The city of Seoul is expanding the application of the ‘Rapid Integrated Plan’ from its existing housing maintenance projects to include urban redevelopment. This move will facilitate the establishment of public maintenance plans targeting designated improvement areas within city centers.
Urban redevelopment is a maintenance strategy aimed at restoring and revitalizing urban areas like commercial districts. The public sector takes the lead by setting plans for land use, infrastructure, and building density, after which private entities prepare detailed plans for individual projects.
In line with the revised ‘2030 Urban and Residential Environment Maintenance Basic Plan (Urban Redevelopment Section),’ the city will apply the Rapid Integrated Plan to the newly designated urban redevelopment sites to systematically support urban maintenance and revitalization. This aims to achieve goals such as center-area development, creating a green ecological city center, and realizing mixed-use urban areas where living and working spaces coexist.
Based on development simulations, the plan sets feasible project units and usage schemes, while incentives reflecting regional characteristics will encourage private sector participation. Concurrently, the city plans to adopt an ‘Urban and Architectural Integrated Design Guide’, which combines architectural design and landscape planning, to incorporate specialized architectural designs.
Planning also includes considerations for lower-level designs that take into account historical and cultural heritage, local industries, and street characteristics, as well as the creation of public spaces like open green areas and pedestrian paths. Once the public maintenance plan is solidified, the ‘Rapid Integrated Plan Advisory (Fast-Track)’ will be applied to each project district’s maintenance projects to simplify procedures.
When changes to the maintenance plan arise from resident proposals, the integrated review committee will conduct a comprehensive review of the maintenance and implementation plans, applying the fast-track process upon resident request to expedite progress.
Seoul City expects that the recent measures will accelerate the refinement of aging areas within city centers. In doing so, it aims to enhance the overall vitality of the city and reinforce its competitiveness by establishing future growth bases.
Since its introduction in September 2021, the Rapid Integrated Plan is being pursued in a total of 169 locations. This system has been instrumental in restoring stagnant housing maintenance projects to normal and has driven urban space changes in line with regional characteristics through tailored planning.
Nam-jun Cho, Director of Seoul City’s Urban Space Headquarters, stated, “The expansion of the Rapid Integrated Plan to urban redevelopment will resolve stagnation in city development and serve as a foundation for driving Seoul’s growth and innovation.”