Seongdong-gu, Creation of Shared Garden Utilizing Seongsu-dong Public Open Space

Public Space in Front of Seongsu-dong Hyundai Terra Tower Created as a Shared Garden 'The Forest Terrace' Through Public-Private Cooperation
An 80m Long Rectangular Green Rest Area, Setting a Precedent for Garden Culture in Seongsu-dong with Many Knowledge Industry Centers

Seongdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jung Won-oh) announced that the publicly accessible space in front of Hyundai Terrastower in Seongsu-dong has been newly developed into a beautiful shared garden resting area filled with greenery.

Seongdong-gu, together with the Hyundai Terrastower management team, carried out the ‘Public-Private Partnership Publicly Accessible Space Shared Garden Creation’ project and completed the shared garden named ‘The Forest Terrace’ last April.

A ‘publicly accessible space’ is a ‘public space within a private area’ where private building owners receive benefits such as floor area ratio incentives in exchange for pledging to provide part of their land for use by the general public. As of the first quarter of 2024, there are a total of 95 publicly accessible spaces in Seongdong-gu, of which 76, or 80%, are located in Seongsu-dong.

Seongdong-gu is striving to create a city where residents can reach a garden within a 5-minute walk through the ‘5-Minute Daily Garden City Seongdong’ initiative. However, Seongsu-dong has densely packed narrow buildings in every alley, making it difficult to expand green spaces. Therefore, Seongdong-gu utilized publicly accessible spaces within Seongsu-dong to secure green resting areas.

The shared garden is an 80-meter-long rectangular space where circular planters are repeatedly arranged to clearly define the spatial characteristics. Additionally, seating was installed for residents to sit and rest, serving as a resting area. Furthermore, large trees measuring 6 meters were planted in a row, and shrubs and ground-cover perennials were arranged to display various seasonal images.

The once rarely visited and aging publicly accessible space has been transformed into a beautiful green resting area, providing new attractions and resting spots for residents visiting the Seongsu-dong area. It is also noteworthy as a precedent for spreading garden culture in Seongsu-dong, which has many knowledge industry centers.

Jung Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “If the public and private sectors cooperate to improve publicly accessible spaces into lush green areas, they will become enjoyable places where people gather and spots where people want to stop while walking.” He added, “We will do our best to make this project a good starting point for public-private partnership garden creation and to further develop into a garden city where gardens can be enjoyed throughout the urban area.”

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