ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Barasch - Strategist
Dan Barasch’s grandmother grew up in New York’s Lower East Side. Now, he’s building an underground park in her old neighborhood, where greenspace is limited.

Why you should listen

Dan Barasch is the co-founder and executive director of the Lowline, an underground park that is being developed underneath the streets of New York City—in the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal. In use from 1908 to 1948, this terminal is now abandoned. The Lowline will be a one-acre park in a neighborhood where greenspace is hard to come by. The project uses innovative solar technology to capture light above ground and distribute it below, making it a space that can be used in all four seasons. Once a wild idea, the project got a big boost on Kickstarter, raising more than $155,000 for its development in 2012. The project promises to be the inverse of New York's High Line.

Barasch has long known that he wanted to make a difference, but for years, wasn't quite sure how to go about doing that. Before he left his job to work fultime on the Lowline, he led strategic partnerships at PopTech; held multiple roles at Google; and worked in small business development in New York City government. He also consulted for UNICEF in Nairobi and with the 9/11 Survivors’ Fund in Washington DC. He began his career at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, co-producing the weekly NPR show “It’s Your World.”

More profile about the speaker
Dan Barasch | Speaker | TED.com
TED@NYC

Dan Barasch: A park underneath the hustle and bustle of New York City

Dan Barasch: Park ispod gužve i vreve New Yorka

Filmed:
934,267 views

Dan Barasch i James Ramsey imaju ludi plan - izgraditi park ispunjen zelenilom, ispod New Yorka. Njih dvojica grade Lowline, podzemni zeleni prostor, veličine nogometnog terena. Grade ga na tramvajskom okretištu, zatvorenom 1948., koristeći tehnologiju koja sakuplja sunčeve zrake s površine i usmjerava ih ispod zemlje. To je park koji može bujati čak i zimi.
- Strategist
Dan Barasch’s grandmother grew up in New York’s Lower East Side. Now, he’s building an underground park in her old neighborhood, where greenspace is limited. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
My dreamsan is to buildizgraditi the world'ssvijetu first
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Moj san je izgraditi prvi svjetski
00:14
undergroundpodzemlje parkpark in NewNovi YorkYork CityGrad.
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podzemni park u New Yorku.
00:17
Now, why would someonenetko want
to buildizgraditi an undergroundpodzemlje parkpark,
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Zašto bi netko želio
izgraditi podzemni park
00:19
and why in NewNovi YorkYork CityGrad?
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i zašto u New Yorku?
00:23
These threetri toughtvrd little buggersbludnici
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Ova tri žilava klinca su,
00:24
are, on the left, my grandmotherbaka, agedob fivepet,
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slijeva, moja baka
kad joj je bilo pet godina
00:27
and then her sistersestra and brotherbrat,
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te njezina sestra i brat,
00:29
agesdobi 11 and ninedevet.
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u dobi od 11 i 9 godina.
00:30
This photofoto was takenpoduzete just before they left
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Ova fotografija je snimljena
neposredno prije
00:32
from ItalyItalija to immigrateuseliti to the UnitedUjedinjeni StatesDržava,
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nego što su emigrirali iz Italije u SAD,
00:35
just about a centurystoljeće agoprije.
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prije jednog stoljeća.
00:37
And like manymnogi immigrantsimigranata at the time,
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I kao mnogo imigranata tada,
00:39
they arrivedstigao on the LowerNiže EastIstok SideStrani
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stigli su na Lower East Side
00:41
in NewNovi YorkYork CityGrad
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u New York City
00:42
and they encounterednaišao a crazylud meltingtopljenje potlonac.
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i zatekli mahnito stapanje kultura.
00:45
What was amazingnevjerojatan about theirnjihov generationgeneracija
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Kod te generacije je predivno
00:46
was that they were not only buildingzgrada newnovi livesživot
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to što oni nisu samo
iznova gradili svoje živote
00:49
in this newnovi, unfamiliarnepoznato areapodručje,
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u ovoj novoj, nepoznatoj sredini,
00:51
but they were alsotakođer literallydoslovce buildingzgrada the cityGrad.
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već su i doslovno izgrađivali grad.
00:54
I've always been fascinatedopčinjen by those decadesdesetljeća
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Oduvijek su me fascinirala ta desetljeća
00:56
and by that historypovijest,
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i ta povijest,
00:57
and I would oftenčesto begprositi my grandmotherbaka
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te bih često molio baku
01:00
to tell me as manymnogi storiespriče as possiblemoguće
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da mi ispriča što više priča
01:01
about the oldstar NewNovi YorkYork.
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o starom New Yorku.
