Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

Mayor Hau Lung-bin and students from Guting Elementary School released giant balloons at a land plot on Roosevelt Road on January 20. The ceremony celebrated milestone achievements of "Taipei Beautiful" project – the city's comprehensive urban renewal initiative.
The mayor noted that each of these balloon represent one successful case – usually the dismantling of an old building to create green space. He proclaimed that there would be more balloons coming in the future.
Since the announcement of the project in March of 2009, Taipei City Government's "Taipei Beautiful" project has completed simple "greenification" for 99 public and private plots across the city.
Through this initiative, nearly 200,000 square-meters of land have been transformed into greens. According to Hau, the green space is the equivalent of 108 Daan Forest Parks in terms of carbon gas reduction.
In preparations for the upcoming 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo later this year, the mayor announced that the next phase of "Taipei Beautiful" project will focus on areas along five major arteries of the city: Changan E. Road – Changan W. Road – Bade Road; Roosevelt Road; Xinyi Road; Zhongxiao E. Road – Zhongxiao W. Road; and Jianguo N. Road – Jianguo S. Road.