Designed to restore and augment the city’s floodplain, this new green recreation space features thousands of acres of forest as well as playgrounds, lawns and trails. Upon completion, it will be one of the biggest urban green spaces in the country (more than 10 times the size of Central Park in NYC).

In a state not exactly known for its greenery (or environmentalism), this project in Texas by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates is designed in part to address a critical and ongoing issue: flooding damage during severe weather events.”I believe we can create the most value and the greatest benefit to our citizens when we complete projects around nature,” said mayor Mike Rawlings  of the project.

The park aims to serve both recreational and engineering purposes, shoring up the city against future floods while creating a great green asset for citizens and visitors. Developed in collaboration with government engineers, it will be part community resource but also (and critically) part infrastructural insurance against the effects of climate change.

The development is part of a larger series of projects along the flood plain and will link into over seventy miles of regional trails. At an estimated cost of $50 million, the park is not cheap but surprisingly inexpensive given its scope and aims. So far, a private donor has stepped forward offering $20 million of the funds needed, leaving a smaller bill for the city and state governments as well.

An ambitious infrastructure conversion project in Singapore will turn 15 miles of a abandoned rail corridor into a continuous mixed-use trail-and-park system stretching from one end of the island city-state to the other.

Led by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and designed by Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei, the coast-to-coast master plan features over 100 access points and 20 modular platforms for various uses, strung together with contiguous bicycling and pedestrian paths.

Some spaces will be dedicated to nature-oriented activities, including secluded boardwalks and rainforest viewing stations. Other nodes will be community-oriented, with outdoor movie projectors, climbing walls, information stations, food vendors and additional activity centers.

The southern terminus will be the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, and the long route north will bring the trail system past a series of both remote and urban areas, under viaducts and over bridges, offering access to city dwellers but also escapes into nature and compelling views. In some cases, redundant infrastructure (like former train stations) will be incorporated into this rails-to-trails redevelopment plan.

The goal is to create “seamless public space” that prioritizes the “preservation and reintegration of existing green areas and a relaxed extension of modern life,” according to the designers. The rail corridor should be “inspiring, accessible, comfortable, memorable, eco-friendly and growing/evolving … acting as a catalyst to development and community bonding.”