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New Forms of Place-Making and Public Space in Cont PDF
New Forms of Place-Making and Public Space in Cont PDF
http://www.scirp.org/journal/cus
ISSN Online: 2328-4919
ISSN Print: 2328-4900
Lecturer, Landscape Architecture, Hong Kong Design Institute, Hong Kong, China
Keywords
Place-Making, Urban Transformation, Place Identity, Sustainability,
Sustainable Social and Cultural Identity
1. Introduction
There is now a widely held belief (King, 2004; Werbner, 1998; Appadurai, 1996)
that contemporary public space is defined by political, economic and technolo-
gical advancements, with the issues surrounding public space directly linked to
the politics and socio-cultural make-up of the local community, and how the si-
tuated histories of places within cities and local society and culture intersect.
Within this context, the majority of recent South East and East Asian urban
2. Methods
In order to understand the Sejong-ro case study area in Seoul, in relation to the
retention and evolution of traditional cultures and the particular kind of place
identity that is emerging, information was collected using a variety of methods.
The primary method involved a series of semi-structured interviews aimed at
gaining a clear insight into the perspectives of different key actors involved in the
Sejong-ro project. The interviews focused on building up a comprehensive narr-
ative of their knowledge, experience, and sense of identity and sustainability in
new place making. The interviews were conducted with officials from government,
local authorities, public and private producers, developers, non-governmental
organizations, and residents. Other methods of obtaining information involved
direct observations within the field, and gathering archival material such as gov-
ernment documents, newspapers, previous research work and policy documents.
The research employed morphological and typological field surveys. The em-
pirical study in Jongro, Seoul was carried out from April to December, 2012.
Using William Whyte’s “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces” (1980) as a key
precedent, these research methods provide a means of gaining a deeper insight
into practical questions and issues relating to local identity.
21 semi-structured interviews were carried out with key decision makers and
those in urban design-related professions to ascertain the value and appreciation
of place-identity; two focus group meetings with users and one workshop with
urban design students were also part of the enquiry. These interviews were de-
signed to gain feedback from representatives of the four different key actors
groups involved with Seoul’s development and new town projects in South Ko-
rea; government, public/private producers, controllers and consumers (users
and residents).
3. Seoul in Retrospect
Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is situated in the northwest of the country. It is
a settlement that has existed for over 2000 years. In the 14th Century it was es-
tablished as the capital of Joseon, a sovereign state that preceded the formation
of Korea. With Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) came the development of a
modernised public infrastructure and increased urbanization across Korea and
in Seoul in particular. This evolution is visible in the street patterns of Seoul to-
day, with the northern and southern sides of the city each having a particular
morphological character. The southern part of the city that has grown up since
the period of Japanese colonial rule has a recognisably rectilinear urban grid,
whereas the northern part is more organic and diverse in character, and retains
the layout put in place based on the principles of geomancy 600 years ago (see
Figure 1).
Since the end of Japanese rule in 1945 Seoul has steadily grown in size as a
consequence of urban migration and economic development. As the city has
grown it has evolved from a linear city into a polycentric-core (multi-core) city
of approximately 600 km2 in size, with a population of 10.5 million people with-
in the city itself, and a population of 23 million within the wider metropolitan
area (http://www.seoul.go.kr/)
The historical development of Seoul is thus recognizable in the characteristic
building typologies from each period, with the traditional buildings that pre-date
the Japanese colonization, the key buildings from the colonial period that have
been retained, and the modern architecture that has grown up since Korean in-
dependence (see Figure 2).
Figure 1. Typology of Seoul in the northern part of the city (on left) and southern part
(on right), (source: Seoul City Hall, 2009).
Figure 2. Gyeongbuk Palace, originally constructed from 1395 onwards, (source: Kim,
2013); Bank of Korea, built in 1909, (source: Kernbeisser, 2010); Jongro Tower, built in
1999, (source: Author, 2012).
Figure 5. View of Historic Corridor (source: Author, 2012). Note: Historic Corridor with
Sejong-no as the principal boulevard running between the informal spatial structure and
cultural usage within Samcheong Dong to the north and the heritage sites, City Hall and
new public space to the south.
location of the Governor General Building of Seoul, completed in 1926 and oc-
cupied by the Japanese colonial rulers of Korea until the United States received
the Japanese surrender from this building at the end of the Second World War
in 1945 (Yoo, 2010).
