Yeongdeungpo-gu Village Yard Reborn as an Urban Oasis for Rest and Healing

Renovation Completed for Four Aging 'Maeulmadang' Sites... Transformed into Rest Areas Enjoyable for Children to Seniors
Installation of Children's Play Equipment like Trampolines, Replacement of Exercise and Rest Facilities, Seasonal Garden Creation
Creation of Cork Walking Paths and Application of Crime Prevention Environmental Design for Safe Park Environment

Cotton Village Village Yard After Renovation

Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it has renovated four village yards, which serve as rest areas for residents in the city center, and reopened them as relaxing and healing spaces.

The small parks known as village yards have become beloved rest areas for residents in the urban center, where parks and green spaces are scarce.

However, over time, the rest facilities and exercise equipment became rusty or broken, and children's playground equipment was damaged, necessitating maintenance. Moreover, cracks in the pavement raised safety concerns for users.

In response, the district invested a budget of 1.2 billion KRW from national and city funds to refurbish the aging village yards. The targeted locations are ▲ Mokhwa Village Yard (Mullae-dong) ▲ Deokcheon-gil Village Yard (Singil 4-dong) ▲ Hope Village Yard (Singil 6-dong) ▲ Ssamsi Village Yard (Daerim 2-dong), totaling four sites.

The maintenance work focused on three main areas. First, replacing old and unsafe children's playground equipment, exercise facilities, and rest areas. Second, planting trees to expand green spaces within the city. Lastly, applying Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) to create a safer park environment.

In particular, the district extensively revamped the children's play area at Deokcheon-gil Village Yard. Instead of the existing plastic combination playground, various physical play facilities such as trampolines, net playgrounds, and rock climbing walls were installed to encourage active play.

Eco-friendly materials were used to create walking paths that promote residents' health and safety. The walking paths at Mokhwa and Deokcheon-gil Village Yards were made from cork (the outer bark of oak trees), which contains no harmful substances, reducing the risk of injury during walks.

Additionally, at Hope and Ssamsi Village Yards, ‘smart shade shelters’ that automatically open depending on the weather and ‘swing benches’ were installed to enhance convenience for residents.

Furthermore, various flowering trees such as Japanese snowbell, magnolia, and cornelian cherry, along with seasonal flowers like azaleas, hydrangeas, and reeds, were planted throughout the village yards so residents can experience nature close by even in the city.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “The aging village yards have been transformed into green resting places where everyone from children to seniors can safely enjoy. We will continue to strive to expand community parks that allow residents to engage in various exercises and leisure activities.”

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