01:03
But she would oftenčesto just shrugslijeganje ramenima it off,
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Ali ona bi samo slegnula ramenima,
01:06
tell me to eatjesti more meatballsmesne okruglice, more pastatjestenina,
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rekla mi da pojedem
još ćufta, još tjestenine
01:08
and so I very rarelyrijetko got
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i tako sam rijetko slušao
01:10
any of the historypovijest that I wanted to hearčuti about.
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bilo što o povijesti
o kojoj sam želio slušati.
01:13
The NewNovi YorkYork CityGrad that I encounterednaišao
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New York koji sam zatekao
01:14
feltosjećala prettyprilično builtizgrađen up.
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izgledao je prilično izgrađeno.
01:16
I always knewznao as a kiddijete that I wanted
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Znao sam još od malena da želim
01:18
to make a differencerazlika, and to somehownekako
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ostaviti trag i nekako
01:20
make the worldsvijet more beautifullijep, more interestingzanimljiv
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učiniti svijet ljepšim, zanimljivijim
01:22
and more just.
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i pravednijim.
01:23
I just didn't really know how.
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Samo što zaista nisam znao kako.
01:25
At first, I thought I wanted to go work abroadu inozemstvu,
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Prvo sam želio raditi u inozemstvu
01:26
so I tookuzeo a jobposao with UNICEFUNICEF-A in KenyaKenija.
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pa sam prihvatio posao
pri UNICEF-u u Keniji.
01:29
But it feltosjećala weirdčudan to me that I knewznao more about
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Ali, bilo mi je čudno bolje poznavati
01:31
locallokalne KenyanKenijski politicspolitika than the
politicspolitika of my ownvlastiti hometownrodni grad.
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lokalnu politiku Kenije,
nego politiku svog rodnog grada.
01:35
I tookuzeo a jobposao with the CityGrad of NewNovi YorkYork,
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2006
Zaposlio sam se
u uredu grada New Yorka,
01:37
but very quicklybrzo feltosjećala frustratedfrustriran
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ali vrlo brzo me isfrustrirala
01:39
with the slownesssporost of governmentvlada bureaucracybirokratija.
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sporost državne birokracije.
01:42
I even tookuzeo a jobposao at GoogleGoogle,
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Čak sam radio i u Googleu,
01:44
where very fastbrzo I drankpopio the Kool-AidSok
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gdje sam se brzo uklopio u sredinu
01:47
and believedvjerovao almostskoro wholeheartedlysvim srcem
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i gotovo svesrdno vjerovao,
01:48
that technologytehnologija could solveriješiti all socialsocijalni problemsproblemi.
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da tehnologija može riješiti
sve društvene probleme.
01:52
But I still didn't feel like I was
makingizrađivanje the worldsvijet a better placemjesto.
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Ali i dalje nisam imao osjećaj
da mijenjam svijet na bolje.
01:55
It was in 2009 that my friendprijatelj
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2009. godine, moj prijatelj,
01:57
and now businessPoslovni partnerpartner JamesJames RamseyRamsey
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sada i poslovni partner, James Ramsey
01:59
alertedupozoreni me to the locationmjesto of a prettyprilično spectacularspektakularan sitemjesto,
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skrenuo mi je pažnju na lokaciju
jednog spektakularnog mjesta,
02:02
whichkoji is this.
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to je ovo mjesto.
02:04
This is the formerprijašnji trolleytrolejbus terminalterminala
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Ovo je nekadašnje tramvajsko okretište
02:06
that was the depotDepo for passengersputnika
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i bilo je mjesto za putnike
02:08
travelingputujući over the WilliamsburgWilliamsburg BridgeMost
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koji su prelazili most Williamsburg
02:10
from BrooklynBrooklyn to ManhattanManhattan,
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iz Brooklyna prema Manhattanu,
02:12
and it was openotvoren betweenizmeđu 1908 and 1948,
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te je bio otvoren između 1908. i 1948,
02:15
just around the time when my grandparentsDjed i baka were
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baš u vrijeme kada su moji baka i djed
02:18
livingživot right in the areapodručje.
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živjeli u toj sredini.
02:19
And we learnednaučeno alsotakođer that the sitemjesto
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Saznali smo i da je mjesto
02:21
was entirelypotpuno abandonednapušten in 1948.
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u potpunosti napušteno 1948.
02:24
FascinatedFasciniran by this discoveryotkriće,
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Fascinirani ovim otkrićem,
02:26
we beggedMolio the authoritiesvlasti to drawizvući us into the spaceprostor,