Following this, the building continued as government offices for the Korean
Government for a further 40 years, until 1982 when it was converted to a mu-
seum and opened to the public. Over this period the building and what it
represented continued as a topic of much debate in relation to the modern iden-
tity and history of South Korea. In 1996 the Korean Government reached the
decision to demolish the building. For many South Koreans, although there were
changes of occupation in the intervening years this building continued to sym-
bolize the period of Japanese rule and some welcomed the demolition. But for
many others, particularly amongst the younger generation the building was an
important landmark. This view was underlined by the focus group meetings and
workshop conducted with local users in Seoul; when asked the question what for
them symbolised Seoul’s identity, a number of participants referred to the for-
mer Governor General Building.
Reviewing the process of the decision to demolish the colonial building was
partly inspired by the desire to erase the memory of the Japanese colonial era,
and partly inspired by a wish to restore the visual symmetry and appearance of
the Sejong-no Boulevard, Gate and Palace beyond (see Figure 6).
With the demolition of the Governor General Building at the northern end of
Sejong-no complete, the Historic Corridor design proposals include a renova-
tion of the boulevard itself, with the central reservation updated to include water
and landscape features and new paving. This boulevard is a destination for tour-
ists and for certain national celebrations when the 8 lanes of traffic are closed,
the 600 metre long boulevard is transformed into a 100 metre wide pedestrian
processional space (see Figure 7).
Figure 6. Sejong-no from 1965 (left) showing the domed roof of the Japanese colonial
Governor General Building at the northern end. A more recent view of Sejong-no (right)
with the building demolished (Park, 2017).
Figure 7. Views of new public space along Sejong-no and Gyeongbok Palace (Source:
Yoo, 2010).
Figure 8. Sejong-no: Spatial analysis with cultural activity (Source: Author, 2012).
Figure 9. Samcheong-dong: Spatial analysis with cultural activity (Source: Author, 2012).
they give a great sense of character and identity for a city, and offer the chance
for surprise discoveries for visitors”.
Another user commented “I prefer this as I like undulating and hilly towns
more that flat ones. I get a better sense of place when I can review the hills
around.”
This rooted cultural and social activity stands in contrast to the new develop-
ment along the boulevard of Sejong-no, the large central strip of public, pede-
strian-only space is currently underused and lacking in this activity and vitality.
It is the view of certain planners, such as those overseeing the development of
the central boulevard in Putrajaya, Malaysia, that informal usage and creative
occupation of public space along central boulevards serving public offices is in-
appropriate (Choi, 2011). The planners of Putrajaya feel that the central boule-
vard should be reserved for national festival activities. However, there is a dan-
ger that this reserved approach to place-making becomes, to quote Stern and
Hall (2010), “disassociated from current residents, their needs and activities, and
the infrastructure that supports those needs and activities.” The feedback from
the 21 participants in the interview process, including members of the Seoul
planning department, have revealed how the urban policy for each region is only
geared towards commercial growth and increasing the international competi-
tiveness of each region, rather than focusing on localization.
Frampton (1985) argued that modern architecture should engage with and
respond to its particular context, in order to revive the old and enrich the new,
resulting in an evolving and sustainable sense of place identity.
In essence, the importance of public space is a political concern, but there is a
growing body of evidence that public space also provides a range of benefits
across economic, cultural and environmental spheres. One of the key historical
changes facilitating the rise of the public sphere is the increasing differentiation
of society and particularly a separation of political authority from the sphere of
everyday and domestic life. In a semi-structured interview with the key decision
makers from the planning department, the respondent (2012) mentioned that
“..the government’s top-down approach to policy-making and policy implemen-
tation is common. Recently, a committee has been organized as a local auto-
nomous entity to proceed with their urban development by giving an autonom-
ous strength, especially for the democratic urban policy-making process, but
there exists no clear role to control the committee. Therefore, undemocratic and
political lobbying arises without the participation and engagement of the com-
munity.” This relates to new place-making and the maintenance of the culture
and vitality of a region. R. King (2009: p. 616) argued that, in Korea, “new cul-
tural production is overwhelming either pastiche or electronic; political activity
slips from the Third Estate of popular democracy to an emerging Fifth Estate of
the Internet and the weblog. Particularly, in Korea’s case we may have the para-
dox of the weakly defined nation slipping away, into a wider imagined commu-
nity, even as the dream of Korean distinctiveness cuts ever deeper.”
5. Defining Disappearance
Understanding the urban changes in Korea in terms of sustainable national and
local identity, there are applicable lessons to be learnt from the architectural ty-
pology of the government buildings within Seoul.
