I've got a motorway in my garden - it's my shelter in hot weather
Residents in Port Talbot, Wales, have adapted to living directly beneath the M4 motorway, which runs 45 feet above their back gardens. While some find the structure intrusive, locals describe the motorway as a convenient source of shade and shelter from the rain.
Why it matters
This story highlights the unique intersection of urban infrastructure and residential life, illustrating how communities adapt to industrial-era planning decisions.
Image caption, The M4 motorway in Port Talbot runs above Narelle Cowan's back garden and protects her sheds and her daughter's toys from the elements
Narelle Cowan and Aimee Lipley's gardens have a few things in common.
Both have pretty plants, chairs for al fresco dining - and one of the UK's busiest motorways.
About 75,000 vehicles travel over the elevated concrete monolith hanging about 45ft (14m) above their plot every day on the main route between London and south Wales.
"I call it my free gazebo," said Aimee. "I love it under here, when it's raining you can walk to the shops without getting your hair wet."
The two-lane carriageway in the sky was one of the first sections of the M4 and a relic of the 1960s freeway building boom after the explosion in postwar car ownership.
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