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zamolili smo vlasti da nas puste
unutar tog prostora,
02:29
and we finallykonačno got a tourobilazak,
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otišli smo u obilazak
02:31
and this is what we saw.
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i evo što smo vidjeli.
02:33
Now, this photofoto doesn't really do it justicepravda.
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Ova fotografija nije vjeran prikaz.
02:35
It's kindljubazan of hardteško to imaginezamisliti the unbelievablyNevjerojatno magicalčaroban
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Teško je zamisliti
taj nevjerojatno magičan osjećaj
02:37
feelingosjećaj that you have when you get in this spaceprostor.
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koje imate dok ste unutra.
02:40
It's a footballnogomet fieldpolje of unusedneupotrijebljen landzemljište
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To je neiskorišteno zemljište
veličine nogometnog terena,
02:43
immediatelyodmah belowispod a very crowdedprometan areapodručje of the cityGrad,
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odmah ispod vrlo naseljenog dijela grada,
02:47
and it almostskoro feelsosjeća like you're IndianaIndiana JonesJones
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imate osjećaj kao da ste Indiana Jones
02:49
on an archaeologicalArheološki digkopati,
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na arheološkoj iskopini,
02:51
and all the detailsdetalji are all still there.
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a svi detalji su još tu.
02:52
It's really prettyprilično remarkableizvanredan.
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Zaista je vrlo upečatljivo.
02:54
Now, the sitemjesto itselfsebe is locatednalazi at the very heartsrce
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Sam prostor smješten je u samom srcu
02:57
of the LowerNiže EastIstok SideStrani,
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Lower East Sidea
02:59
and todaydanas it still remainsostaci one of the mostnajviše
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i danas je i dalje jedan
od najgušće naseljenih dijelova grada.
03:00
crowdedprometan neighborhoodsčetvrti in the cityGrad.
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New York ima dvije trećine
zelene površine
03:02
NewNovi YorkYork CityGrad has two thirdstrećine the greenzelena spaceprostor
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03:04
perpo residentRezidencija as other bigvelika citiesgradovi,
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po stanovniku, u odnosu na
druge velike gradove,
03:06
and this neighborhoodsusjedstvo as one tenthdeseti the greenzelena spaceprostor.
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a ova četvrt ima
jednu desetinu zelenog prostora.
03:09
So we immediatelyodmah startedpočeo thinkingmišljenje about how we
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Zato smo odmah počeli razmišljati
03:11
could take this sitemjesto and turnskretanje it into something
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kako ovaj prostor pretvoriti u nešto
03:13
that could be used for the publicjavnost,
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korisno za javnost,
03:15
but alsotakođer could potentiallypotencijalno even be greenzelena.
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ali da, po mogućnosti, ima i zelenila.
03:17
Our planplan, in a nutshellUkratko,
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Naš je plan, ukratko,
03:19
is to drawizvući naturalprirodni sunlightsunčana svjetlost undergroundpodzemlje
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dovesti sunčevu svjetlost pod zemlju,
koristeći jednostavan sustav
koji bi sakupljao svjetlost na površini,
03:21
usingkoristeći a simplejednostavan systemsistem that
harvestsvršidbe sunlightsunčana svjetlost aboveiznad the streetulica,
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03:24
directsusmjerava it belowispod the cityGrad sidewalksnogostupa,
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preusmjeravao je ispod gradskih pločnika
03:27
and would allowdopustiti plantsbilje and treesstabla to growrasti
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i tako omogućio rast biljkama i drveću
03:29
with the lightsvjetlo that's directedusmjerene underneathispod.
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pomoću svjetlosti
preusmjerene u podzemlje.
03:31
With this approachpristup, you could take a sitemjesto
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Ovim pristupom, možete uzeti prostor
03:33
that looksizgled like this todaydanas
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koji danas izgleda ovako
03:35
and transformtransformirati it into something
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i pretvoriti ga u nešto
03:37
that looksizgled like this.
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što izgleda ovako.
03:39
In 2011, we first releasedoslobođen some of these imagesslika,
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2011. godine objavili smo
neke od ovih slika
03:43
and what was funnysmiješno was,
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i bilo je zanimljivo
03:45
a lot of people said to us, "Oh, it kindljubazan of looksizgled
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koliko ljudi nam je reklo:
"Oh, izgleda
03:47
like the HighVisoke LineLinija undergroundpodzemlje."
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kao podzemni High Line."
03:49
And so what our nicknameNadimak endedzavršeno up becomingpostaje,
