The Zuidas in Amsterdam has been a development area for decades, and is now the place where many big players in international finance have an office. Real-estate prices have gone through the roof, and the sky seemed to be the limit. But then the crisis hit, and even in this prestigious area it was difficult to sell office or housing space. The real-estate developers therefore decided to wait a while before they started building even more offices and apartment flats. The area that was reserved for this, called Mahler 4, was instead used in a playful way. First they planted a field of corn (or more accurately, a maze of corn). The year after that, they converted the area to a community park with a tennis court, vegetable gardens that were maintained by volunteers, and some flowers and grass fields.
But now the party is over. The housing market seems to be strong enough now to bear 550 more luxury apartments, and the community park was doomed. The photos after the break were taken only a few days before the park was officially closed.