At the crossroads between rehabilitation and redevelopment: A critique of Seoul’s Sewunsangga inner-city renewal project

Abstract

Urban renewal was introduced to Seoul in the late 1960s. Since then, many urban renewal projects have been authorized by the Urban Renewal General Plan and the Urban Renewal Act, but most have been implemented through redevelopment. Redevelopment has been criticised as producing a monotonous cityscape and an urban cavity. In 2001, the Urban Renewal General Plan1 was announced, promoting development based on rehabilitation and conservation for Environmentally Sound and Sustainable Development (ESSD). One of the latest projects is the Sewunsangga Renewal Project. Since the government proposed this rehabilitation plan in 2003, two revisions have changed it from a rehabilitation project to something more like a redevelopment one. In 2013, the new mayor again authorised rehabilitation of the Sewunsangga2 area. This study tracks changes in the plans and examines their effects on the project. It also discusses how rehabilitation and redevelopment have been conceptualised in the urban renewal of Seoul.