Robert Hammond

Co-Founder and Executive Director of the High Line, Robert Hammond had the vision and foresight to lead the effort to build an elevated park on an abandoned railway line in New York City 20 years ago. In 2017, he formed the High Line Network, which focuses on the equitable development of underused city infrastructure to develop new urban landscapes. In 1999, Robert Hammond and Joshua David led efforts to turn an abandoned railway line on Manhattan’s West Side into one of the world’s most celebrated parks— the High Line. The High Line opened in June 2009 to immediate acclaim and now serves as a model domestically and internationally for other reuse projects and for community activism. Most recently, the organization established the High Line Network, a group of infrastructure reuse projects—and the people who are helping them come to life. Hammond continues his involvement today as the Executive Director of the High Line, overseeing daily operations, art, cultural and family programming, events, finances, and fundraising, of which nearly 100% is raised privately. He is a tireless advocate who shares his creative energy to help influence, inform, and encourage others to step up to challenging new projects within their communities. Before the High Line, Hammond supported the launch of online businesses in the public health and travel commerce industries, and worked as a consultant for an array of organizations, including the Times Square Alliance, and Alliance for the Arts. He has been awarded the Vincent Scully Prize (2013), the Rome Prize by the American Academy in Rome (2010), the Rockefeller Foundation’s Jane Jacobs Medal, along with David (2010), and an honorary doctorate from The New School (2012). Hammond is also a self-taught artist and served as an ex-officio member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees. Additionally, Hammond is a co-producer of the film Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and was the opening-night selection for DOC NYC. Released via IFC in April 2017, the film chronicles a clash between mid-20th-century urban planning methods, and chronicles how they relate to today’s urban renaissance.