Outreach + Vision Planning

The community’s vision

In 2016 we engaged over 3,500 people in communities along all 71 miles of the Canal to help write the Canal’s next chapter.

Visioning Process

Four series of community open houses took place June through October of 2016. Each series included three identical community gatherings in various locations along the Canal and represented an important chapter in the mission to chart the High Line Canal’s course for the next century.  Together, the four series followed the arc of a typical story.

  • Chapter 1 – “Our Journey Begins” (June 8, 2016)
    • At these introductory open house events, we took a journey together along all 71 miles of the Canal, from the foothills to the plains.
  • Chapter 2 – “A Fork in the Road” (
    • This set of community open houses was the second chapter of the story, bringing residents together to focus on the Canal’s future opportunities and challenges. We explored how each of these ideas could impact the Canal’s narrative in the years to come and ask for your feedback.
  • Chapter 3 – “Our Story”
    • This third chapter focused on presenting the initial vision reached by residents, the draft shared vision for the Canal, asking the public to share their feedback and input on the community-inspired vision for the Canal.
  • Chapter 4 – “Looking Ahead”
    • This fourth set of open houses represented the final chapter, the draft action plan, determined by feedback from the public. It was focused on implementation and next steps, relying on feedback from the public about the final preferred vision for the Canal.

These community open houses were one piece of the puzzle. Through community and civic organizations, strategic input sessions, and by tapping into existing events, the Conservancy embraced an all-encompassing outreach approach to help write the story of the future of the Canal. View the open house presentations and summaries on this page, and the resulting Community Vision.

2016 Open Houses

Chapter 1 – Our Journey Begins
June 8-9, 2016

Chapter 2 – A Fork in the Road
July 20-21, 2016

Chapter 3 – Our Story
Sept. 7-8, 2016

Chapter 4 – Looking Ahead
Oct. 19-20, 2016