Pedestrian Landmarks of New York City

New York Metropolitan Region, 2016-2021

The built environment of New York City has inspired and fascinated American culture for hundreds of years. The city's transportation infrastructure is a dense network of tunnels, roads, sidewalks, bridges and paths, all interconnected to move people around the metropolis as efficiently as possible.

Like many before me, I arrived in New York enthralled by the bustling public life taking place on the sidewalks. I loved having the ability and privilege to move at my own brisk pace through the city. There was nothing like hitting my stride and knowing that I could walk for hours and experience the wonderful novelty at every turn.

During my first several years in the city, I didn’t think much about the pedestrian infrastructure. It was functional, and only there to get me to where I was going, which in fact, was often nowhere in particular.

As walking became more important to my practice, I began to think about and look at the pedestrian infrastructure more closely, and with a new curiosity. As I explored, my walks became a mixture of pilgrimage and treasure hunt. I would plan my routes to walk to specific bridges or paths, but along the way I would often find other structures that captured my fascination. The desire paths, steps and unique sidewalks gained just as much importance as the pedestrian bridges and well known trails.

I believe to best experience these amazing structures, the viewer needs to make their own journey to walk on them and over them and through them. In this process, you will have a deeper understanding about the importance of these places in the landscape, and how they connect the citizens of New York to their city and communities.