Since independence from Japan in 1945, the seat of Seoul’s city government
has been the City Hall building (see Figure 12, in foreground), a gothic revival
building that was built during the period of Japanese rule. The classical details of
columns and portico echo the traditional hierarchy that still exists within the
successive “republics” of South Korean rule. A recent addition to the govern-
ment buildings in Seoul is the new President’s office (see Figure 12, in back-
ground). The existing colonial building retains a rooted sense of place whilst the
new addition represents a future-orientated approach to providing a new identi-
ty.
The interpretations of such identities in architectural built form are connected
to the wider issues of society and the public realm, and at a more intimate level
relate to materiality and human experience. In a semi-structured interview with
Lim, a local resident, when questioned about the changing usage and perception
of the area, she commented “I have been living here since the Korean-Japanese
War. Some of the local housing has been converted to hotels and many tourists
come to see our traditional way of life and atmosphere. The way we live our lives
is how it has been for generations.” These comments highlight the particular
sense of place that exists within Seoul.
In addition, cultural identity includes social activities that provide relation-
ships between public space and users’ activities, enhancing a sense of place. In
Seoul, there are many cultural and historical events, festivals and public perfor-
mances, engaging inhabitants and visitors and encouraging their participation.
From the workshop meeting with Seoul residents these events and festivals were
highlighted as a key element of the city’s identity.
Figure 12. Old and New City Hall in Seoul (source: Seoul Metropolitan Government,
2010).
The participants further stated that the retention of historical and memorable
built form in urban development is something they valued. Especially, the reten-
tion rather than demolition of heritage buildings can embody users’ memories
and sense of time and place, encouraging an evolving form of cultural usage and
activity and informing the creation of a particular kind of local identity. The
spatial analysis and assessment of cultural activity shown in Figure 13 illustrates
how the traditional built form of the Old City Hall and the contemporary New
City Hall have been supplemented by a new form of public space to the south,
within which space has been reserved for evolving forms of cultural usage.
This understanding of the local identity of Seoul urban development high-
lights how the new design approaches to the area are concerned and focused
with the creation of the hard tissue of building form within the context of the soft
tissue aspects of cultural identity and community engagement, in order to empha-
sise continuity, distinctiveness, and self-esteem (Twigger-Ross and Uzzell, 1996),
Figure 13. Samcheong-dong: Spatial analysis with cultural activity (Source: Choi and Lee, 2012). Note: This figure shows the ex-
tensions of cultural usage within the context of heritage and government building and in relation to new forms of public space,
with an evolving building typology from the Old to the New City Hall building. The density of cultural usage between the City
Hall and public space and defined by the Heritage (landmark) buildings and its neighbourhood represents how this new form of
public space can provide a social and cultural network that maintains a tension between the history and contemporary life of the
area.
6. Conclusion
Reviewing the sustainable environmental, social and cultural urban development
taking place, it is important to give consideration to the new forms of public
space and place identity being created in response to global forces or transna-
tional urban changes.
A critical understanding of the urban transformations of the public open
space around Sejong-no, including the demolition of the colonial Governor
General Building and the creation of a pedestrian friendly environment, gives a
transferable lesson when considering the tension between political power and
socio-cultural space in place making.
The evolution of the cultural and political identity, street pattern and the nat-
ural landscape within Seoul in particular highlights the way in which the new
place making can be established and commence its own period of evolution. As
the political identity of the government seat in Seoul shifts from a traditional
identity to something new and less identifiable, the new public space created can
sustain and evolve local identity only if it can be accepted and understood by
residents and users in relation to their social and cultural context and structure.
This shows the importance of how changes in the economic system and the po-
litical system influence the transformation of cultural institutions and practice in
place making (Rapoport, 1977).
The local identity created is not that of a fixed, perfect state but rather an
evolving one that responds to changes in the form production process in relation
to its social, cultural, and political context in each city. The value of local identity
in the development of a city’s social structure and physical form is an important
and evolving part of urban design thinking and ideology, in relation to the value
of locality and social and cultural context.
As discussed, place-making is defined not simply in terms of physical aspects,
but also through an understanding and appreciation for cultural processes, whe-
reas the creation of local identity can be clearly interpreted as a political act, not
inspired by a desire to create a particular sense of locality but by political ambi-
tion.
Considering that, it is worth analyzing the tensions of such practices, as the
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