Reed

Cities around the world are full of roads. Our urban environments are designed for them, often at the expense of the humans for which cities were created. Main roads in particular, are detrimental to our health and many occupy parts of cities that could otherwise be great public space.

In Brisbane, Queensland, the recently completed Queen’s Wharf stands barely used, whilst the neighbouring Southbank oozes with life. A key difference between the two, is the raised motorway that runs through the Queen’s Wharf development. On the Queen’s Wharf side, this channels almost all of the city’s vehicular traffic through the public space, bringing with it the smells, sounds and bright lights of a motorway 24 hours a day.

Needless to say the adjacent public space is quite uninhabitable.

In late 2025, I entered a competition that sought to solve this issue, firstly in Brisbane, but also to provide a solution that was broadly adaptable to roads worldwide.