Controversy over a plan to revitalize the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal in Washington, D.C. has some questioning whether the High Line in New York City is the best model for the adaptive reuse of public space.
David Alpert reports from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., where a plan to overhaul the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal has been questioned as an "ill-advised attempt to recreate New York’s wildly successful [sic] 'High Line' park."
"The National Park Service, which controls the canal, has been working with the Georgetown Heritage, the DC government, and Georgetown’s Business Improvement District to create a new plan for the canal," according to Alpert. "Georgetown Heritage, a nonprofit which advocates for the canal’s preservation, calls it 'unlocking the potential' of the canal, which opened in 1831."
A local organization by the name of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City, committed to, in its own words, sustaining and safeguarding the fundamental values of the L’Enfant and McMillan Plans, is leading the criticism of the National Park Service plan.
Among the proposals for the C&O Canal, are plans to return mule-drawn boats on the canal and add more access points to the canal, among other ideas.
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