To address the need for community space in the area adjacent to one of Mumbai’s most major roads, MVRDV repurposed underutilized space into a public park.

Key features

One Green Mile is an initiative to reclaim space from car-centric infrastructure for community use. MVRDV’s transformation of a 200-m-long stretch of unused space under the Senapati Bapat Marg flyover in Mumbai, India, represents part of the larger effort to reimagine 1,800 m of streetscape along the stretch of highway, a response to the lack of green space and public amenities in the area. The new space is divided into different ‘rooms’, each with a different function including a lounge space, gym, shaded seating area, performance space, and reading room along with pedestrian walkways, bike lanes and crosswalks. Paved 'hills' create a topographically diverse setting. Plants appear throughout in the entrance’s archway, with retaining walls and planters that promote biodiversity and soften noise pollution. They are irrigated through a rainwater storage system. A strategic network of lighting ensures that the space is well-lit for public safety.

‘Perhaps one day we will see the end of noisy, unpleasant highways carving up our cities, but for now they are still unfortunately a necessary evil – one you can see in Mumbai more than most cities’, says MVRDV partner Stefan de Koning. ‘One Green Mile asks the question: what if we expected highways to give something back to the places they cut through? A flyover can provide some shade in a hot city, and creates a small area of land that can’t be developed with tall buildings. It’s not such a crazy idea to make that into a public space.’  

Frame’s take

Car infrastructure has become inextricable from our cities. Unfortunately, traditional urban planning has prioritized the construction of roads and junctions over usable space for people. But the realization that we must make our cities more liveable for people and the planet, especially in highly polluted urbanscapes, has taken more precedence in recent years. If our cities and spaces aren’t designed for people, then who are they designed for? Emphasizing human and environmental health means deprioritizing car space and encouraging movement, something that the One Green Mile initiative demonstrates. Reclaiming uninhabitable spaces for human use does not necessarily require a complete overhaul of infrastructure but can be integrated in a more subtle way to improve underutilized urban spaces, as is done here.