Andrew Revkin, of The New York Times, shares this fascinating video of how Madrid transformed a congested highway into an urban park, and reclaimed a significant river in the process. Here's how they did it:

In October, SmartPlanet's Madrid Correspondent Jennifer Riggins reported on how the project impacted small businesses owners :

“[During construction of the project] all of our business really suffered,” said Antonio Gonzalez, the owner of a riverfront convenience store, Alimentación de Galicia. He described the five years his street was under construction as the most difficult time in his store’s 18 years of existence. [...]

Over the last four years, one million square meters (or about 3,000 acres) of newly opened space was transformed from the previously industrial Rio Manzanares into a 24/7, well-lit green space stocked with more than 33,000 trees, 63 drinking fountains, and the largest bicycle-accessible area in the city.

“Now it’s improved a bit,” Gonzalez said in his native Spanish. “There are always a lot of people on the street, moving around the river project, cycling, walking, everything.”

Photo: mark bentley photography/Flickr

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com