Gwangjin-gu Jayang 4-dong 12-10 ... Geumcheon-gu Siheung 1·3-dong Selected for Moa Town Project

[Seoul District News] Gwangjin-gu Groups Low-Rise Residential Areas Difficult to Redevelop for Joint Development Like Large Apartment Complexes & Project Accelerated to Complete Management Area Designation by Late Next Year ... Gangbuk-gu Presents Vision and Development Plans for Urban Environment and Safety ... Geumcheon-gu Selects Siheung 1 and 3-dong in Seoul City Moa Town Additional Contest ... Gangbuk-gu Selected Two Sites at Beon-dong 411 and Suyu-dong 52-1 & Project Progress Including Management Plan from Next Year Expected to Gain Momentum

Small-scale Housing Maintenance Management Area around 12-10 Jayang 4-dong, Gwangjin-gu

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Jayang 4-dong in Gwangjin-gu (Mayor Kim Kyung-ho) was selected as a Moa Town target site by Seoul City on the 21st, marking the official start of urban development.

For the area around Jayang 4-dong 12-10 (approximately 80,600㎡), which was selected as a Moa Town target site, a management plan will be established promptly. After going through procedures such as public inspection by residents and integrated review, the designation of a small-scale housing maintenance management area is planned to be completed by the second half of next year, with the project being swiftly promoted.

Additionally, the 27th of this month will be designated and announced as the rights calculation reference date to block the influx of speculative forces.

The development of aging low-rise residential areas through Moa Town is one of the key projects of Gwangjin-gu Mayor Kim Kyung-ho's 8th term. It is a new maintenance method that groups aging and deteriorated low-rise residential areas with more than 50% aging and within 100,000㎡, where new and old buildings are mixed and large-scale redevelopment is difficult, into one group to supply high-quality housing like large apartment complexes.

With the launch of the 8th term, the district established two dedicated support teams for reconstruction and redevelopment and one small-scale project team, actively engaging in urban development.

Following the additional call for applications for Moa Town by Seoul City in July, the district decided to nominate the area around Jayang 4-dong 12-10, where five street housing maintenance projects are concentrated, a local PR center operates, and residents strongly support the project through their own explanatory meetings.

On August 18th, a Moa Town briefing session was held for all residents, providing information through the district's promotional electronic display boards and website, producing explanatory materials to ensure easy understanding and participation, and conducting various promotional activities.

As a result, the area around Jayang 4-dong 12-10 in Gwangjin-gu received over 100 points in the self-evaluation, including bonus points, and was selected as a target site. Moa Town selection is based on evaluation criteria such as ▲whether the Moa housing collective promotion is feasible ▲whether the site aligns with the purpose of Moa Town ▲urgency of maintenance ▲the ratio of semi-basement houses and habitual flood areas, with final selection decided by a selection committee if the score exceeds 70 points.

Gwangjin-gu Mayor Kim Kyung-ho said, “I hope this Moa Town selection meets the aspirations of local residents for urban development and becomes a stepping stone for the urban advancement of Gwangjin-gu.” He added, “We will continue to comprehensively reorganize urban planning and actively promote reconstruction, redevelopment, and small-scale housing maintenance projects in low-rise residential areas to improve the living environment and achieve development that meets residents’ desires for change.”

Geumcheon-gu (Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon) announced that two locations, Siheung 1-dong and Siheung 3-dong, were selected in the additional Seoul City Moa Town call for applications.

The selected Moa Town candidate sites are ▲Siheung 1-dong 864 area ▲Siheung 3-dong 950 area.

Geumcheon-gu has been smoothly promoting the Moa Town project in three areas?Siheung 3, 4, and 5-dong?selected as a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport leading project last April. With the addition of these two candidate sites, the project will be promoted in a total of five locations.

Moa Town is a small-scale housing maintenance management area designated by Seoul City that groups aging low-rise residential areas within 100,000㎡, where large-scale redevelopment is difficult, and develops them like large apartment complexes.

Geumcheon-gu plans to start establishing a management plan for the newly selected sites within the first half of 2023, and after going through Seoul City’s public inspection and integrated review procedures, will swiftly promote the project to complete the designation of the small-scale housing maintenance management area with legal effect in the second half of the year.

Geumcheon-gu Mayor Yoo Sung-hoon said, “In addition to Moa Town, we are promoting maintenance projects such as redevelopment of the low-rise residential area on the east side of Siheung-daero and are making efforts to discover additional sites.” He added, “We will continue to communicate with residents to improve the residential environment in Geumcheon-gu through maintenance projects.”

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) was selected as a target site for the 2022 second half Seoul City Moa Town contest on the 21st.

Moa Town is a district-level housing maintenance project that groups aging low-rise residential areas within 100,000㎡ into one group, systematically refurbishes the residential area, and expands convenience facilities such as underground parking lots. It has received strong support from residents who find large-scale redevelopment projects difficult to pursue.

Before selecting the project target sites, the district received intention letters from residents for five Moa Town sites and reviewed the urgency and feasibility of the projects based on ▲whether small-scale housing maintenance projects are collectively promoted ▲poor infrastructure such as parking and parks ▲building aging, and submitted two sites to Seoul City.

As a result, both Beon-dong 411 area (approximately 79,517㎡) and Suyu-dong 52-1 area (approximately 72,754㎡) were selected as Moa Town target sites. This adds two more sites following the Beon-dong 1-5 districts designated as pilot areas last year and the Beon-dong 454 area selected in the first half of this year (photo).

The district plans to establish management plans for these areas starting next year, designate small-scale housing maintenance management areas, and proceed with the project. The Moa Town target sites for the second half of this year will be designated and announced as the rights calculation reference date on the 27th (Thursday).

