Asian megacities are finding innovative new fixes to urbanization’s destruction of traditional public spaces. As central China’s largest city, Wuhan is a major transportation hub, connecting east and west, north and south. But in 2016, the city of 10 million people decided it needed to connect its own residents better. It has since built a unique getaway — the Donghu Greenway, a 13-square-mile network of parks on Donghu Lake, the country’s largest urban lake. Today, you’ll see couples chatting, families picnicking and even meetings held in the shade of towering trees. And Wuhan isn’t alone: Across Asia, cities are reinventing the concept of the public space, using a mix of temporary and more long-term fixes to cater to a 21st-century urban landscape. From temples to street markets to hawker centers, busy Asian cities have traditionally had ample space for people to linger. But modern development favors highways over footpaths and department stores over temple grounds. That’s forcing Asian cities to discover new public spaces — in some cases through citizen-driven initiatives, in others through government-backed efforts. | 