Photo by Robin Hill
In recent years, there has been a global shift in the ways that urban planners and city officials do their jobs.
Major cities have started walking down the bright path of urban repurposing and green infrastructure, creating green spaces and pedestrian-friendly landscapes in the middle of bustling metropolitans. Green infrastructure is a term referring to the networks put in place within cities to solve urban challenges and climate challenges while keeping sustainability and industrial reuse in mind. For example, Singapore sets a high standard for green infrastructure through innovative architecture that captures rainwater and Stockholm is home to established community bicycle rental programs, renowned bike-friendly streets and a city-wide reliance on a renewable energy grid.
Photo by Robin Hill
Next on the docket for urban environmentalism is Miami with its grand debut of Phase 1 of The Underline. This innovative project is going to serve as a global example of how to repurpose unused land in a way that will help the environment and bring the community together. The 10-mile linear park will run below Miami’s Metrorail — from the Miami River to Dadeland South Station — and, once completed, will be a cultural hub and a gathering space filled with public art installations, free community programs (Zumba, anyone?), dining spaces, basketball courts and recreation areas.
Oh, and did I mention 30,000 plants and trees just in the first half-mile?
Photo by Robin Hill
Meg Daly, the founder of The Underline, came up with the idea after having to walk from the Metrorail to physical therapy in July of 2013. “Having lived in Miami my whole life, I’ve driven past what will be The Underline because US-1 runs right next to it and The Underline is below the train,” she explains. “I just ignored it, which everybody did. We all just sort of ignored this blight dead space.” However, once she found herself walking through this empty space on a regular basis, the idea hit her that this unused land could actually harbor a booming urban trail and public park.
After the University of Miami School of Architecture sponsored a studio design class with their students, she says “It just started mobilizing and people started attaching themselves to [the project].” During the class, Daly would invite the public in so the whole community could have their voices heard. “We went through a lot of public input process before we ever put pencil to paper,” she recollects of these beginning stages. “Everyone had a sharpie and a good idea, Post-It Notes were everywhere and the priorities from people became really clear: They were interested in safety, nature and then everything else was third.”
Daly didn’t take these recommendations lightly. “Through the whole project, we will be reinventing how you cross the street with these big, large boulevard crosswalks that are bright green. We’re adding LED lighting everywhere, we will be introducing WiFi soon,” provided for free from Hotwire, “and we have security 24/7,” she says. In addition, the plan is to separate the bicyclist and pedestrian trails so that the infrastructure caters to each individual’s needs. “I look out my window and I see a 4-year-old walking with their mom and then a woman on a walker walking with someone on a wheelchair and then someone skateboarding. It’s like, everything’s going on but they’re coexisting because the infrastructure was done right.”
Photo by Robin Hill
After the safety component was handled, making this park into a true green space was next. “In just the first half-mile of the full 10 miles that we’ve opened, we have 30,000 plants and trees,” she explains. “Almost all of the species that were selected attract caterpillars and butterflies so there are butterflies everywhere!”
Coined a “pollinator park,” The Underline is very intentional about providing Miami with a natural space anyone in the community can spend time in. Within the 10 miles will be four ecosystems, the first focusing on pollinators, the second on the restoration of Hardwood Hammock, the third on the replanting of Pine Rockland and the fourth serving as a home to plants and green infrastructure purposed for stormwater remediations. All this will turn what was formerly a hot, dangerous place to walk in into a natural oasis and community gathering space.
Photo by Robin Hill
“Someone asked me what excites me the most and it’s almost like an unfair question because I get so excited about so many pieces,” Daly says, “but I have to tell you, seeing these butterflies everywhere in this area that was just dirt […] is really magical.”
Once future phases of the park open, Daly says we can expect a basketball court and soccer field, a stage for health and wellness programs (free yoga, meditation and Zumba classes, among other programs), dog-friendly areas, a dining table that seats 50, gaming tables that seat 40 and plenty of recreation and relaxation free space.
“What’s really cool is that people are just bringing a cup of coffee or their lunch and hanging out since it’s a big transit hub. These people used to just sit in the blinding sun in the heat and now they can step 10 feet into the park and they’re surrounded by nature as they’re waiting for the train or the boss or the trolley,” Daly says. “There’s sort of something for everyone, but all these ideas were the community’s and we just brought them to life.”
For more information, visit theunderline.org.