the world's largest light and sound show. It is also around this area that the famed Star Ferry can be observed and even ridden. In Singapore , wild growth and shrubbery that's taken over

380-641: Is funded almost entirely by park visitors, though it is operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation license agreement. Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago is the longest linear park in the Western Hemisphere , and the second-longest linear park in the world, with a length of 2.7 miles (4.3 km), just under Paris' Promenade Plantee at 2.9 miles (4.6 km). Bloomingdale Trial was created by converting an elevated portion of

418-708: Is listed on the National Register of Historic Places , and is considered one of the best-preserved examples of 19th-century urban architecture in the United States. In 1966, the Massachusetts Legislature, "to safeguard the heritage of the city of Boston by preventing the despoliation" of the Back Bay, created the Back Bay Architectural District to regulate exterior changes to Back Bay buildings. Since

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456-585: Is more than four times the size of Richmond Park , extending beyond Greater London's borders into the neighboring counties of Hertfordshire and Essex. A more recent example of a linear park is the Berlin Mauerpark , which was built on a part of the former Berlin Wall area and its adjacent former death strip. Planty Park , Kraków , Poland ). It encircles the Stare Miasto ( Old Town ) , where

494-557: Is set aside as a civic amenity. The settlement Milton Keynes makes extensive use of linear parks, with nine different examples that include the flood plains of the Great Ouse and of its tributaries (the Ouzel and some brooks). In the UK, Milton Keynes ranked highest in a national comparison of open urban areas available to residents. In Greater London , Essex and Hertfordshire ,

532-746: The Boston Common and Public Garden (1837) to Franklin Park (Boston) , also known as the "crown jewel" of Olmstead's work in Boston. The project began around 1878 with efforts to clean up and control the marshy area which later became the Back Bay and the Fens . In 1880, Olmsted proposed that the Muddy River be included in the park plan as the current dredged into a winding stream and was directed into

570-570: The Boston Public Garden ), Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester and Hereford Streets. All of the west–east streets, except Commonwealth Avenue, are one-way streets. In the 1960s, the " High Spine " design plan, in conjunction with development plans, gave way to the construction of high-rise buildings along the Massachusetts Turnpike , which in turn allowed the development of major projects in

608-423: The Charles River . Olmsted's vision of a linear park of walking paths along a gentle stream connecting numerous small ponds was complete by the turn of the century, but never completed the section to Boston Harbor . The subsequent development of the automobile industry and roads severely disrupted the original concept. In recent years, prevalent examples of linear parks that have seen high levels of visitors are

646-580: The Fens in 1900. Much of the old mill dam remains buried under present-day Beacon Street. The project was the largest of a number of land reclamation projects which, beginning in 1820, more than doubled the size of the original Shawmut Peninsula. Completion of the Charles River Dam in 1910 converted the former Charles estuary into a freshwater basin; the Charles River Esplanade was constructed to allow residents to enjoy

684-850: The High Line in New York City and the Bloomingdale Trail in Chicago . The High Line in New York City is a 1.4 mile (2.2 km) long rail trail and greenway, having been built on a portion of a defunct rail line as well as constructed to have greenery all throughout. Like its Paris counterpart Promenade Plantee , the High Line has been transformed into a linear park that allows for activities such as sight-seeing and exercise, while being elevated. The High Line's annual budget

722-669: The Lee Valley Park is a 10,000-acre (40 km ) linear park, stretching for 26 miles (42 km) long, much of it green spaces running along the flood plains of the River Lea from the River Thames to Ware , through areas such as Stratford , Clapton , Tottenham , Enfield , Walthamstow , Cheshunt , Broxbourne and Hoddesdon in an area renowned as the Lea Valley . Greater London's largest park, Lee Valley Park

760-410: The biodiversity and ecosystem throughout—covering 93 different species—while serving as an excellent outdoor trail to get active in. Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston , Massachusetts , built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at

798-511: The 1960s, the concept of a High Spine has influenced large-project development in Boston, reinforced by zoning rules permitting high-rise construction along the axis of the Massachusetts Turnpike , including air rights siting of buildings. Copley Square features Trinity Church , the Boston Public Library , the John Hancock Tower , and numerous other notable buildings. Prominent cultural and educational institutions in

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836-690: The Back Bay considers the neighborhood's bounds to be " Charles River on the North; Arlington Street to Park Square on the East; Columbus Avenue to the New York New Haven and Hartford right-of-way (South of Stuart Street and Copley Place ), Huntington Avenue , Dalton Street, and the Massachusetts Turnpike on the South; Charlesgate East on the West." Before its transformation into buildable land by

874-550: The BeltLine will include a trail and light rail line on the existing tracks instead of a road. The vision of the BeltLine is to attempt to balance out resident demographics within the city, allowing for all associated to the BeltLine to benefit. In England , linear parks have also been created around waterways, especially in cities where the terrain is such that rivers and brooks have significant flood plains . Such land cannot sensibly be used for urban development and so it

912-456: The Medieval city walls used to stand until the early 19th century. The park has an area of 21 ha (52 acres) and a length of 4 km (2.5 mi). It consists of a chain of thirty smaller gardens designed in varied styles and adorned with numerous monuments and fountains. The park forms a scenic walkway popular with Cracovians. In summer, sprinkled with ponds and refreshment stalls, it

