Riding along 'horizontal verticals' in Magok District (Part III)

This is the final part of my focus on Magok District:

1. Framing Magok (Part I - Location)
2. Magok's horizontal verticals (Part II - Cluster)
3. Magok's lifespace (Part III - Environment)

The future Seoul Botanic Park will feature 3,0000 plant species (its flower-shaped indoor facility - bottom right - is already visible from a distance).

***

3) Magok's lifespace


If Gangseo-gu is not an usual darling for real estate speculators, Magok scores much better than most Seoul neighborhoods. Beyond its potential and dynamics in terms of location, connectivity, or research hub, people seem to believe in its quality of life, and to trust SH Corporation for delivering the goods.

Rebranded two years ago Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation*, this public institution has led the development from its early stages, with a mandate to put families, environment and sustainable mobility at the core of the project, a clear difference with other innovation clusters where business preempted everything.

Seoul Business Agency (SBA) did play a central role in Magok as it did in the DMC, but in the latter, residential developments were secondary, and not considered as a key factor of success. And we saw how the Gale International - Posco tandem struggled in Songdo.

Pangyo too enjoyed a partnership between national and local authorities for its Pangyo Techno Valley (Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion established in 2010), but for its residential areas, it only had to surf on the Bundang wave, and from the start flush with private money, that very hyped 'New Town' got 'blessed' with more than a few luxury residences.

Like Pangyo, Magok started essentially from scratch. Revamping Guro Digital Complex, and supporting its evolution into a XXIst century G-Valley demands different efforts from Seoul and Kicox (Korea Industrial Complex Corporation).

Magok wasn't dragged down by ailing neighborhoods in need of regeneration. The central role of public authorities is a guarantee that everybody will profit, not a sign of destitution. I don't think Magok will become as 'bling-bling' as Eastern Gangnam either, but I don't see that as an inconvenient.

* 

How does this 'common good' approach translate into the landscape? For instance, beyond the central park, you don't have a collection of green spaces, each one managed by a gated apartment complex, but neighborhood parks connected by green corridors between open blocks. Branded M-Valley by SH Corporation, the residential complexes remain relatively low rise compared to other recent projects this side of the Han River, keeping in mind that this is a first development. Even if we're still in the classic 'apateu' model, there could be a greater sense of open community than in Pangyo's luxury town houses or from the top of a Songdo penthouse...

The green corridors are wider than Yeonnam-dong's 'Yeontral Park' (the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail), but without the streets, shops or restaurants on their sides, and only a few tables to picnic here and there, which minimizes noise pollution for the residents.

As I noticed before, along large sections of Seoul Botanic Park, blocks devoted to research centers sit right across the street (e.g. for the moment LG Science Park and Kolon One and Only Tower), which could be seen as a form of privatization, but could also become a motivation for them to open up, to let visitors roam their own land, to propose services that would flourish along the frontline in probably more anarchic ways, to blur the lines of a strict zoning. 

Tadao Ando's LG Art Center (see part II) provides a clearer example of how local communities can benefit from private infrastructure: parts of the program will involve residents, and the venue will eventually belong to Seoul city. 

For the moment, residential and research blocks stand out, and local businesses mostly develop around subway stations. The first significant hotel to open in the neighborhood mirrors its positioning: overlooking the park, Courtyard by Marriott is not the chain's most luxury brand, but provides quality stays for both business people and families.

*

Seoul issued guidelines and specs early in the project to make sure that environment, accessibility, or bicycle lanes were taken into account:

Water collection and filtering systems embedded in the buildings, roads, or parks

Accessibility and security at pedestrian crossings

Pedestrian crossings again, this time for bicycle lanes, always a tricky moment for cyclists

With its flatness and absence of major disruptors in its core (hills, river, railways, highways**), Magok District is perfect for cycling. 40% of all roads will have dedicated lanes, in a continuous network connecting the new neighborhood and its Seoul Botanic Park to the Hangang backbone. Beyond a 'Ddareungi' special zone facilitating commuting and leisure rides, or many bike parking facilities, four bike storage systems will be available at subway stations.

Bicycle-friendly Magok (left, one of the green diagonal corridors between apartment blocks - right, a protected bike lane that could be wider, like for instance the one along Seongmisan-ro in Seongsan-dong).

