'Coexistence of Development and Historical Preservation' Seoul Downtown Master Plan Public Hearing... Promotion of 5 Major Tasks

Gathering Opinions from Citizens and Experts on Seoul Downtown Basic Plan on the 8th
Promoting Strategic Tasks to Realize the Vision of 'Vibrant Downtown, Attractive Downtown'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 7th that it will hold a public hearing on the basic plan for Seoul’s downtown area on the 8th at Seoul City Hall, where general citizens, experts, and public officials will participate to establish a new direction for Seoul’s downtown.

The Seoul Downtown Basic Plan is a plan established every five years according to the "Seoul Metropolitan Government Hanyangdoseong Historic Downtown Special Support Ordinance." It presents the basic direction of Seoul’s downtown policies for the next five years and prepares strategic tasks accordingly, serving as a strategic blueprint for the development of Seoul’s downtown. The plan being established this time reflects changes in conditions such as the ‘2040 Seoul Urban Basic Plan’ and incorporates opinions from experts and citizens to create a new direction where history preservation and development coexist, embracing both the past and the future.

Seoul City first set the vision of “Vibrant Downtown, Attractive Downtown” to complement the limitations of existing policies due to stagnation in downtown growth and weakening competitiveness over the past five years. Through meetings and discussions with experts and citizen participation groups, it proposed five strategic tasks: ?Future Growth Downtown ?Mixed Residential and Work Downtown ?Green Ecological Downtown ?Historic Cultural Downtown ?High-Quality Downtown.

In particular, management standards such as height plans and historic cultural resources within the downtown, which had a significant weight in the basic plan, were made more flexible to be used as means of realization rather than regulations. The follow-up plan was improved to specify height plans and operate them as practical tools. The height plan changed the existing maximum height to a standard height and aimed to use various incentives centered on the standard height to enhance public benefits such as expanding green spaces, with the follow-up plan to specify the height plan in detail. Additionally, the list of historic cultural resources within the downtown will be unified and managed under the Architectural Asset Promotion Implementation Plan. Major management targets will have strengthened public roles and management, while other architectural assets will be encouraged to be preserved by providing benefits such as allowable floor area ratio upon preservation.

After the public hearing, Seoul City plans to finalize and announce the basic plan in December after consultations with related organizations and advice from the Urban Planning Committee. However, the Seoul Downtown Basic Plan introduced at the public hearing is not finalized and may be changed during the administrative procedures such as consultations with related departments and advice from the Urban Planning Committee.

Yeo Jang-kwon, Head of Seoul City’s Balanced Development Headquarters, said, “Through the new basic plan where history preservation and development coexist, it is expected that the historical and cultural characteristics within Seoul’s downtown will be maintained, while strengthening industrial infrastructure through development and maintenance, creating abundant green spaces, and recreating the downtown to drive the competitiveness of Seoul’s representative space, Seoul’s downtown.”

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