Japan's 'Miyashita Park'-style Parks... Seoul City Expands to Private Lands

Creation of Complex Spaces Above and Below Parks and Roads
Plan to Permit Within the First Half of This Year
"Maximizing Limited Land Use for a Leap Toward a Three-Dimensional City"

Seoul will soon be able to have three-dimensional parks similar to Tokyo Shibuya’s ‘Miyashita Park.’ On the 26th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced plans to expand the ‘three-dimensional park system,’ which allows parks to be created on top of infrastructure such as roads and cultural facilities or private buildings, to include private land.

Three-dimensional parks are created by developing parks on top of infrastructure such as commercial facilities (shopping centers) and cultural facilities (performance halls). A representative example is ‘Miyashita Park’ in Shibuya, Tokyo, which has emerged as a new landmark by creating a park above commercial facilities and low-rise hotels.

Currently, in Seoul, three-dimensional parks can be created on public land, but when developing private land, parks can only be created in a flat form. Despite the mandatory park and green space area (at least 5% of the site area) during large-scale developments such as redevelopment and reconstruction, there have been criticisms that three-dimensional parks cannot be created, leading to inefficient use of land.

The city plans to fully apply the ‘three-dimensional park system’ to redevelopment, reconstruction, and urban development projects in Seoul. While the principle is to donate land in the form of parkland considering the characteristics of parks and green spaces, three-dimensional parks will be allowed if public interest and sustainability are secured, taking into account local conditions and project characteristics.

The city explained, “Through this, land efficiency can be maximized, and the space beneath the park can be developed into cultural and commercial complex spaces to enhance economic feasibility.” It added, “Furthermore, by additionally creating various facilities under the park, it is possible to sufficiently secure lacking local living infrastructure such as cultural and sports facilities, childcare facilities, and parking lots.”

The expansion of the three-dimensional park system to private land is expected to be implemented in the first half of this year. To this end, since February, the city has been preparing the ‘Three-dimensional Infrastructure Operation Standards,’ which include plans to develop multifunctional complex spaces above and below urban planning facilities such as roads, including three-dimensional parks.

The ‘Three-dimensional Infrastructure Operation Standards’ include ▲criteria for urban management plan decisions for three-dimensional infrastructure ▲standards for facility creation to secure sustainable public facility functions ▲and plans to establish an integrated maintenance system after development. Detailed creation standards that can maintain a continuous planting base and ecological environment for three-dimensional parks will be presented. The integrated maintenance system will also include management and operation standards between private and public sectors.

Cho Nam-jun, head of the Urban Space Headquarters of Seoul City, stated, “Through innovative and convergent space utilization, this will serve as a stepping stone to transform Seoul, where park creation sites are limited, into a three-dimensional complex city.”

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