About fifty years ago, Seoul's Cheonggyecheon stream was buried beneath an elevated expressway. Quite recently, the elevated freeway was ripped down and replaced with a lovely park. I had a pleasure of visiting it tonight.

But, hey, at least when I return to Seattle, I can still experience a dank, dark, festering swamp of poverty and pollution that elevated freeways are so exemplary at providing. Plus, the pleasure of picking up a multi-billion tab for replacing it with and extended driveway/tunnel for SOV drivers from Ballard and West Seattle. Because, even if Seoul (the second largest metropolitan area by population in the world, one of the most important commercial and industrial centers as well) can simply rip down one of its ill-advised elevated freeways, Seattle cannot. Because, Seattle is special.