Magok's bicycle network

So it seems that even in this early stage, Magok is aiming at to the vision I finished my 2013 update with (see 'Magok District on cruise mode'):

"Now the most important remains to give some soul and consistence to this alleywayless place. You want to see residents and researchers venture beyond their homes and campuses, roam the streets, enjoy the city. The park and diagonal canal can give purpose, but let's not forget to optimize every single street for pedestrians and bicycles, make this neighborhood a destination from all directions, in continuity with Hangang Park, and the new neighboring communities (Banghwa, Balsan...)."

*

As usual, as an urbanist, I would have done things differently; Magok District doesn't signal a revolution in the Korean New Town or the Korean innovation cluster models. Yet it redefines Gangseo-gu, and beyond Southwest Seoul. It might even demonstrate that a big residential and business project South of the Han River can succeed without arrogance. What matters is that, ultimately, people live happily together in a place where trees, bicycles, and fellow earthlings are welcome.

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* see "Seoul summerscapes: death, taxes, and budongsan" 
** if Gonghangdae-ro is a wide and busy axis, it can't be compared to the Gyeongbu Expressway that separates Seopangyo and Dongpangyo

Riding along 'horizontal verticals' in Magok District (Part II)

This is the second part of my focus on Magok District:

1. Framing Magok (Part I - Location)
2. Magok's horizontal verticals (Part II - Cluster)
3. Magok's lifespace (Part III - Environment)

***

2) Magok's horizontal verticals

In the first part we saw how, by its simple location and connectivity, Magok District enjoyed key assets for a business hub. In the third one, we'll see if its environment can, as advertised, attract researchers and creative minds. Here, we'll focus on the innovation cluster promise.

The signature used in recent advertorials sounds familiar, and as usual with previous Korean projects sharing similar ambitions in the past, 'Korean Silicon Valley Magok' ("한국의 실리콘밸리 마곡") is supposed to create a haven where big fish and small fry cohabit. But as usual, chaebol struggle to envision innovation clusters beyond proprietary ecosystems, which can become a major hurdle for diversity and creativity (see "Redrawing Korean Maps - Innovation Clusters").

Magok doesn't aim at aggregating value around business 'verticals' like the Sangam DMC, conceived as the name suggests for media and entertainment, or even Songdo, when it was desperately looking for a way to reboot and better market itself. Here, we're into 'convergence and fusion technology', more in the Pangyo Techno Valley vein, but with a stronger industrial - manufacturing touch.

As the first big fish to sign for this former swampy rice paddy area, LG Group set the tone for 'convergence and fusion', pooling Research and Development teams from key subsidiaries (LG Electronics, LG Chem, LG Display...) in its LG Science Park complex (18 buildings, capacity of 25,000 employees) to better tackle such challenges as robotics or A.I.. Similarly, Lotte Group is looking for new synergies between Lotte Food, Lotte Confectionery, Lotte Chilsung Beverage, and Lotteria...

Should we dub this higher stage of chaebolism 'horizontal verticals'?

Clockwise, the site of Tadao Ando's future LG Art Center / LG Science Hall, LG Science Park's ISC (Integrated Support Center), Kolon One and Only Tower.

LG Science Park Integrated Support Center (www.instagram.com/p/Bi8rK-slfWJ)

LG also provides the neighborhood with a cultural venue designed by Tadao Ando. The new LG Art Center will open in 2020 on Magokjungang 10-gil, across the LG Science Park and next to the park itself. The group will operate the theater for thirty years before offering it to Seoul city.

It's way too early to judge this new ecosystem, particularly since, like in the DMC, small players are supposed to join after the big ones. Urbanism and architecture can give us clues about the potential, though. For instance, LG Science Park can look like series of containers from a distance, but many buildings are porous, with atria and green walkways, giving the ensemble a campus-like touch, more open to its surroundings than other, more monolithic centers.

Unlike the actual Silicon Valley, where most companies of all sizes and shapes settled in existing urban or peri-urban environments, this research complex consists of contiguous lots, most of which will be developed by one powerful player. So if you're having a coffee in the Eastern half of Magok District, chances are it will be in a building owned by one of those, which may alter the way you pitch your startup over a cup of java.

***

If Magok District will welcome garage startups, they are not its main target. The aim is to boost innovative research in industries that do have fuzzy edges, but also complex cores and cycles, and it already signed enough significant players to succeed. More will want to join in a site ideally located for logistics and within the capital city, but quality of life will also be a factor. Ideally, Magok's environment must stimulate creativity, but in not necessarily too 'speedy' and disruptive ways. 

