Parking below, park above

For half a century the filled-in docks of Antwerp's Zuid district were the city's biggest free car park. Now about 2,000 cars park underneath, and a park of 7–8 hectares grows on top.

−0.6°C Average air temperature vs the old car park, hottest day of 2024 (modelled) Source: University of Antwerp model

Flooded The central lawn after heavy rain in its first year Source: VRT, 2024

Not published Visitor counts, biodiversity and measured water figures Checked Oct 2026

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People sitting and playing on Zuidpark's central meadow in evening light, with Antwerp's towers behind — The central meadow, where the cars used to park. Photo: Isabelle Pateer, © Isabelle Pateer.

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Issue 02

Seoul · New project

A Han River bridge closes to cars

From 26 October cars are banned from Jamsu Bridge, a four-lane road bridge since 1976, making it the first pedestrian-only bridge over the Han. By August 2027 the city plans 22 new viewpoints. The traffic hit should be small: Jamsu carried about 20,200 vehicles a day, a fifth of the other Han bridges. Source: Korea Times

Montreal · Result

Riding to the races

During the UCI Road World Championships (20–27 September), Montreal's BIXI bike share recorded more than half a million trips. Valet docking at 17 stations handled over 10,000 bikes, 85% above the seasonal average. Figures from BIXI. Source: BIXI

Number of the week

112%

The rise in daily cyclists on the Brooklyn Bridge since its bike-only lane opened in 2021, from 2,652 to 5,625 a day. Now the city is redesigning the streets that lead to it. Source: NYC DOT

How every issue works

Five minutes, one real place, the same three questions.

1 · What changed

Before and after, drawn to scale

Photos of the same place, plus our own cross-section of the street, façade to façade.

2 · Did it work?

Results, coloured by verdict

Green improved, yellow is a trade-off, grey wasn't measured. We show the downsides too.

3 · How it got done

Cost, time, and who made it

Budgets, timelines and designers, with a link for every number and lessons other cities can copy.

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Official reports first, estimates labelled, gaps said out loud. Spot a mistake and we'll fix the web version and say so.

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