Seocho and Isu Followed by Banpo: Apartment Districts Disappear

Banpo District Unit Planning Area. (Photo by Seoul City)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Seoul Metropolitan Government has converted the Banpo Apartment District into a district unit planning zone, following Seocho and Isu.

On the 14th, Seoul held the 17th Urban and Architectural Joint Committee meeting and announced on the 15th that it had approved amendments to the "Banpo Apartment District Unit Planning Proposal" based on this content.

The apartment district was established in 1976 to build large-scale apartments, but over time, it has been criticized for lacking interconnectivity with reconstruction maintenance plans. For example, only residential buildings could be constructed on residential land within the apartment district, and it was difficult to obtain permits for commercial facilities within the complex. Accordingly, Seoul had previously announced plans to sequentially lift the effectively obsolete apartment district designations and convert them into district unit plans. District unit plans use urban management tools such as building setback lines, lot divisions, and public pedestrian pathways consistently with maintenance plans, and the floor area ratio system is also the same, making it relatively easier to promote reconstruction.

This district unit plan includes measures to facilitate reconstruction and relax various other regulations. First, reconstruction target complexes will be designated as special planning zones with guidelines provided to support systematic and prompt maintenance plan establishment at the district level rather than for individual complexes. The special planning zone guidelines will serve as a guideline when establishing maintenance plans.

For development residual sites within the apartment district that were residential land but did not participate in development, the introduction of non-residential uses, which was previously prohibited, will now be allowed. Central facility sites that served commercial functions will also be allowed to introduce residential uses. The height standard has been changed from the previous limit of five floors or less to up to 40 meters depending on site conditions.

Additionally, small-scale parks planned within existing complexes have been concentrated and arranged with access routes to the Hangang Park Banpo Entrance. Existing large-scale commercial or office facilities can also be reconstructed at a scale equal to or greater than the existing size. The city plans to finalize and announce the Banpo Apartment District Unit Plan early next year after a public inspection notice for residents.

At the same Urban and Architectural Committee meeting, the "Sangsu Station Area District Unit Planning Zone and Plan Amendment," which centers on the expansion of dormitories at Hongik University, was also approved with amendments.

This plan, proposed by Hongik University, involves demolishing old buildings such as the existing International Education Hall, South Gate Hall, and Foreigners' Dormitory, and expanding new dormitories. It includes plans to expand part of the existing dormitory street zone and increase dormitory rooms from 141 to 193. The floor area ratio will be relaxed by 20%, and the provision of a Youth Learning Center as a community contribution facility is also included.

Furthermore, with the lifting of the station area youth housing designation in the 50-1 Gonghang-dong area of Gangseo-gu, a proposal to partially amend the "Airport District Center District Unit Planning Zone" plan to maintain consistency was also approved as originally proposed. This includes adding some area to the zone and changing the maximum development scale and floor area ratio.

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