MEXICO CITY — In an innovative effort to combat air pollution and mitigate the urban heat-island effect, Mexico City has transformed miles of grey concrete highway infrastructure into sprawling vertical gardens along one of its busiest thoroughfares, the Anillo Periférico.
The initiative, known as Vía Verde (Green Way), was conceived by architect Fernando Ortiz Monasterio in 2016. Observing the capital’s densely built-up corridors, Ortiz Monasterio realized that adding green space did not necessarily require acquiring expensive new land or demolishing existing structures. Instead, the massive concrete support pillars holding up the elevated ring road could serve as vertical frameworks for thousands of living plants.
What began as a public online campaign quickly gained traction, demonstrating strong citizen demand for urban greenery. Today, the project has converted bare grey supports into lush, living columns that line the capital’s heavily trafficked road network.
To thrive in such harsh urban conditions, the vertical gardens utilize a specialized planting system engineered to endure heat, vehicular exhaust, and limited space. Integrated automated irrigation and monitoring systems maintain the vegetation without requiring traditional ground-level park space.
Financially, Vía Verde relies on a unique public-private partnership model. By incorporating controlled commercial advertising space on select columns, private companies help fund the installation and long-term maintenance of the gardens, reducing the financial burden on municipal taxpayers.
Environmental benefits of the vertical gardens include providing shade, capturing airborne particulate matter, absorbing carbon dioxide, and cooling surrounding microclimates. However, urban planners note that while vertical infrastructure helps optimize unused space, it cannot fully replace traditional ground-level parks or urban forests that offer accessible community recreation.
For Ortiz Monasterio and project supporters, Vía Verde serves as a practical model for global megacities struggling with space constraints and climate pressures. By repurposing car-centric infrastructure into living ecosystems, Mexico City demonstrates how urban transit corridors can be redesigned to actively improve environmental health rather than simply accepting concrete as a permanent urban landscape.
Source: FORBES Mexico
