(MENAFN- Al-Anbaa) From stylish, manicured creations to small vegetable plots, gardens are taking to the rooftops of the South Korean capital Seoul - bringing dashes of spontaneity and colour to the skyline of one of the world's most densely populated cities.
With help from the municipal government, otherwise largely drab buildings are being crowned with flower beds, allotments and trees, where the scent of fresh blossoms in the springtime can briefly mask the fumes from the traffic below.
The project has produced one of the largest rooftop gardens in Asia, Garden 5, which is spread across the top of four 10-storey buildings and linked by skywalks, with a total surface area equal to three football fields.
The municipal financial support comes with a rider - any garden must be properly maintained and opened for public use within five years of its completion.
Since the project began in 2002, the city government has spent more than 60 billion won ($57 million) helping to bankroll rooftop gardens, allotments or small ecological parks on more than 650 buildings around the city.
"We need more green, but don't really have the budget to buy the land for urban parks," said Bang Seong-Weon, a municipal official in charge of the Green Roof Construction programme.
"If you green the rooftops, land prices cease to be an issue," Bang said.
Home to 20 percent of South Korea's 50 million people, Seoul is a modern, thriving city with a population density nearly twice that of New York and eight times greater than Rome.
Largely destroyed in the 1950-53 Korean War, Seoul was rebuilt at a time of rapid industrialisation and laissez-faire urban planning that resulted in an uninspiring landscape of cookie-cutter apartment blocks and utilitarian office buildings.
In the last 10 to 15 years, efforts have been made to revitalise the city architecturally and environmentally with varying degrees of success.
While other high-density Asian cities have also seen a turn to rooftop gardens, the scale of Seoul's programme sets it apart.
"I've never seen anything like this before," said Choi Da-Yeon, a 20-year-old student as she strolled among the garden's flower beds and trees with her boyfriend at Garden 5.
"We don't have enough green spaces in Seoul. Somewhere like this gives you a real breathing space," Choi said.
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