Effects of Frequently Overriding Regulations on Urban Renewal in Seoul: A Warning

Abstract

South Korea enjoyed remarkable growth in real estate development from the late 1990s until 2010. Development projects included aboveground metro stations, which were characterized by extensive urban blight and had created undesirable physical barriers to movement. The transit-oriented development theory having become popular in the West, many station area development projects promoted this concept, including enhanced pedestrian environments, public transportation use, and mixed-use development. Simultaneously, during the planning and implementing processes, other favorable ideas from the Western world included real estate development and marketing. As of 2014, six station area redevelopment projects had been completed. This study attempts to document the results of these station area redevelopments. No evidence was found that either the pedestrian environments or the efficiency of the public transportation system is improved. On the contrary, there is evidence of profitability-oriented urban planning practices in Seoul. Thus, this study aims to warn against special acts that may have deterred the fundamental purpose of urban planning. It concludes with suggestions to foster better implementation of urban planning procedure and its application.