Is it likely to deliver? That's what we'll check in our last part of this focus.
 
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Riding along 'horizontal verticals' in Magok District (Part I)

As we've seen before*, Magok District deserves specific attention as Seoul's last big chunk of undeveloped land (until they decide to chop off all remaining mountains), and one of Korea's ambitious innovation clusters.

If new pieces keep being added every now and then to this urban jigsaw puzzle, recent weeks have seen major developments and PR operations, particularly with the inauguration of LG Science Park by MOON Jae-in, two years after PARK Geun-hye's speech at its groundbreaking ceremony. Of course, since many initiatives in Korea boil down to real estate, a lot of this PR aims at promoting new residences in a neighborhood that's been rather overperforming the market.

Time seems ripe for an update on Magok's narrative, reality, and fundamentals. Could it mark an evolution in Seoul's postwar urbanism (for the big picture, see 'Inhuman, all too human Seoul')? Certainly not a real disruption, since in many ways it remains a classic, zoned Korean 'New Town'. And the focus being on business, let's see how this 'swamp thing' can compares to - or coopetes with? - neighborhoods I've seen rise from a landfill (Digital Media City), the sea (Songdo), or a valley (Pangyo).

Like my 2013 focus on the DMC and Songdo***, I'll slice this one into 3 pieces:

1. Framing Magok (Part I - Location)
2. Magok's horizontal verticals (Part II - Cluster)
3. Magok's lifespace (Part III - Environment)

'Magok's future Seoul Botanic Park' (20180518 - www.instagram.com/p/Bi6Wi5illxo)

***

1) Framing Magok

What better image to help you grasp the scale and level of completion of the 3.6 M square meter Magok District than this recent aerial view?

Magok District from above in 2017 (Seoul Metropolitan Government)

Stretching over Magok-dong and Gayang-dong, Magok District lies at the very heart of Gangseo-gu, which badly needed a center to make better sense. It's articulated around the gu's backbone: its road to Gimpo Airport, Gonghang-daero.

• To the West: Banghwa-daero, Banghwa New Town, and Gonghang-dong which hosts the airport. 
• To the North: Olympic Expressway and the Han River. 
• To the East: Gangseo-ro (East), and Deungchon-dong. 
• To the South: the new Balsan District and Gangseo Agricultural and Marine Products Market.

Actually, only a tendril of Seoul Botanic Park - but a most essential one - reaches the Han River. Most of the district remains under Yangcheon-ro, blocked to the West by the Seonam Water Recycling Center, and to the East by Gungsan, a cute hill which I hope will be preserved, along with the village at its feet.

Magok's four defining dimensions were 'industrial', 'business and commercial', 'residential', 'parks and green', with zones clearly visible from the initial masterplan:

Within the district, three main axes have been created to border its 503,000 sqm park:

• Magokjungang-ro to the West, with Magok Station (Line 5) at the intersection with Gonghangdaero, and Magongnaru Station (Line 9, and soon AREX) to split what's North of it into two even parts. If Gongangdaero is as wide as a highway, Magongnaru area is booming around the relatively narrow winding road leading to previously developed Banghwa-dong. 
• The much quieter Magokdong-ro to the East separates for the moment two LG research blocks, with Kolon's spectacular One and Only Tower (!) at the interection with the third axis.
• Magokjungang 10-gil marks the park's Southern border, with LG Science Park on the frontline (obviously, LG's L still stands for Lucky; the early bird did catch the worm).

So this is basically the frame being filled step by step...

'#MagokDistrict map keeps filling up (ad in my mailbox)' (20141207 - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/541499306344448000)

 ... its central park still missing, but continuously advertised as a key asset:

***

Keep in mind this brief framing of Magok District when we move on to its business purpose (Part II) and living environment (Part III). It already reveals precious advantages:

• a simple, compact, and flat map
• seamlessly integrated to its urban vicinity, unlike Songdo, or even Pangyo (highway) and the DMC (railway). As you know, I value "urban continuity" as a key factor of success.
• even if it's located in the capital's far west, Magok District is very close to the airport (a clear advantage over Pangyo for instance), but also directly connected to the historic center (Gwanghwamun via Line 5), and to key business hubs (e.g. Yeouido, Yeongdongdaero via Bongeunsa Line 9). When AREX opens at Magongnaru Station, the synergies with DMC and Guro Digital Complex, both one stop away, will be even easier.
• in spite of the Olympic Expressway, Magok provides a unique corridor to the Han River, and its park enjoys relatively little competition in a wide radius. Can it bring Gangseo-gu's half million inhabitants closer together, and reach beyond?

