There is a canal in Utrecht that once was a moat around the city’s old town, 900 years ago. Back before cars. Back when towns were made up of winding streets that grew from peoples’ footpaths. Back before paving. Back when the world was newer than it is now.
Then in the 1970s, when the car was king and the biggest concern was how we could get from place to place as quickly as possible, that canal was concreted over to accommodate a 12-lane motorway. It was a mistake, the city decided.
And they decided to fix it.
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