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Urban Sustainability Versus Green-Washing—Fallacy and Reality of Urban Regeneration in Downtown Seoul

Author

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  • Thorsten Schuetze

    (Department of Architecture, SungKyunKwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do 440-746, Korea
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Lorenzo Chelleri

    (Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), Urban Studies Unit, L’Aquila 67100, Italy
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

This paper examines the planning paradigm shift related to the contested “urban renaissance” mega-project in Downtown Seoul (Korea). Similar to other global cities, over the last few decades, different mega-projects have been successfully implemented in Seoul. These projects have been considered engines for urban renewals and transformation. This paper builds on the analysis of the failure and re-framing planning strategy for the Green Corridor (GC) mega-project, part of the “Urban Renaissance Master Plan for Downtown Seoul”. The GC case reveals various critical insights for urban sustainability: (i) the current mega-projects’ sustainability fallacy, related to top-down, technocratic densification, and greening practices; and (ii) the untapped potential of Asian traditional and irregular small scale urban patterns, and their related socio-cultural value in addressing the renaissance of the long term urban sustainability. In particular, the discussed research findings point out that urban renaissance enabling sustainability principles requires integrated, small scale, incremental, and adaptive (stepwise) urban planning and design processes that go well beyond general strategies following the so-called “green growth” paradigm.

Suggested Citation

  • Thorsten Schuetze & Lorenzo Chelleri, 2015. "Urban Sustainability Versus Green-Washing—Fallacy and Reality of Urban Regeneration in Downtown Seoul," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2015:i:1:p:33-:d:61498
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. C. Genta & S. Favaro & G. Sonetti & G. V. Fracastoro & P. Lombardi, 2022. "Quantitative assessment of environmental impacts at the urban scale: the ecological footprint of a university campus," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 5826-5845, April.
    3. Changhee Kim & Soo Wook Kim & Hee Jay Kang & Seung-Min Song, 2017. "What Makes Urban Transportation Efficient? Evidence from Subway Transfer Stations in Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Giulia Sonetti & Martin Brown & Emanuele Naboni, 2019. "About the Triggering of UN Sustainable Development Goals and Regenerative Sustainability in Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, January.

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