Chicago is pioneering the use of a groundbreaking new paving material which is capable of expunging the adjacent air of pollution. As part of a raft of measures to make the streets of the Windy City more environmentally friendly, the city’s government has decided to use photocatalytic cement as a thin, permeable pavement for the bicycle and parking lanes on two local roads.

The material was developed by leading Italian cement maker Italcementi for the Vatican on the eve of the 2,000th anniversary of the Christian faith. The seat of the Catholic Church had commissioned the construction of a new church to commemorate the event and was seeking a surface material that would be capable of retaining its pristine appearance despite being steeped in Rome’s turgid air.