Cities greening of alleys
Cities are starting to redesign their back alleys from being dark and dangerous to welcoming and eco-friendly, according to a report by USA Today.
Cities are restructuring the use of these forgotten roadways to be used for gardens, cafes and buffer zones that absorb rain water runoff by resurfacing them with porous pavement.
"The biggest issue with alleys is not what folks are doing to retrofit them but the fact that folks are rediscovering them," says Craig Lewis, principal of the Lawrence Group Town Planners and Architects in Davidson, N.C.
For example, one of Chicago's goals in their Green Alley Program is for alleys to absorb polluted water into the ground instead of it running into Lake Michigan.
Over 80 of the cities 1,300 alleys have been rebuilt to include rock beds underneath the surface that will filter and recharge underground water basins.
According the the New York Times, the cities pavements, which are made from recyclable materials, are also designed to reflect heat keeping the city cooler on warm days and absorb heat when temperatures drop.