[The Editors' Verdict] Will Super High-Rise Apartments Save Seoul?

Professor Kyung-Hoon Lee, Department of Architecture, Kookmin University

On the 3rd, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the 2040 Basic Urban Plan. It is the highest-level guideline that will change the appearance of the capital city Seoul over the next 20 years. There are two main points. One is about a “walking city” centered on people rather than cars. The plan aims to restore disconnected neighborhoods by undergrounding above-ground rail sections, develop around about 60 streams scattered throughout the city, and create a walking daily life zone where living is possible within 30 minutes on foot, all moving toward a “walking city.” The other is a plan to increase the density of central areas and allow residential use. Jane Jacobs, an American journalist considered a pioneer of New Urbanism, identified density as the core of urban competitiveness. Cities are places where talent and various resources gather to create new emergence, but emphasizing dispersion and decentralization has blurred the advantages of cities and dismantled their unique communities, causing various problems. The new plan is very positively evaluated in that it shifts to a people-centered urban space adopted by most cities worldwide.

The mayor’s reaction is also positive. What is unusual is that the mayor’s focus is not on the six major items or the direction they point to, but on one small detailed item: the lifting of apartment floor restrictions. Various experts comment and predict the revitalization of redevelopment and reconstruction. Was the floor restriction really blocking apartment supply? Can super high-rise apartments save Seoul?

First, increasing only the number of floors without raising the floor area ratio does not help profitability at all. High-rise buildings rather sharply increase construction costs. Second, it is said that increasing height allows buildings to be arranged more slenderly, securing more green space and creating scenic corridors. This is also different from reality. Seoul is different from New York or Dubai. The conditions are very different from a city planned with a grid road network on flat land. The ends of streets in New York or Chicago open toward rivers or lakes, but Seoul has many hills and mountains, and roads are winding or narrow, making it unsuitable for creating scenic corridors. This is why if apartments along the Han River are built super high-rise, a suffocating 50-floor-high wall will line the river.

Third, super high-rise residential facilities have the character and effect of vertically stacking American-style suburban single-family housing complexes. Because of this, cars inevitably become central. People have to move by car to commute, go to school, or even shop, and the negative aspects and harms of high-rise apartments have already been revealed in many Western cities. Individuals become isolated by high-rise buildings and cars, local commercial districts collapse, communities disintegrate, and crime rates soar. It is nearly impossible for ordinary citizens to access the green spaces that replace buildings. Moreover, Seoul’s reality of building gated complexes surrounded by walls reinforces isolation and disconnection.

Since the plan must pass through several committees and involve public contributions, the immediate realization of super high-rise apartments in a flood-like manner seems unlikely. However, it may cause confusion about the vision for future Seoul and the mayor’s stance. Above all, allowing super high-rise apartments conflicts with other important and positive agendas of the plan. The modest yet ambitious plan prioritizing people, creating a walking city, and restoring community fades and becomes hollow. Urban planning can produce different results despite good intentions, and verifying those results can take decades, and once built, recovery is impossible. It is about creating a sustainable living environment and a space to be passed on as a legacy to future generations. Caution is advised.

Kyung-Hoon Lee, Professor of Architecture, Kookmin University

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