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Tako smo dobili nadimak,
03:53
and what endedzavršeno up stickinglijepljenje,
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koji smo na kraju i zadržali,
03:55
was the LowlineLoWLiNE, so the LowlineLoWLiNE was bornrođen.
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Lowline, tako je rođen Lowline.
Bilo je jasno i da ljudi zaista žele
03:58
What was alsotakođer clearčisto was that people really wanted
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03:59
to know a lot more about how the technologytehnologija
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znati mnogo više o tehnologiji,
04:01
would look and feel,
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njenom izgledu i dojmu,
04:03
and that there was really much more interestinteres in this
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i interes za ovo je bio veći,
04:05
than we had ever thought possiblemoguće.
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nego što bismo i pomislili da je moguće.
04:07
So, like a crazylud personosoba, I decidedodlučio to quitprestati my jobposao
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Stoga sam, poput luđaka,
odlučio napustiti posao
04:09
and focusfokus entirelypotpuno on this projectprojekt.
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i u potpunosti se posvetiti ovom projektu.
04:11
Here is us with our teamtim
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Ovdje smo mi s našim timom,
04:13
puttingstavljanje togetherzajedno a technologytehnologija demonstrationdemonstracija
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pripremajući prezentaciju tehnologije
04:16
in a warehouseskladište.
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u skladištu.
04:18
Here'sOvdje je the underbellypodzemlje of this solarsolarni canopybaldahin
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Ovo je unutrašnjost ove solarne kupole,
koju smo sagradili
kako bismo pokazali tehnologiju.
04:21
whichkoji we builtizgrađen to showpokazati the technologytehnologija.
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04:23
You can see the sixšest solarsolarni collectorskolektori at the centercentar there.
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U središtu možete vidjeti
šest solarnih kolektora.
04:26
And here'sevo the fullpuni exhibitizložak all put togetherzajedno
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A ovdje je cjelokupni izložak,
04:29
in this warehouseskladište.
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sastavljen u tom skladištu.
04:30
You can see the solarsolarni canopybaldahin overheadnad glavom,
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Možete vidjeti solarnu kupolu iznad,
04:32
the lightsvjetlo streamingtekući in,
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svjetlost kako ulazi
04:33
and this entirelypotpuno liveživjeti greenzelena spaceprostor belowispod.
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i ovaj, u potpunosti
zeleni prostor ispod.
04:36
So in the coursenaravno of just a fewnekoliko weeksTjedni,
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Za samo nekoliko tjedana,
04:37
tensdeseci of thousandstisuća of people camedošao to see our exhibitizložak,
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deseci tisuća ljudi
došli su vidjeti naš izložak
04:41
and sinceod that time, we'veimamo grownodrastao
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i od tada je došlo do porasta
04:42
our numbersbrojevi of supporterspristalice bothoba locallylokalno
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među našim sljedbenicima, kako lokalno,
04:45
and amongmeđu designdizajn enthusiastsentuzijasta all over the worldsvijet.
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tako i među dizajnerskim
entuzijastima diljem svijeta.
04:47
Here'sOvdje je a renderingvraćanje of the neighborhoodsusjedstvo
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Ovo je prikaz četvrti
04:49
just immediatelyodmah aboveiznad the Line'sLinija je sitemjesto,
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odmah iznad lokacije Line,
04:52
and a renderingvraćanje of how it will look
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prikaz toga kako će izgledati
04:54
after majorglavni redevelopmentprenamjenu that is comingdolazak
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nakon velikog renoviranja koje se sprema
04:56
over the coursenaravno of the nextSljedeći 10 yearsgodina.
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u narednih deset godina.
04:58
NoticeObavijest how crowdedprometan the neighborhoodsusjedstvo still feelsosjeća
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Vidite da četvrt i dalje izgleda natrpano
05:00
and how there's really a lacknedostatak of greenzelena spaceprostor.
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i kako zaista nedostaju zelene površine.
05:02
So what we're proposingpredlaganje is really something that will
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Mi predlažemo nešto što će zaista
05:05
adddodati one footballnogomet fieldpolje of greenzelena spaceprostor
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dodati zelenu površinu
veličine nogometnog terena
05:09
underneathispod this neighborhoodsusjedstvo, but more importantlyvažnije
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ispod ove četvrti, no, još važnije je
05:12
will introducepredstaviti a really community-drivenzajednice-driven focusfokus
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što će skrenuti pažnju na zajednicu
05:14
in a rapidlybrzo gentrifyingChicagu gentrifying areapodručje.
