Seoul City to Complete 6 Living SOC Expansions Within the Year... 10 More Sites to be Added for Public Bidding

Improvement of Aging Low-Rise Residential Areas' Living Environment: 'Low-Rise Residential Area Community-Based Social Infrastructure Supply Project'

Gwanak-gu Family Culture Welfare Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 2nd that it will complete the establishment of six living SOC (Social Overhead Capital) facilities within the year as the first result of the low-rise residential area living-oriented social infrastructure supply project. Among the 13 sites selected as pilot project sites in 2019, the remaining seven sites are planned to be sequentially completed by 2024.

In June, through Seoul’s project to expand living SOC in aging low-rise residential areas, a family culture welfare center with a total floor area of approximately 4,000㎡ opened near Nangok Intersection in Gwanak-gu. It is a complex space combining a comprehensive childcare support center providing childcare-related consulting and various services, and a care, experience, and play space where children can run around and freely use toys and books in a playground equipped with slides and other facilities. This facility was newly established by relocating the existing comprehensive childcare support center and the Gwanak and Sillim women’s classrooms, which were aging after 40 to 50 years and had limited space.

Additionally, in July, Seoul created a small-scale public parking lot called 'Maeul Parking Lot' in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, where illegal parking was frequent due to a lack of parking spaces in alleyways. The number of cars blocking the alleys decreased, improving pedestrian environments for residents and somewhat alleviating parking difficulties.

In the second half of this year, four more sites will be added and opened. In the Singil-dong area of Yeongdeungpo-gu, the 'Bamdongsan Village Library,' a cultural and communication space for culturally marginalized residents, will open; in Muk 2-dong, Jungnang-gu, where there is no learning space available for youth, the 'Muk 2-dong Small Library' will be established; in Seokgwan-dong, Seongbuk-gu, where there are no youth leisure facilities, a 'Youth Culture and Arts Facility' will be created; and in Yongsan 2-ga-dong, Yongsan-gu, the existing parking lot will be expanded through the 'Public Parking Lot Vertical Expansion Project' to alleviate parking shortages.

Seoul plans to select 10 new project sites through a public contest among autonomous districts this year, accepting applications from the 19th to the 25th. This project aims to create living-oriented SOC essential for residents living in aging low-rise residential areas. It is promoted as part of a regional balanced development project that densely supplies various resident convenience facilities such as small libraries, small-scale parking lots, daycare centers, and senior citizen rest areas within a 10-minute walking distance (within 500m) so that residents can enjoy them easily. By moving away from the national and metropolitan SOC concept and creating social overhead capital essential for local living areas, the project intends to improve the residential environment of aging low-rise residential areas and enhance residents’ quality of life.

Seoul plans to analyze financial independence by autonomous district and facility shortages by neighborhood through a selection committee in December to evenly select the final target sites and necessary facilities. For the final selected sites, up to 2 billion KRW per project will be supported by city funds over 2 to 3 years. The projects are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.

Seo Seong-man, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Balanced Development Headquarters, said, “At a time when the results of the 'Low-rise Residential Area Living-oriented Social Infrastructure Supply Project,' which started as a pilot project in 2019, are gradually becoming visible, we plan to expand living-oriented social infrastructure through the selection of new projects this year.” He added, “As part of balanced development to improve the quality of life of citizens living in aging low-rise residential areas and reduce disparities between regions, we will expand essential living infrastructure for residents.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.