Industrial transport lines have been repurposed many times before, with New York City’s High Line perhaps being the most well-known example of such a project. This 2.3-kilometer park is located on a section of a historical freight line that runs above the streets and through the buildings of Manhattan?s West Side.

Recently, visionary Dutch architecture and design firm MVRDV unveiled a new urban walkway covered with lights and greenery in Seoul, South Korea. The project is called Seoullo 7017 Skygarden and takes its name from both the year of its original construction, 1970, and the year of its reopening, 2017. The word “Seoullo” translates to “Seoul Road,” or “Road to Seoul.” The new path is situated on an old elevated highway and spans nearly a kilometer in length. Located next to the city?s main railway station, Seoullo 7017 transforms a former piece of industrial infrastructure into almost 10,000 square meters of public space that connects to various shops, hotels, and parklands throughout the city center.
In creating the Skygarden, MVRDV hoped to improve the public perception of the South Korean capital and to make it ? often thought of as inhospitable city due to its dense, urban nature and population of 10 million ? more navigable for everyone. The linear park assumes the form of a collection of miniature gardens, each of which is passed through as the visitors continue along the walkway. Different kinds of plants have been...