Gangbuk-gu Mayor Lee Soon-hee said, “All the areas applied for by the district have been selected as Moa Town target sites, which is a great achievement.” She added, “We will actively promote housing maintenance projects to lead changes in Gangbuk-gu in the direction residents desire.”

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) has presented a new vision titled "Creating a Safe Urban Environment That Empowers My Life" to bring a fresh wave of change across the urban environment and safety sectors in the 8th term of the local government.

On the 14th, the vision was derived through special education on urban environment and safety, as well as field inspections of innovation and best practices. The district has decided to actively promote four concrete development plans to realize this vision.

■ Joint Education of the Four Northeastern Districts to Improve Urban Environment and Prevent Major Accidents

First, Gangbuk-gu will host joint education sessions for the four northeastern districts to improve the urban environment and prevent major accidents. This initiative aims to create a distinctive urban environment unique to the four northeastern districts and prevent major accidents to ensure the safety of workers and citizens. The education sessions will be held regularly at least twice a year, with participation from the four northeastern districts, related organizations, and private companies. On the 5th and 6th of this month, a special education session on urban environment and safety was held at the Gangbuk-gu Office auditorium, featuring Professor Cho Sung-il from the Department of Fire Protection and Disaster Prevention at the University of Seoul.

■ Expansion of Urban Environment Improvement Projects Including Pilot Creation of Gangbuk’s Unique Premium Streets

Second, a pilot project will be launched to create premium streets with unique designs that reflect the region’s traditions. The project area includes not only the main roads and station areas in Gangbuk but also neglected side streets so that residents can directly experience the changes. Additionally, Gangbuk-gu plans to actively participate in public contests proposed by central government ministries and other local governments in the urban environment sector to secure budgets.

■ Benchmarking Domestic and International Innovative Best Practices to Create a Sustainable Environmental City

Third, to build a sustainable environmental city, Gangbuk-gu will benchmark innovative and exemplary cases both domestically and internationally. In November, the district plans to visit the Korea Green Infrastructure Low Impact Development (LID) Center at Pusan National University and Busan City to introduce LID technology. This aims to prevent flood damage caused by heavy rains and reduce fine dust and urban heat island effects. Furthermore, through domestic and international industrial inspections, Gangbuk-gu will continuously adopt advanced technologies leading the urban environment sector.

■ Improving Urban Aesthetics by Incorporating Creative Designs into Large-scale Construction Site Screens and Safety Fences

Lastly, the district will improve urban aesthetics by incorporating creative designs into large-scale construction site screens and safety fences. This approach will enhance communication by promoting the Gangbuk-gu slogan for the 8th term and various district policies, creating a pleasant urban image. Moreover, the district plans to utilize Seoul’s youth design workforce support policies to further improve the cityscape.

Mayor Lee Soon-hee of Gangbuk-gu stated, "Now, 100 days after the launch of the 8th term, it is time for Gangbuk-gu to transform into a new central city in the northeastern region. We will do our utmost to improve the urban environment and ensure the safety of residents so that they can feel the changes firsthand."

Gangbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) has presented a new vision titled “Creating a Safe Urban Environment That Empowers My Life” to bring a fresh wave of change across urban environment and safety sectors in the 8th term of the local government.

Through special education on urban environment and safety and field visits to innovative and exemplary cases, the vision was derived on the 14th, and four specific development plans to realize it will be actively pursued.

Joint education among the four northeastern districts to improve urban environment and prevent major accidents

First, Gangbuk-gu will host joint education sessions among the four northeastern districts to improve the urban environment and prevent major accidents. This is to create a distinctive urban environment unique to the four northeastern districts and to prevent major accidents for the safety of workers and citizens.

The education will be held regularly at least twice a year, with participation from the four northeastern districts, related organizations, and private companies. On the 5th and 6th, a special education session on urban environment and safety was held at the Gangbuk-gu Office auditorium, featuring Professor Cho Sung-il from the Department of Fire Protection and Disaster Science at the University of Seoul.

Expansion of urban environment improvement projects including pilot creation of Gangbuk’s distinctive premium streets

Second, a pilot project will be launched to create Gangbuk’s distinctive premium streets incorporating design techniques that preserve the region’s traditional characteristics. The project area includes not only Gangbuk’s main roads and station areas but also back streets and neglected areas so that residents can directly feel the changes. The district also plans to actively participate in urban environment-related public contests proposed by central government ministries and other local governments to secure budgets.

Benchmarking domestic and international innovative best practices to create a sustainable environmental city

Third, to create a sustainable environmental city, the district will benchmark innovative and exemplary cases domestically and internationally. In November, the district plans to visit the Low Impact Development (LID) Center of Korea Green Infrastructure at Pusan National University and Busan City to introduce LID technology. This aims to prevent flood damage caused by heavy rains and reduce fine dust and urban heat island effects.

Additionally, the district plans to continuously introduce advanced technologies in the urban environment field through domestic and international industrial inspections.

Improving urban aesthetics by applying creative designs to large-scale construction site screens and safety fences

Lastly, creative designs will be applied to large-scale construction site screens and safety fences to improve urban aesthetics. This aligns with the Gangbuk-gu slogan for the 8th term and various district policies to enhance communication and create a pleasant urban image. Furthermore, the district plans to utilize Seoul City’s youth design workforce support policies to improve the cityscape.

Gangbuk-gu Mayor Lee Soon-hee said, “Now, 100 days after the launch of the 8th term, it is time for Gangbuk-gu to transform into a new central city in the northeastern area.” She added, “We will do our best to improve the urban environment and ensure residents’ safety so that residents can feel the changes firsthand.”