A six square mile watershed
The Nine Mile Run Greenway project was an ambitious initiative undertaken by a team of artists and a land-use attorney in 1996. The goal of the project was to conduct experimental, art-based research on the Six Square Mile watershed of Nine Mile Run in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The project philosophy, established in 1997, was heavily influenced by readings in discourse theory, including works by Jurgen Habermas, Mark Warren, and Richard Sennet, as well as theoretical approaches to public art, such as those by Suzi Gablik, Suzanne Lacy, and Heiner Stachelhaus. The project methods were also shaped by ideas of sustainability, as outlined by William McDonough, and restoration ecology, as proposed by Anthony Bradshaw.
Over the course of a decade, the team at Nine Mile Run tested theories about aesthetics, ecological recovery, and radical approaches to art, planning, and design in a discursive-creative practice. The focus on identifying opportunities rather than simply “fixing” problems provided a strong foundation for the Collins & Goto Studio’s future work.
For more information, please see the Nine Mile Run Project Website