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* e.g. "Magok District on cruise mode", "Magok District: SIM City as in "Seoul Intra Muros"? Alleyways as in "Seoul Inter Muros"?", all posts related to Magok District.
** "Songdo, DMC: sequence is of the essence (Part I)", "Part II", "Part III"

Urban Continuity - Susaek-Sangam project back on tracks (and over DMC Station tracks)

Seoul and Korail signed a MOU* to redevelop over 172,000 sqm now covered with tracks and railway installations, most notably Changdong Train Depot (65,000 sqm) in Nowon-gu**, and the DMC Station area (over 30,000 sqm), for which an operator should be selected by the end of the year.

I already stressed the importance of doing the right thing for the most crucial Susaek-Sangam connection in Mapo-gu (e.g. in "A solution to the Great DMC-Susaek Rift?" in the 3rd part of my 2013 focus on Songdo and the DMC ("Songdo, DMC: sequence is of the essence (Part III)").

The project will cover 27,000 sqm at Susaek Station + 3,500 sqm for DMC Station itself:

The latest rendering shows more green and openings than the one suggested in 2013, which reminded me of the Great Slab of Paris La Defense:

To ensure an even greater urban continuity between Susaek-dong and Sangam-dong / DMC, pedestrians should be able to cross Susaek-ro to the North as seamlessly as Seongam-ro to the South, and through this more porous ensemble.

This key railway hub (AREX Airport Express, Subway Line 6, Gyeongui Line train) should merge with its surroundings horizontally, unlike the initial, vertical, aerotropolis vision. Remember the old plans featuring a landmark tower, where international businessmen would only see Incheon Airport and the DMC during their trip to Korea? Even commuters should feel invited to reach beyond the hub, deep into Susaek and Sangam.

And ideally, the tracks could be covered further to the West and to the East, prolonging the
"Gyeongui Line Forest Trail - An Urban Lifeline" now in full bloom around Yeonnam-dong for its first operational summer.

(at Yeonnam-dong by day) Gyeongui Line forest trail got greener
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/625207215603879936

(at Yeonnam-dong by night) Gyeongui Line forest trail by night now. Good to see so many citizens adopt it, even picnic on the lawn
twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/625274339781246976

Over the two years following that focus on the trail, my long gone "Busan Corner"*** has again changed at least twice. It just became a jewelry shop - how's that for gentrification?

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* see for instance "서울 수색역세권 본격 개발한다…'DMC역 구역'부터 시작" (Yonhap 20150727)
** among the 27 key redevelopments confirmed last spring (see "Diagonal crossings, High Lines, and Business Verticals (how pedestrians and businesses remodel Seoul... and vice-versa)" followed by "Urban Regeneration: 27 Projects For Seoul")
*** "Busan Corner on Taxi-daero"

Diagonal crossings, High Lines, and Business Verticals (how pedestrians and businesses remodel Seoul... and vice-versa)

Seoul keeps at the same time looking for more sustainable urban planning approaches, and doing more mistakes, because as usual in this city we tend to try a lot of things, but seldom after serious impact surveys. At least that's far less boring than my other hometown Paris, where we tend to make decade-long impact surveys, but seldom do something else. As you well know, a Seoulite born in Paris, I tend to pile up useless bits on an ever changing cityscape. Here's a batch on recent evolutions for Seoul pedestrians and neighborhoods, with the Seoul High Line project as a natural bridge in-between.

Opening up the city to its citizens (not burying them!)

At the micro level, I really appreciate the recent multiplication of Ginza-style diagonal pedestrian crossings, which make life much more simple and safer for everybody. They de facto create temporary no-drive zones that can change a neighborhood without going all the way to car-free streets (e.g. Yonsei-ro). Pedestrians feel that they own the space, even if that's not all the time; there are even permanent tattoos on the macadam to prove they do:

With diagonal pedestrian crossings, you don't need to have a double PhD in statistics and physics to calculate the optimal path to reach point B alive

I am much less convinced by the project to create a vast underground pedestrian network connecting major Jongno-gu landmarks. That would signal a return to a car-centric past when pedestrians where parasites that had to move underground, like ants or termites, across downtown Seoul. I suspect this project to have something to do with the one I mentioned last fall, which would move Gwanghwamun Square sideways, and re-transform Sejongdae-ro into a highway (see "Gwanghwamun, Donhwamun, and the Tale of two Royal Roads"). In other words, back to square one, or rather back to Zero Gwanghawmun Square.

