14 DAY TRIAL // Just a few days ago, I got to introduce you to a one-of-a-kind and downright ingenious green-oriented project that boils down to building an underground park in New York City, US.
Admittedly, it will be several years until New York City officially cuts the ribbon on this unique park. Then again, this doesn’t mean that we should curb our enthusiasm. In fact, I for one am psyched about the idea.
First off, here’s what this project is all about
As detailed by the folks behind the Lowland park project, the idea is to plant trees, flowers and even grass inside an old trolley terminal in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mind you, benches and alleys will too be integrated into the park.
The people who came up with the idea to build this underground park in the New York City borough imagine having technology deliver sunlight to the patch of greenery growing inside the trolley terminal.
More precisely, they want to use reflective parabolas and fiber-optic cables to capture sunlight and carry it all the way to the underground. This means that the trees and the flowers should feel at ease in this environment.
Besides, it’s safe to assume that, since the park will have light delivered to it from above ground, its energy requirements will not be all that high. Otherwise put, the patch of greenery will be as eco-friendly as it gets.
The trolley terminal that stands to become the world’s first underground park sometime in the not-too-distant future goes by the name of Williamsburg Bridge. It opened in 1908 and hasn’t been used since 1948.
Work on the park should begin in about 5 years. Meanwhile, the folks who came up with this initiative have plenty of details to sort out. They also have to figure out a way to raise the money needed to implement this project.
Why this initiative is nothing short of brilliant
I’m not one to go around stating the obvious, but I will do it this one time: we are in dire need of more green things in our life, people, and I’m not talking broccoli, beans or anything of the sorts. I’m talking trees, grass and whatever other chlorophyll-rich organisms currently populate our planet.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but urban areas tend to be rather bland in this day and age. There are apartment buildings, stores, malls and tons of asphalt, but very few things green. I am the first to admit that this underground park in New York City probably won’t do much for air quality in this corner of the world.
Sure, the tress and the grass growing in the former trolley terminal in Manhattan’s Lower East Side will cough out some oxygen. However, air pollution in this urban area will forever be a problem unless we step up efforts to phase out dirty fuels.
Then again, the idea to set up this underground park isn’t so much about improving on local air quality as it is about providing people with an opportunity to take a break from their day-to-day routine and especially the things that bother and upset them. Simply put, this park is bound to work wonders for folks’ psyche.
Apart from this, it’s important to keep in mind that the park is going to be built inside a former trolley terminal that is now abandoned. What this means is that the Lowland park project is no more and no less than a mind-blowingly ingenious way to take back urban space that would otherwise remain unused.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I for one cannot wait for this underground park to open in New York City, US. In fact, I really, truly and honestly hope that similar parks will soon make their public debut in other urban areas across the Globe.
