I’m working with a preservation group doing research for maintaining and improving an established neighborhood. As I see it, one of it’s major potential assets is the green space under the power lines which cut through the center of the neighborhood. Power line corridors are some of the only green spaces left in many suburban and urban neighborhoods across the country. Can these green spaces be developed or programmed in any meaningful way. Obviously, tall trees or structures and plants that would block access to the electrical lines are prohibited. Is it not possible for these spaces to be developed into trails or gardens? I’m not finding any precedents for this sort of project. Any thoughts?
The electromagnetic radiation from high tension lines like the ones i think your referring to are considered by many, quite hazardous to people's health. Its been linked in a number of studies to increased risk s to cancer, among other things.
im guessing thats why those spaces are typically left blank. Though the amount of radiation they release is small, and there are those that deny they have any ill effect on our health... its still either undesirable, or against the law to build houses, schools or other public places within a certain distance of high tension lines...
check out the strip of land along southern avenue, between alameda and atlantic. in these photos, there is a walking path in place, but i'm pretty sure they have plans for developing those "no man's lands" into park spaces.
can you bury the wires?...then you can do (almost) whatever you want. also protects the wires from storm damage and such. Only problem is burying the wires is expensive, which is why power companies usually don't do it unless they have to.
I suppose you could put in a very long golf course.
Did they ever determine if prolonged proximity to high voltage wires was a health hazard?
my parents live in a suburb of dallas fort worth and the city developed a 32 mile park underneath the lines with kids playgrounds and running and biking paths....
i'm not advocating spending tons of time underneath powerlines...
but it really worked for that area...especially in the middle of so much sprawl it was kind of nice to see a swath of land that was green and was actually USED by the community...
Cris - Thanks, that's exactly what I'm looking for. I'll have to look more into the south gate project.
The power lines im referring to are a major line in the city and probably wouldn't be economical to bury. One of the nice things about the neighborhood though is that other than the major line all other lines to the houses are buried.
you can have the power lines checked for a specific project. we did, before a local school district bought a potential school site. basically you hire a consultant to check for whatever might be harmful, whether from the lines or the general area, and they make you aware of any potentially harmful emanations. for us it involved the teaming up of an electrical and an environmental engineer. the mean looking lines were determined to be fine.
burying the power lines will increase the amount of EMR at ground level (ie 5 feet away versus 50 feet away), so that only deals with visual blight and is not a solution to the health issues.
The LADWP is hopes to utilize transmission corridors in the valley for stormwater infiltration, don't know how far this project has gotten. This emerged during the LA River masterplan process as discussed elsewhere on archinect.
The key to any implementation of official public access to the ROW is who owns the land. either you go guerrilla and just make improvements, or you deal with the bureaucracy and work with the system for potentially more $$$ to do something good.
Scott is archinect's insider at the LADWP. drop him a note for additional guidance.
"burying the power lines will increase the amount of EMR at ground level..."
What are you talking about?!
Are you saying a 120 KV power line is healthier for people if it is 50 feet in the air???
To Juan, propose trenching the portions you want to develop or better yet, ask an electrical engineer or consultant to deal with it with the utility company.
If you don't see power poles, then odds are that when you're walking on the sidewalk there are high voltage lines running right under your feet.
My parents (both Phd's in biochemistry) moved nearly beneath a high tension power line when I was in high school. I won't say that this is by any means definitive, but when my dad reviewed the literature he concluded every study indicating that normal adjacencies were harmful was either statistically flawed or the result of outright fabrication. That was in the 90's, and like I said, he's a biochemist, not a physicist or pathologist. I'm an architect, so I don't believe anyone any more.
That said, with the great number of these things around and the negatives yet unproven, I have to agree with Mdler. A park beneath a powerline can't be worse for the community than having no parks.
Interestingly enough, the right of way for the same powerline that looms over my parents house was slated to have a trail built beneath it, connecting beautiful Lansing, Michigan to Williamston. It would have been fantastic, but property owners worried about crime (or more accurately, african-americans) entering their neighborhoods killed it. Now Consumer's Power leases the ground space to homeowners that want to add 50' of length to the amount of lawn they have to mow.
Not that electromagnetic radiation is healthy (though this is inconclusive) in any proximity to folks, but the amount of radiation is determined by the basic physics of the inverse squared law for radiation of any sort. so if a power line is 5' below you, versus 10' above, you will get 1/4 the radiation from the higher line. Soil does not block EMR any more then air does.
Thanks for all the info/ thoughts. There is going to be a design charrette with the neighborhood in January. I plan to further research the feasibility and precedents for this before then.
Powerline parkland
I’m working with a preservation group doing research for maintaining and improving an established neighborhood. As I see it, one of it’s major potential assets is the green space under the power lines which cut through the center of the neighborhood. Power line corridors are some of the only green spaces left in many suburban and urban neighborhoods across the country. Can these green spaces be developed or programmed in any meaningful way. Obviously, tall trees or structures and plants that would block access to the electrical lines are prohibited. Is it not possible for these spaces to be developed into trails or gardens? I’m not finding any precedents for this sort of project. Any thoughts?