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u području koje se ubrzano poboljšava.
05:16
And right now, we're focusingfokusiranje very closelytijesno
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Trenutno smo usredotočeni na to
05:18
on how we engageangažirati with the CityGrad of NewNovi YorkYork
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kako potaknuti grad New York
05:21
on really transformingpretvarajući the overallCjelokupni ecosystemekosustav
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da zaista dođe do promjene
cjelokupnog ekosustava
05:24
in an integratedintegriran way.
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na integrirani način.
05:26
Here'sOvdje je our renderingvraćanje of how we would actuallyzapravo
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Ovo je naš prikaz toga kako ćemo,
05:28
invitepozvati people into the spaceprostor itselfsebe.
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zapravo, privući ljude u sami prostor.
05:30
So here you see this iconickultni entranceulaz
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Ovdje vidite ulaz,
05:32
in whichkoji we would literallydoslovce peelguliti up the streetulica
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gde ćemo doslovno otkriti ulicu
05:34
and revealotkriti the historicalpovijesni layersslojevi of the cityGrad,
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i pokazati povijesne slojeve grada
05:37
and invitepozvati people into this warmtoplo undergroundpodzemlje spaceprostor.
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i pozvati ljude u ovaj topli,
podzemni prostor.
05:40
In the middlesrednji of winterzimski, when it's
absolutelyapsolutno freezingzamrzavanje outsideizvan,
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Usred zime, kada je ledeno hladno,
05:43
the last placemjesto you'dti bi want to go would be
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zadnje mjesto gdje biste otišli
05:44
an outdoorvanjski spaceprostor or outdoorvanjski parkpark.
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bio bi vanjski prostor ili park.
05:46
The LowlineLoWLiNE would really be a four-seasončetiri sezone spaceprostor
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Lowline bi zaista bio mjesto
za sva godišnja doba
05:48
and a respitepredah for the cityGrad.
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i gradska zona za predah.
05:51
So I like to think that the LowlineLoWLiNE actuallyzapravo bringsdonosi
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Stoga volim misliti kako Lowline, zapravo,
05:53
my ownvlastiti family'sobitelj storypriča fullpuni circlekrug.
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zaokružuje priču moje obitelji.
05:55
If my grandparentsDjed i baka and my parentsroditelji were really
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Ako su moji baka i djed i moji roditelji
05:57
focusedusmjerena on buildingzgrada the cityGrad up and out,
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zaista bili usredotočeni
na građenje i proširenje grada,
06:01
I think my generationgeneracija is focusedusmjerena on reclaimingpovrata
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mislim da je moja generacija usmjerena
06:03
the spacesprostori that we alreadyveć have,
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na vraćanje prostora kojeg već imamo,
06:05
rediscoveringponovno otkrivanje our sharedpodijeljen historypovijest,
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na ponovno otkrivanje zajedničke povijesti
06:07
and reimaginingrimejk how we can make our communitieszajednice
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i na ponovno osmišljavanje
kako našu zajednicu učiniti
06:09
more interestingzanimljiv, more beautifullijep and more just.
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zanimljivijom, ljepšom i pravednijom.
06:12
ThanksHvala.
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Hvala.
06:14
(ApplausePljesak)
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(Pljesak)
Translated by Sanda L
Reviewed by Dunja Knežević

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dan Barasch - Strategist
Dan Barasch’s grandmother grew up in New York’s Lower East Side. Now, he’s building an underground park in her old neighborhood, where greenspace is limited.

Why you should listen

Dan Barasch is the co-founder and executive director of the Lowline, an underground park that is being developed underneath the streets of New York City—in the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal. In use from 1908 to 1948, this terminal is now abandoned. The Lowline will be a one-acre park in a neighborhood where greenspace is hard to come by. The project uses innovative solar technology to capture light above ground and distribute it below, making it a space that can be used in all four seasons. Once a wild idea, the project got a big boost on Kickstarter, raising more than $155,000 for its development in 2012. The project promises to be the inverse of New York's High Line.

Barasch has long known that he wanted to make a difference, but for years, wasn't quite sure how to go about doing that. Before he left his job to work fultime on the Lowline, he led strategic partnerships at PopTech; held multiple roles at Google; and worked in small business development in New York City government. He also consulted for UNICEF in Nairobi and with the 9/11 Survivors’ Fund in Washington DC. He began his career at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco, co-producing the weekly NPR show “It’s Your World.”

More profile about the speaker
Dan Barasch | Speaker | TED.com