Cheonggyecheon stream in the South Korean capital has become an attraction \u2013 and helps with flood management, fighting air pollution and cooling the city<\/p>\n
On a crisp December morning, office workers and tourists stroll along a tree-lined stream in central Seoul, pausing on stepping stones that cross its flowing waters. It\u2019s difficult to imagine that just over 20 years ago, this was a vast elevated highway carrying 168,000 cars daily through the heart of South Korea\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n
Cheonggyecheon, a stream that runs for about 3.5 miles (nearly 6km) through Seoul, was one of the earliest experiments in an increasing trend in cities globally: turning spaces where there was once car or rail infrastructure into spaces for pedestrians and cyclists. It\u2019s a powerful example of the way that these spaces can become loved and popular, along with projects such as the High Line in New York<\/a>, where an old railway track has been turned into a raised park, or the city moat in Utrecht, where a multi-lane road (nicknamed the \u201cmotorway from nothing to nowhere\u201d<\/a>) was converted back into a canal, in part of a huge continuing push<\/a> to allow pedestrians and cyclists to dominate the city\u2019s centre.<\/p>\n