http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/opinion/15Rybczynski.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=high line&st=cse
This article is about NYC's High Line (which is getting a ton of press lately because it is about to open Section 2 in June), but the author makes some points which are relevant to the Greenway: If there are no residential neighborhoods near the space, it's eventually going to go unused.
"The High Line may be a landscaping project, but a good part of its success is due to its architectural setting, which, like the 12th Arrondissement, is crowded with interesting old and new buildings. The park courses through the meatpacking district and Chelsea, heavily populated, high-energy residential neighborhoods. Very few American cities ? and Manhattan is the densest urban area in the country ? can offer the same combination of history and density.
In other words, while the High Line?s success may seem to be an instance of ?build it and they will come,? in New York, as in Paris, ?they? are already there ? living in the surrounding neighborhoods, working in the close-packed office buildings, touristing.
Moreover, while the High Line may have become a fashionable distraction for out-of-town visitors, it succeeds because it offers a green outlet to its many neighbors, who, like Parisians, live in small apartments. In no other American city do residents rely so much on communal green space, rather than backyards, for relaxation."