950-608: The adjacent Fenway neighborhood with Ipswich, Jersey, and Kilmarnock Streets. West of Hereford are Massachusetts Avenue (a regional thoroughfare crossing the Harvard Bridge to Cambridge and far beyond) and Charlesgate , which forms the Back Bay's western boundary. Setback requirements and other restrictions, written into the lot deeds of the newly filled Back Bay, produced harmonious rows of dignified three- to five-story residential brownstones (though most along Newbury Street are now in commercial or mixed use). The Back Bay

988-463: The area. The plan of Back Bay, by Arthur Gilman of the firm Gridley James Fox Bryant , was greatly influenced by Haussmann's renovation of Paris . It featured wide, parallel, tree-lined avenues unlike anything seen in other Boston neighborhoods. Five east–west corridors— Beacon Street (closest to the Charles), Marlborough Street, Commonwealth Avenue (actually two one-way thoroughfares flanking

1026-542: The earliest example is the Emerald Necklace , which consists of a 1,100-acre (4.5 km ), or 445 hectare chain of parks linked by parkways (a broad, landscaped highway ) and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts , U.S. The name comes from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula. This system of linear parks was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted to connect

1064-522: The end, the project was an economic failure, and in 1857 a massive project was begun to "make land" by filling the area enclosed by the dam. The firm of Goss and Munson extended railroad lines to quarries in Needham, Massachusetts , 9 miles (14 km) away; a 35-car train carrying gravel and other fill arrived every 45 minutes, day and night. When the Needham gravel pits were exhausted, additional fill

1102-423: The former Bloomingdale railway to this linear park, which features trees, flowers, plants, shrubbery, grass, light posts, and benches throughout. The greenway transverses through the neighborhoods of Logan Square, Humboldt Park, and West Town. In some cities, many linear parks run through residential areas. In this case, the front of the house will face the streets, while the back faces a small linear park containing

1140-782: The north-east, through the Northern Parklands of the City of Adelaide , to the river mouth at Henley Beach in the west. In the Parklands section, the river runs past many notable landmarks including the Adelaide Zoo , the Adelaide Botanic Gardens , the Festival Theatre and Elder Park . There are shared-use pedestrian and cycling paths along both sides of the river for most of the length of

1178-543: The park, and along one side of the O-Bahn Busway . The valley of the River Torrens, particularly its lower reaches, had become badly polluted following European settlement in 1836. Land clearance lead to increased runoff and erosion, with major flood events occurring in 1917 and 1933. An artificial channel, Breakout Creek, was completed in 1937, diverting floodwaters directly to the sea, and opening up areas of

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1216-709: The passing of the River Torrens Linear Park Act on 21 June 2006. Between 2007 and 2008 a new aqueduct, an underground water pipe from Gorge Weir to the Hope Valley Reservoir, was constructed along an eastern section of the Linear Park, while the land formerly occupied by the open channel of the old Highbury Aqueduct was added to the Linear Park in 2012. 34°52′S 138°43′E  /  34.86°S 138.72°E  / -34.86; 138.72 Linear park Possibly

1254-467: The time, and the area was fully built by around 1900. It is most famous for its rows of Victorian brownstone homes—considered one of the best preserved examples of 19th-century urban design in the United States—as well as numerous architecturally significant individual buildings, and cultural institutions such as the Boston Public Library , and Boston Architectural College . Initially conceived as

1292-473: The tree-lined pedestrian Commonwealth Avenue Mall), Newbury Street and Boylston Street —are intersected at regular intervals by north–south cross streets: Arlington (along the western edge of the Public Garden ), Berkeley, Clarendon, Dartmouth, Exeter, Fairfield, Gloucester, and Hereford. An 1874 guidebook noted the trisyllabic-disyllabic alternation of that alphabetic sequence; the series continues in

1330-411: The view of the new lagoon. The Esplanade has since undergone several changes, including the construction of Storrow Drive . The Back Bay is traversed by five east–west corridors: Beacon Street , Marlborough Street, Commonwealth Avenue , Newbury Street and Boylston Street . These are interrupted at regular intervals by north–south streets named alphabetically: Arlington (along the western border of

1368-405: The western suburbs to housing development, particularly after World War II. Rapid expansion of housing in the eastern suburbs also took place at this time. Awareness of the risk of increased runoff leading to further flooding events lead to various proposals for flood mitigation in the 1950s and 1960s, including converting the river to a concrete-lined channel, or an underground storm-water pipe below

1406-470: Was discovered during subway construction in 1913 ( see Ancient Fishweir Project and Boylston Street Fishweir ). In 1814, the Boston and Roxbury Mill Corporation was chartered to construct a milldam , which would also serve as a toll road connecting Boston to Watertown , bypassing Boston Neck . The dam prevented the natural tides from flushing sewage out to sea, creating severe sanitary and odor problems. With costs higher and power lower than expected, in

1444-490: Was found in Canton, Dedham, Hyde Park, and Westwood. William Dean Howells recalled "the beginnings of Commonwealth Avenue, and the other streets of the Back Bay, laid out with their basements left hollowed in the made land, which the gravel trains were yet making out of the westward hills." Present-day Back Bay itself was filled by 1882; the project reached existing land at what is now Kenmore Square in 1890, and finished in

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