Skopje is getting another promised landscaped corner. The municipality of Centar has begun construction work to reconstruct part of "8 Mart" Street in Debar Maalo, with a plan for a mini square covering roughly 140 square metres.

The new space will be paved with travertine, given fresh greenery, lighting, urban furniture and inclusive access. On paper it sounds exactly like what a modern urban corner should be - a place where people pause, sit, catch their breath between the buildings.

Debar Maalo is one of Skopje's best-loved neighbourhoods, known for its cafés and its street life, so any makeover there has an audience that will notice straight away whether the job was done properly. The question isn't whether the square will open - it's whether the travertine will hold, whether the greenery will be maintained, and whether the inclusive access will be real rather than symbolic.

Residents already eye these projects with a healthy dose of scepticism. Too many times a "renovated street" has meant a new paving slab that cracks after the first winter or benches nobody looks after. The test for "8 Mart" won't be the grand opening - it'll be how the corner looks six months on, once the cameras have left.