Great American Rail-Trail: Mappings & Folksongs
This studio course will explore trail & greenway design at multiple scales. The Great American Rail-Trail project is transcontinental in scope. A path of this magnitude transects a great diversity of cultural and ecological contexts. Mapping is how we situate the trail within the larger landscape; folksongs are expressions of place and time.
Central to this studio is the idea that a trail corridor can be more than a recreational path. A multifunctional trail corridor can play a catalytic role in reshaping urban fabric and rural landscape alike. A multifunctional trail corridor can create new relationships — economic, cultural, and ecological — within and between communities.
The studio will build on research in the fields of landscape ecology, active transportation, & placemaking. We’ll travel to and engage with communities in Boone County, where the Great American follows the High Trestle Trail. A field trip to Washington DC will examine trail-oriented design in multiple contexts.