Manhattan loves the high life

"The stereotypical New Yorker: assertive, fast, sceptical, focused on making money and determined to turn every moment into an achievement. This month, a linear sanctuary elevated above Manhattan is being doubled in length, challenging our ideas of these ultimate urban dwellers with lessons for those of us who live in cities everywhere.

This June, the celebrated High Line, the park which runs along the West Side of Manhattan, will flow from the heart of the stylish Meatpacking district through fashionable Chelsea all the way up to 30th Street. Though the extension of this former raised railway has not yet been opened, you can glimpse its promise through still-locked gates.

Section Two will include as much of a forest as you can cram into a narrow railway, "The Chelsea Thicket" of winterberry, redbud and large American hollies – and something rare and precious in Manhattan: an expanse of lawn. The Lawn "peels up" at 23rd Street to offer a vantage point of both sides of Manhattan Island. "

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/architecture/manhattan-still-loves-the-high-life-2291368.html