From a visit to 경원대 on 2/20/08.
1993 - Formation of the NGO 걷고싶은 도시만들기 시민연대 (도시연대 for short), or Citizen's Coalition for Making Walkable Cities (my translation).
January 1997 - Seoul City Council sets an ordinance supporting walkability, prompting other Korean cities to follow. The "tipping point."
1998 - The first master plan to improve walkability in Seoul, backed by Mayor Koh.
One of the initial acts of the NGO was a publicity event involving several politicians in wheelchairs. Their stated goals were to improve the walking environment around school zones and to restore aboveground pedestrian crossings. Members of the coalition included young council members, Seoul Metropolitan Government officials, professional urban designers, and activists.
They had to overcome the inertia of an automobile-dominated culture. City planning up until then prioritized driver's rights, expanding or opening new roads to accommodate demand, and displacing important pedestrian amenities. One particularly damaging traffic law provision allowed for only one kind of pedestrian crossing at any intersection. Thus, in places where underground walkways or pedestrian overpasses were built, crosswalks had to be removed, for the sake of unimpeded car travel. This included major intersections with subway stations that could serve as underground detours.
Early on the coalition recognized that they need to enact hard policy that could survive across changing mayoral administrations. They needed both mayoral action and supporting legislation to implement the 5-year plans. Hence, the city ordinance promoting walkability.
Fixing the streets is quite complicated. Sidewalk standards are set in national and city laws, and local governments are responsible for maintaining their own streets. Larger arterial roads, however, are managed by the city. Because these measures affect public safety, local police departments also have a large say in matters like restoring street-level crosswalks. Finally, transportation law continues to resist design changes. As a result, improvements are locally spotty, and law reform like the Korean analogue to the ADA is applied to transportation law.
The legal system is unique to Korea, and Parliament is the main obstacle to change, though one member is raising these issues. The next big step, then, is to change the legal framework to include the concept of pedestrian-oriented streets (woonerf, rather than car-free).
The other obstacle is the individual mindset, the perception that roads are primarily for the driver instead of the pedestrian. This is the area I would like to further focus on.
Random asides:
- The first 5-year plan included ten broad projects to begin making Seoul more walkable; Mayor Koh adopted most of these, save the residential district improvements.
- The second 5-year plan was made by transportation specialists and reflects a different focus: downtown project demonstrations, connectivity, 무교동길 as a model street...
- 녹색교통 is another NGO promoting similar goals.
- 13,000 car accident deaths in 1993, half were pedestrians; these have dropped 40-50% since.
- Appealing to the safety needs of children was a primary argument for walkability; seniors and disabled people were invoked in certain cases but not universally.
- 일산 is a new town popular among seniors, with plenty of facilities and senior centers for their needs.
- 인사동 is home to many disabled people, and activism for their needs resulted in removing the 안국 pedestrian overpass.
- Korea has passed the 'motoration age,' and rights of drivers are losing importance.