In the dowtown Seoul I discovered in the early 90s, pedestrians had to either use tunnels or aerial walkways to cross the major roads. And the Seoul High Line would somehow revive the latter.

Named after New York's High Line Park, itself inspired by the Promenade Plantee of Paris, the idea gained momentum in April last year, partly because the city needed to compensate for the planned destruction of an old walkway that Seoulites had deserted because winos had claimed it most of the time.

Leaving a landmark in the capital is very good PR, and a tradition for French presidents in Paris: Pompidou and Beaubourg, Mitterrand and the Pyramide du Louvre, Chirac and the Musee du Quai Branly... Note that Giscard missed the opportunity and tried later to claim the Musee d'Orsay as his work, and that Sarkozy didn't understand that he would have only one mandate (and that one building is easier to complete than a Grand Paris - Le Havre vision).

Leaving a landmark has also become a must for Seoul mayors eyeing a higher office: LEE Myung-bak had Cheonggyecheon (even if his greatest achievement was the creation of bus lanes), OH Se-hoon had Gwanghwamun Plaza (even if his greatest achievement was the revival of Sadaemun and the rebalancing of Gangbuk vs Gangnam, starting with the redistribution of taxes from the rich to the poor districts), and PARK Won-soon seems to be betting on the Seoul High Line.

Last month, Seoul citizens were invited to walk the line on a sunny Sunday afternoon - in other words: to vote with their feet in favor of the project.

PARK Chung-hee on the Seoul Station overpass (1970). But what fascinates me most is the background, Malli-dong and Kim Gi-chan's beloved Jungnim-dong.

Clearly, this walkway looks much better without cars. It is at the same time more scenic and less integrated to its surroundings than its NYC or Paris counterparts.

Covering the railways over a wide stretch would cost much more, but also provide a greater urban continuity. One thing is sure: if the taxi and bus corridors in front of the new Seoul Station have allowed the return of pedestrians at street level, the Toegye-ro - Tongil-ro - Sejongdae-ro - Hangangdae-ro intersection remains an utter mess, and with or without the High Line, it will require a complete and sustainable overhaul.

After its High Line, will benchmark-frenzy Seoul try to copy NYC's Low Line underground park project? (twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/538224048778407936) - remind's me of OH Se-hoon's underground utopia (see "Seoul Goes Underground")

*

Reviving neighborhoods (not destroying them!)

As we've seen countless times New Town out, Redevelopment in, back to the Urban Jungle", "Inhuman, all too human Seoul", the Gyonam-dong saga...), Seoul has not completely given up its old, disfiguring 'New Town' model.

Another Seoul neighborhood destroyed in a 'New Town' project: in Hongeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu - twitter.com/theseoulvillage/status/555539522843201536 (BTW: join my 800+ followers on Twitter!)

Speculators still pretty much run the show. The Yongsan IBD is cancelled and the US base relocation postponed, but money can't wait for a new big vision. Eight high rise buildings (over 50 floors) have been authorized on both sides of the base, and the front row of buildings circling it will be allowed to go up to 20 floors, guaranteeing a fat return and a privatized view on the future park to a happy few investors, letting the rest of the district out of the loop. Even North of the Han River, Gangnam Style rules...

Yet officially, the trend remains to revive neighborhoods instead of annihilating them. After the 'Human Town' / 'Old Town' approach, a concept based on communities (e.g. "Yeonnam-dong, a new Human Town or a new Old Town, but mercifully not that old New Town"), the next buzzword could be 'industrial convergence', a concept based on business verticals or mini-clusters.

For the moment, this new umbrella for urban regeneration seems to cover too wide a spectrum, from actual industrial zones to more or less farfetched urban storytelling, with the Seoul High Line as its highlight.

The other day, as Seoul mayor met with Richard Plunz (Professor of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia's GSAPP, Director of the Urban Design Lab at the Earth Institute), 7 zones were announced:
 

The seven 'industrial convergence' hubs

Let's have a closer look at these 'magnificent seven':

• Seoul Digital Media City (Mapo-gu): I already wrote quite a lot about Sangam DMC (see all posts). I'll just add that it's already a national cluster for media and IT, so this is less about 'urban regeneration' than about piggybacking on existing dynamics. Note that the arrival of MBC was one of the few recent changes that helped put the DMC on Seoul's popular culture map: they instantly used their outdoor space to stage events and concerts (from their inauguration to the new year party), integrating the neighborhood in their broadcastings, a bit like Fox News on NYC's Avenue of the Americas. 

