Mayor Kim Dong-geun: "Creating a People-Centered City, Making Uijeongbu a Place Where People Want to Walk"

Uijeongbu City Redesigns 'Urban Streets' for People
Green Paths, Garden City, and Walking Apps: Designing a Human-Centered City
Barefoot Paths, Cheongbori-gil, and Dirt Trails to Experience Nature in the City
Changing Streets, Transforming the City: Uijeongbu's Walkable Transformation

Uijeongbu City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Kim Dong-geun) is redesigning the city's streets. From barefoot dirt paths, walking apps for daily life, maintenance of local alleys and parks, to creating pedestrian-centered streets. Various attempts to create a city where people want to walk are gradually permeating citizens' daily lives.

Barefoot Youth Road. Provided by Uijeongbu City

According to Uijeongbu City on the 15th, the city plans to change citizens' lives through desirable streets based on the philosophy of "a city centered on people."

Uijeongbu City is creating dirt walking trails throughout the downtown area through the "Barefoot Path Project." So far, 10 locations have been completed, and the plan is to expand to a total of 23 locations within this year. A representative example, Jungnangcheon’s "Barefoot Youth Path," is a healing space where people can walk barefoot while listening to natural sounds, contributing to relieving citizens' daily stress. The nearby "Cheongbori-gil" is also a popular 1 km green walking trail.

Policies to promote walking using digital technology also stand out.

In March, the city launched the walking app "Everyone's Runner," allowing any citizen to record their step count and participate in challenges and stamp tours. The "Everyone's Runner" app can be downloaded from the smartphone Play Store or App Store. The linked project, the "Uijeongbu Walking King" challenge, encourages voluntary participation by providing small rewards to citizens who achieve their step goals through "Everyone's Runner." As part of this project, a pilot challenge for office workers (public officials) was conducted with 479 participants, of whom 225 successfully completed the challenge. During this period, participants averaged 8,414 steps per day, and the walking adherence rate for five or more days was 20.9%. The most active day was Friday. Walking has now naturally evolved beyond simple exercise to health management and community participation, and a citizen-centered walking culture combined with digital technology is spreading throughout Uijeongbu.

Cheongbori-gil. Provided by Uijeongbu City

Beloved streets by citizens are also being reborn one after another.

Jangam-dong’s "Neulpum-gil" is a small path stretching from the entrance of Dongmakgol underpass to Island Castle, cherished by local residents as "Our Neighborhood Spring Path" where they can feel the changes of the seasons. The recently renovated Songsan Temple Neighborhood Park has improved accessibility with expanded parking lots, increasing family visitors. The entrance plaza of Jikdong Neighborhood Park in front of Howon 2-dong Community Center was once a restricted military facility site but has been transformed into a green space, establishing itself as an open area where people can enjoy leisure and relaxation in daily life.

Projects such as "Ganeung-dong C.STREET" and "Mangwol-ro Walkable Street Creation Project" are attempting urban redesign focused on pedestrian spaces in local commercial centers. In particular, the community space under the Ganeung Station overpass is gaining attention as a communication space for local residents.

In June, the "Uijeongbu Garden Festa," a garden culture festival, will be held at the lawn plaza in front of City Hall. Through various contents such as garden exhibitions, experience programs, and flower pop-up stores, it will offer citizens a moment of leisure within the urban space.

Uijeongbu City interprets urban restructuring not as mere maintenance but as a message of restoring the "walking life." An experience of wrapping up the day, feeling nature, taking care of health, and connecting with neighbors. Efforts to create a city where all these are possible are ongoing. Uijeongbu is ready. Now, only the citizens' footsteps remain.

Aerial view of Mangwol-ro. Provided by Uijeongbu City

Mayor Kim Dong-geun said, "The best way to change a city is to create spaces where citizens can walk and stay comfortably," adding, "We will continue to do our best to create a people-centered city and a Uijeongbu where quality of life thrives."