Urban renewal creates major new parks in Seoul and New York

Cheonggyecheon is an 8.4 km long, modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. The massive urban renewal project is on the site of a stream that flowed before the rapid post-war economic development required it to be covered by transportation infrastructure. The $900 million project initially attracted much public criticism but, after opening in 2005, has become popular among city residents and tourists. Species of fish, birds, and insects have increased significantly as a result of the stream restoration, and the stream helps to cool the temperature of nearby areas by 3.6 °C on average compared to other parts of Seoul.

The High Line in New York was originally constructed in the 1930s, to lift freight traffic 30 feet in the air and remove dangerous trains from the streets of Manhattan’s largest industrial district. Friends of the High Line, a community-based non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. Friends of the High Line works in partnership with the City of New York to preserve and maintain the structure as a 1.45-mile-long elevated public park. 161 out of the 210 plant species in the design of Section 1 of the High Line are native to New York, and the High Line’s green roof system is designed to allow the plants to retain as much water as possible.