• Seoul Station (Yongsan-gu): the verticals selected are history and tourism, more symbolized by the old station turned into Culture Station 284 than by the future High Line. Seoul Station itself will be beefed up as a key entry point to the capital, and many redevelopments are already under way in its vicinity (e.g. along Hangangdae-ro, Malli-dong, Seosomun Park...). Again, the High Line cannot be the only way to solve the urban mess at ground level.

• Yeongdonggwon (Gangnam-gu - Songpa-gu): that's around coex and Jamsil Sports Complex, plus of course Hyundai's future HQs. This area didn't need to be wrapped under the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) banner.

• Seun Sangga (Jongno-gu): inaugurated in 1967, KIM Swoo-geun's fascinating cruise ship forms a long bar between Jongmyo and Chungmuro. Its upper segment was destroyed a few years ago to make room for a small park on Jong-ro, but the reopening of Cheonggyecheon somewhat revived its crux. The whole neighborhood is a DYI paradise now roamed by more contemporary makers in search of odd parts and bits, and Seun Sangga's upper floor hosts the FabLab Seoul (got a project? need a 3D printer or a laser cutter? that's the place). Can this unique start-up hotspot avoid gentrification? Let's hope that at least, its safety will be improved - you don't want to be caught in a fire around here.


Seun Sangga's silicon belly - on FabLab's floor (BTW: you can also follow me on Vine!)

• Chang-dong - Sanggye (Dobong-gu, Nowon-gu): back to Nowon's most coveted space: the Changdong train depot and the Dobong Driver's License Examination Center form a humongous site in Sanggye-dong*, a densely populated area full of apartment blocks divided in very small units. I've regularly posted about Nowon since my 2006 focus, often about subway projects, and always with this site in mind. Back in 2012, it was envisioned as a coex-style complex (see "Nowon confirmed as Seoul's northeast hub "). Last year, the four sections of the project were detailed: the train depot would become a 'Global Business Zone', the drivers center a 'Start-up Zone', and the two blocks on the other side of Jungnangcheon, in Chang-dong, a 'Global Life Zone' (leveraging on cultural and shopping venues built over the past decade). Now the focus is biotech. Whatever. Because of the real estate pressure, the only way here is up.

Changdong (Dobong-gu), Jungnangcheon, Sanggye (Nowon-gu). And more towers all over.

• Mullae-dong - Yeongdeungpo (Yeongdeungpo-gu): a couple of blocks away from Seoul's Time Square, 'Ironworks alley' (철공소 골목) is not only a fantastic spot for post-industrial photo ops, but also a nest for young artists and designers. Or was, until recently: the usual curse of real estate speculation went even faster than for previous arty neighborhoods.

"Mullae Art Village, a Seoul village like no other (but aren't them all?)" (BTW: you can also follow me on Facebook!)

• Janghanpyeong (Dongdaemun-gu): not exactly Seoul's most glamorous neighborhood (between Jangan-dong and Yongdap-dong, between the Naebu and the Dongbu expressways, West of the Cheonho Bridge knot and North of the water treatment plant), Janghanpyeong is known as a hub for used cars hunters, and that's the way the city wants it to remain. It could have some potential, though, once the water treatment is transformed into a more welcoming park.

All this is supposed to follow the model of a successful urban regeneration (!): Bukchon.

 

And all this is not supposed to bring confusion with the 5 zones presented last month. Seoul districts have been divided into five sectors: Seonamgwon (SW, project in Sangdo-dong, Dongjak-gu), Seobukgwon (NW, project in Sinchon), Dosimgwon (Center), Dongbukgwon (NE, projects in Seongsu-dong, Seondong-gu, and Jangwa-dong, Seongbuk-gu), Dongnamgwon (SE, project in Amsa-dong).

*

To be continued...

• See all posts related to urbanism and urban planning.

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* Yes, Chang-dong is in Dobong-gu, but Nowon split from Dobong in 1988, when the New Town was delivered (after a resistance narrated in Kim Dong-won's great documentary the Sanggye-dong Olympics). Note that Dobong, itself a spin-off from Seongbuk-gu (1973), was later split in two, spawning Gangbuk-gu in 1995.