This modular greenway proposes a transformative vision for Manhattan’s Garment District, addressing its shift from light manufacturing to mixed-use through modular, elevated green infrastructure.  Rooted in a response to the neighborhood’s limited greenery—just 16 trees across eight blocks—the project aims to reintroduce public space, foster community, and integrate sustainable technology into the urban fabric.

This modular system weaves throughout underused buildings, lifting the public realm above street level and creating a network of interconnected green nodes.  Designed around a 10’x20’ or 20’x20’ grid, each unit contains planters, drip irrigation, structural soil, and embedded piping housing data center heat exchange technology.  Waste heat from nearby data servers is captured to provide radiant pathway heating and district-level hot water, while runoff is filtered through rain gardens and reused—creating a self-sustaining loop between ecology and infrastructure.

Public access is reimagined through multi-level communal spaces, including gardens, gathering areas, play zones, and performance nodes.  The design removes vehicular through-traffic, turning the street into a flexible, landscaped plaza for events and leisure.  Plant palettes respond to microclimates, offering visual cues and ecological function, from pollinator gardens to shade-tolerant trees.

Altogether, the greenway adds over 3 acres of accessible green space to a single city block, stitching together community, climate resilience, and modular growth potential into a replicable model for New York’s next-generation neighborhoods.