7 Picturesque Public Parks Soon To Sprout Around The World

New York City is about to receive a serious dose of green.

Now underway on Governors Island, “The Hills"—designed by Dutch landscape firm West 8—will comprise of four mounds made entirely of construction debris and clean-fill material (ranging in height from 25 to 70 feet), blanketed with over 860 trees and 43,000 shrubs.

Offering panoramic views of the Statue of Liberty and the Lower Manhattan skyline, the tallest knoll, Outlook Hill, will feature a “granite scramble"—a meandering path made out of blocks from the island’s seawall.

At 40 feet, Slide Hill will tout four children's slides (including the longest in the City), while Discover Hill will showcase a sculpture by British artist Rachel Whiteread. And 25-foot Grassy Hill will provide a gently sloping lawn overlooking the whole island—a former military base located just 800 yards from Manhattan’s tip. 

Expected to open this summer—a full year ahead of schedule—The Hills represents the second phase of the Governors Island Park and Public Space Master Plan, which centers on 87 acres of the isle including the landscapes of the National Historic District, a 40-acre park on the Island’s southern end, and a 2.2-mile great promenade around its perimeter.

Heatherwick Studio’s Pier 55—a public park and performance space in the works on Manhattan’s Lower East Side—is also set to begin construction this year.

The 2.7-acre park’s rolling topography—which will range from 15 to 71 feet above the water—will rest on 341 mushroom-shaped concrete pillars situated 184 feet off West 13th Street between Piers 54 and 56.

Funded primarily by billionaire couple Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg (who pledged $113 million of their personal fortune), the 108,000-square-foot floating oasis—expected to open in 2018—will house several luxuriant lawns and pathways, plus a 700-seat amphitheater ideal for art, music, theater, and community events.

New York isn't alone in its quest for greener pastures.

Channeling the Big Apple’s High Line, Singapore has unveiled plans to repurpose an abandoned railway into a linear park that extends across the entire island nation.

Designed by Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei, the 15-mile corridor—called “Lines of Life”—will incorporate a paved bicycle path, nature reserves, climbing walls, and water features. The park will also feature eight "activity nodes" including an outdoor film-screening area, rainforest-viewing platforms, and nature boardwalks.

Spanning from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station in the south to Woodlands Checkpoint in the north, the pending attraction—which will be 10 times longer than the High Line—will connect a series of suburban areas and have a total of 122 access points.

A similar structure is being plotted in South Korea, though on a much smaller scale.

The country's capital has charged Dutch firm MVRDV with transforming a 3,077-foot overpass—closed in 2009 after it was deemed unsafe for heavy vehicles—into a lush pedestrian pathway.

Apart from tree-topped cafes, flower shops, libraries, and greenhouses, Seoul Skygarden will house an arboretum to cultivate plants for other parks in the city. Designed to incorporate 254 species of flora, the competition-winning concept—which is expected to generate nearly twice the cost of its revamp and maintenance in economic benefits—will be completed in 2017.

Toronto has taken a slightly different viridescent route, opting to build beneath a raised road instead of upon it.

Dubbed “Project: Under Gardiner,” the city's scheme calls for the revival of 9.88 decrepit acres under the city’s Gardiner Expressway.

Conceived by local urban designer Ken Greenberg in collaboration with landscape architecture firm Public Work, the $17.6 million development will include a mile-long trail and grand staircase that will double as seating for an outdoor theater, plus various multipurpose spaces for community events.

Though the final blueprint has yet to be determined, the stretch—which will link seven downtown neighborhoods—is slated to break ground this summer, with its first phase due to finish by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, a blue-tinted green is budding in Tainan.

The Taiwanese city has commissioned MVRDV to create Tainan Axis—an urban lagoon that will to revitalize its downtown district and reconnect the region to the waterfront.

Using the old commercial structure's skeleton as a base, the planned public square—replete with playgrounds and dunes—will be surrounded by small shops including a teahouse, gallery, and tourism info hub.

The project also calls for the enrichment of Haian Road, the street perpendicular to the plaza. Once completed, the avenue will be closed off from cars at night, allowing pedestrians to idly shop and stroll along the idyll thoroughfare.

Mexico City’s Avenida Chapultepec will receive a kindred facelift, with the capital's plans to convert the busy 10-lane road into a multi-level park.

Designed by global architecture firm FR-EE in partnership with FRENTE Arquitectura and RVDG, “Cultural Corridor Chapultepec”—a 4,265-foot belt positioned between Chapultepec Park and the Glorieta de los Insurgentes roundabout—will consign cars to the side of the road, making room for lanes dedicated to bicyclists, wheelchairs, strollers, and skaters.

The installation will comprise of an upper retail floor and elevated promenade apart from the main pedestrian walkway, which will run along the center of the avenue at street level. Irrigated with recycled rainwater, curated flora will not only provide park-goers with shade, but also help relieve the “heat island effect" known to plague urban areas.