A Sky Garden That Clears the Air

Vertical gardens being built around the pillars of elevated roads are a breath

of fresh air in Mexico City. The privately funded Via Verde (or “green way”) project is well on its way to wrapping 1,000 posts with 60,000 square meters of greenery to help fight the town’s air pollution problem — and improve the ambience. “We live in a very gray city, and we have become used to that,” says project co-founder Fernando Ortiz Monasterio. “As soon as we find a park, we realize our mood changes.” Different kinds of plants are placed in “pockets” of felt, a hydroponic system collects rainwater to meet the plants’ needs, and each garden has sensors for remote monitoring.