6 Brilliant Public Spaces That Made Their Cities More Livable

The High Line converted an elevated freight railway into a linear park through Manhattan's West Side. Planting, overlooks, seating, and preserved rail details turned obsolete infrastructure into a heavily used pedestrian route.

Superkilen uses bold color, graphic surfaces, and objects connected to many cultures represented in the surrounding neighborhood. The result works as a park, movement corridor, meeting place, and highly recognizable piece of civic identity.

Cheonggyecheon replaced an elevated road corridor with a restored stream and pedestrian landscape through central Seoul. The project created access to water, walking routes, planting, and cooler spaces within a dense urban district.

By relocating sections of a major roadway, Madrid opened room for a long connected park beside the Manzanares River. Paths, bridges, play areas, and planting now link neighborhoods that were once divided by traffic infrastructure.

Paris transformed a former railway viaduct into a planted pedestrian route running above and through the surrounding neighborhood. The Promenade Plantée demonstrated how obsolete transport infrastructure could become connected green public space.

Barcelona's superblock approach redirects through-traffic around groups of city blocks, allowing some interior streets to prioritize walking, seating, play, and local access. The idea treats street space as a public resource rather than only a traffic channel.