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Green Metropolis: The Extraordinary Landscapes of New York City as Nature, History, and Design
Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, the woman who launched the restoration of Central Park in the 1980s, now introduces us to seven remarkable green spaces in and around New York City, giving us the history—both natural and human—of how they have been transformed over time.
Here we The greenbelt and nature refuge that runs along the spine of Staten Island on land once intended for a highway, where mushrooms can be gathered and, at the right moment, seventeen-year locusts viewed. Jamaica Bay, near John F. Kennedy International Airport, whose mosaic of fragile, endangered marshes has been preserved as a bird sanctuary on the Atlantic Flyway, full of egrets, terns, and horseshoe crabs. Inwood Hill, in upper Manhattan, whose forest once sheltered Native Americans and Revolutionary soldiers before it became a site for wealthy estates and subsequently a public park. The Central Park Ramble, an artfully designed wilderness in the middle of the city, with native and imported flora, magnificent rock outcrops, and numerous species of resident and migrating birds. Roosevelt Island, formerly Welfare Island, in the East River, where urban planners built a “new town in town” in the 1970s and whose southern tip is the dramatic setting for the Louis Kahn–designed memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Freshkills, the unusual twenty-two-hundred-acre park on Staten Island that is being created out of what was once the world’s largest landfill. The High Line, in Manhattan’s Chelsea and West Village neighborhoods, an aerial promenade built on an abandoned elevated rail spur with its native grasses and panoramic views of the Hudson River and the downtown cityscape.
Full of the natural history of the parks along with interesting historical facts and interviews with caretakers, guides, local residents, guardians, and visitors, this beautifully illustrated book is a treasure trove of information about the varied and pleasurable green spaces that grace New York City.
Here we The greenbelt and nature refuge that runs along the spine of Staten Island on land once intended for a highway, where mushrooms can be gathered and, at the right moment, seventeen-year locusts viewed. Jamaica Bay, near John F. Kennedy International Airport, whose mosaic of fragile, endangered marshes has been preserved as a bird sanctuary on the Atlantic Flyway, full of egrets, terns, and horseshoe crabs. Inwood Hill, in upper Manhattan, whose forest once sheltered Native Americans and Revolutionary soldiers before it became a site for wealthy estates and subsequently a public park. The Central Park Ramble, an artfully designed wilderness in the middle of the city, with native and imported flora, magnificent rock outcrops, and numerous species of resident and migrating birds. Roosevelt Island, formerly Welfare Island, in the East River, where urban planners built a “new town in town” in the 1970s and whose southern tip is the dramatic setting for the Louis Kahn–designed memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Freshkills, the unusual twenty-two-hundred-acre park on Staten Island that is being created out of what was once the world’s largest landfill. The High Line, in Manhattan’s Chelsea and West Village neighborhoods, an aerial promenade built on an abandoned elevated rail spur with its native grasses and panoramic views of the Hudson River and the downtown cityscape.
Full of the natural history of the parks along with interesting historical facts and interviews with caretakers, guides, local residents, guardians, and visitors, this beautifully illustrated book is a treasure trove of information about the varied and pleasurable green spaces that grace New York City.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published April 19, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 28, 2018
The writers (more on the plural writers later) have described various green places in Greater New York. What a revelation. I found this book on the New Reads Shelf at a local library and had to read it. What a concept. I think to think of Houston--I'm in Texas--as I know it on from the interstate highways running through it. Houston is a city of concrete with green outlying areas, mostly. I have seen one green spot downtown when I have driven through as 70+ mph. So that a city larger than Houston could have numerous green spots was an eye opener.
To help the reader who may only be familiar with New York in general, maps are provided for each section of greenery in Greater New York City. The maps are easy enough to understand without any great effort. Just the right amount of context is provided to get a general idea of where the locations are--even though all these places live in my imagination and not my experience. Someone who lives or who has spect time in New York will have a more immediate understanding.
A very basic understanding of geology is required. Not much. I had to stop, think, imagine. Enjoyaable enough for me, Had I wifi at the time of reading (hurricane), i would have enjoyed the book more. Plus at the time of printing Tony Hiss has written 13 books and continues to write. I am looking forward to his next book about how to share the Earth in order to avoid a mass extinction. Quote: His next book is about the twenty-first-century challenge to prevent a mass extinction crisis by setting aside half the planet for other species. Such an extreme idea. Such an exciting one.
This book is physically pleasing. Paper feels heavy and looks glossy The cardboard feels substantial
In weight. The cover consists of both paper and heavy clear cover (cellophane?).
The writer cited on the cover of the book: Elizabeth Barloww Rodgers, president of the Foundation for Landscape Studies. Yet on the Author Page, two writers are listed, including Tony Hiss, staff writer at The New Yorker and visiting scholar at New York University.
To help the reader who may only be familiar with New York in general, maps are provided for each section of greenery in Greater New York City. The maps are easy enough to understand without any great effort. Just the right amount of context is provided to get a general idea of where the locations are--even though all these places live in my imagination and not my experience. Someone who lives or who has spect time in New York will have a more immediate understanding.
A very basic understanding of geology is required. Not much. I had to stop, think, imagine. Enjoyaable enough for me, Had I wifi at the time of reading (hurricane), i would have enjoyed the book more. Plus at the time of printing Tony Hiss has written 13 books and continues to write. I am looking forward to his next book about how to share the Earth in order to avoid a mass extinction. Quote: His next book is about the twenty-first-century challenge to prevent a mass extinction crisis by setting aside half the planet for other species. Such an extreme idea. Such an exciting one.
This book is physically pleasing. Paper feels heavy and looks glossy The cardboard feels substantial
In weight. The cover consists of both paper and heavy clear cover (cellophane?).
The writer cited on the cover of the book: Elizabeth Barloww Rodgers, president of the Foundation for Landscape Studies. Yet on the Author Page, two writers are listed, including Tony Hiss, staff writer at The New Yorker and visiting scholar at New York University.
September 15, 2024
Let's see Fernand Braudel do this
February 2, 2021
I have seen New York parks mostly from films, especially the Central Park. When I first saw the book, I just felt obligated to read it. There are so much interesting histories I learned about New York as a green metropolis through this book. I wish I can visit them one day.
November 20, 2022
3.5. A nice little book that made me want to spend more time in the parks. The chapter on Roosevelt Island and its legacy as a place for disabled people was touching.
September 7, 2016
"The world is indeed a wonderful place and it is good to be alive even if only for a little while, and more than half of us do not consider our natural surroundings seriously enough." - William T Davis, your boy.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews