Mexico City's Vertical Garden project, know as 'Via Verde’, is turning the pillars of a busy motorway green in an effort to deal with high levels of air pollution and improve the city’s landscape. Around 60,000 m2 of vertical gardens will be installed on more than 1000 pillars of a busy motorway, covering a distance of 27 km. This citizen-led initiative, funded by donors and local government, runs in collaboration with the Mexican workshop VERDEVERTICAL and turns Mexico City into an international model. In a city where 6 out of 10 residents suffer from a respiratory disease due to bad air quality, these gardens will be a new green lung which will generate oxygen, absorb pollutants and even help moderate traffic noise.