In 2003, Seoul tore down a six-lane elevated highway, restored a buried stream that had not seen sunlight in fifty years, and recorded a 639 per cent increase in local biodiversity within three years, while air pollution dropped by 35 per cent and average travel times in the surrounding area improved despite the removal of a major roadway.

The stream is called Cheonggyecheon. It runs approximately 10.8 kilometres west to east through the centre of Seoul, beginning in the hills north of the city and emptying into the Han River that bisects the Korean capital. For most of the twentieth century, the people of Seoul could not see it. The stream had been [...] The post In 2003, Seoul tore down a six-lane elevated highway, restored a buried stream that had not seen sunlight in fifty years, and recorded a 639 per cent increase in local b