UM, CANCER?
juan, where are you located?
i know in south gate, ca, they are doing this very thing.
The electromagnetic radiation from high tension lines like the ones i think your referring to are considered by many, quite hazardous to people's health. Its been linked in a number of studies to increased risk s to cancer, among other things.
im guessing thats why those spaces are typically left blank. Though the amount of radiation they release is small, and there are those that deny they have any ill effect on our health... its still either undesirable, or against the law to build houses, schools or other public places within a certain distance of high tension lines...
here's a map.
check out the strip of land along southern avenue, between alameda and atlantic. in these photos, there is a walking path in place, but i'm pretty sure they have plans for developing those "no man's lands" into park spaces.
can you bury the wires?...then you can do (almost) whatever you want. also protects the wires from storm damage and such. Only problem is burying the wires is expensive, which is why power companies usually don't do it unless they have to.
I suppose you could put in a very long golf course.
Did they ever determine if prolonged proximity to high voltage wires was a health hazard?
my parents live in a suburb of dallas fort worth and the city developed a 32 mile park underneath the lines with kids playgrounds and running and biking paths....
i'm not advocating spending tons of time underneath powerlines...
but it really worked for that area...especially in the middle of so much sprawl it was kind of nice to see a swath of land that was green and was actually USED by the community...
Cris - Thanks, that's exactly what I'm looking for. I'll have to look more into the south gate project.
The power lines im referring to are a major line in the city and probably wouldn't be economical to bury. One of the nice things about the neighborhood though is that other than the major line all other lines to the houses are buried.
I'm looking into the cancer issue. Most everything I've found indicates it isn't a proven issue, but I'm not convinced yet... http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/emf.html
ps. living in the united states in this day and age is enough to cause cancer.
but i still am not advocating spending tons of time underneath power lines or anything...
they should put storage facilities under the power lines
juan, it's the city of bedford,tx....check for the "linear park" on their city website
playgrounds under powerlines vs. your kids fat ass sitting in front of a TV all day
I had a similar idea as part of my studio project and was thinking about posting this same question!
you can have the power lines checked for a specific project. we did, before a local school district bought a potential school site. basically you hire a consultant to check for whatever might be harmful, whether from the lines or the general area, and they make you aware of any potentially harmful emanations. for us it involved the teaming up of an electrical and an environmental engineer. the mean looking lines were determined to be fine.
jaun-
burying the power lines will increase the amount of EMR at ground level (ie 5 feet away versus 50 feet away), so that only deals with visual blight and is not a solution to the health issues.
The LADWP is hopes to utilize transmission corridors in the valley for stormwater infiltration, don't know how far this project has gotten. This emerged during the LA River masterplan process as discussed elsewhere on archinect.
The key to any implementation of official public access to the ROW is who owns the land. either you go guerrilla and just make improvements, or you deal with the bureaucracy and work with the system for potentially more $$$ to do something good.
Scott is archinect's insider at the LADWP. drop him a note for additional guidance.
Good luck its a great idea!
"burying the power lines will increase the amount of EMR at ground level..."
What are you talking about?!
Are you saying a 120 KV power line is healthier for people if it is 50 feet in the air???
To Juan, propose trenching the portions you want to develop or better yet, ask an electrical engineer or consultant to deal with it with the utility company.
If you don't see power poles, then odds are that when you're walking on the sidewalk there are high voltage lines running right under your feet.
My parents (both Phd's in biochemistry) moved nearly beneath a high tension power line when I was in high school. I won't say that this is by any means definitive, but when my dad reviewed the literature he concluded every study indicating that normal adjacencies were harmful was either statistically flawed or the result of outright fabrication. That was in the 90's, and like I said, he's a biochemist, not a physicist or pathologist. I'm an architect, so I don't believe anyone any more.
That said, with the great number of these things around and the negatives yet unproven, I have to agree with Mdler. A park beneath a powerline can't be worse for the community than having no parks.
Interestingly enough, the right of way for the same powerline that looms over my parents house was slated to have a trail built beneath it, connecting beautiful Lansing, Michigan to Williamston. It would have been fantastic, but property owners worried about crime (or more accurately, african-americans) entering their neighborhoods killed it. Now Consumer's Power leases the ground space to homeowners that want to add 50' of length to the amount of lawn they have to mow.
Not that electromagnetic radiation is healthy (though this is inconclusive) in any proximity to folks, but the amount of radiation is determined by the basic physics of the inverse squared law for radiation of any sort. so if a power line is 5' below you, versus 10' above, you will get 1/4 the radiation from the higher line. Soil does not block EMR any more then air does.
Thanks for all the info/ thoughts. There is going to be a design charrette with the neighborhood in January. I plan to further research the feasibility and precedents for this before then.
Treekiller again with the killer info and associated graphic..
Personally, i like the idea i agree
Park better than no park.
Visually, healthwise and more greenspace period..
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