Landscapes: Cheonggyecheon Restoration Projec

37°34'11.64"N | 127° 1'45.63"E

http://en.wikipedia.org/

"Cheonggyecheon is an 8.4 km long, modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. The massive urban renewal project is on the site of a stream that flowed before the rapid post-war economic development required it to be covered by transportation infrastructure. The $900 million project initially attracted much public criticism but, after opening in 2005, has become popular among city residents and tourists.

Cheonggyecheon is a 5.8 km creek flowing west to east through downtown Seoul, and then meeting Jungnangcheon, which in turn connects to the Han River and empties into the Yellow Sea. During the 1948-1960 presidency of Syngman Rhee, Cheonggyecheon was covered with concrete for roads. In 1968, during the presidency of Park Chung-hee, an elevated highway was built over it.

The stream was named Gaecheon ("open stream") after the first refurbishment project to construct a drainage system during the Joseon Dynasty. The work, which included dredging and bolstering the banks of the stream and building the bridges, was carried out every 2/3 years during this period from the reign of Taejong, the third king of the Joseon Dynasty. King Yeonjo especially undertook the refurbishment work as a national project. Gacheon was renamed to Cheonggyecheon, its current name, during the Japanese colonial period. During this time, financial difficulties prevented the colonialists from covering up the stream despite several attempts to do so. After the Korean War (1950–1953), more people migrated into Seoul to make their living and settled down along the stream in shabby makeshift houses. The accompanying trash, sand, and waste, and deteriorating conditions resulted in an eyesore in the city. The stream was covered up with concrete step by step for 20 years since 1958, and a 5.6 km-long, 16 m-wide elevated highway was completed in 1976. The area became an example of successful industrialization and modernization of South Korea.

In July 2003, then-Seoul mayor, Lee Myung-bak initiated a project to remove the elevated highway and restore the stream. It was a major undertaking as not only did the highway have to be removed, but as years of neglect and development had left the stream nearly totally dry, 120,000 tons of water were to be pumped in annually from the Han River, its tributaries, and groundwater from subway stations. At that time, safety problems also occurred due to the deteriorated concrete construction. Despite this, restoration of Cheonggyecheon was deemed important as it fit in with the movement to re-introduce nature to the city and to promote a more eco-friendly urban design. Other goals of the project were to restore the history and culture of the region, which had been lost for 30 years, and to revitalize the economy of metropolis, Seoul. The Seoul Metropolitan Government established several organizations to oversee the successful restoration of Cheonggyecheon: The Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project Headquarters for the control of the whole project, Citizen's Committee for Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project for the management of conflict between Seoul Metropolitan Government and the union of merchants, and Cheonggyecheon Restoration Research Corps for the establishment and review of the restoration plan. To address the consequent traffic problem, the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project Headquarters established traffic flow measures in the downtown section affected by the restoration work and coordinated changes in the downtown traffic system based on the research of the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Research Corps. The restoration of two historic bridges, Gwangtonggyo and Supyogyo, was also a contentious issue, as several interest groups voiced opinions on how to restore historical and cultural sites and remains, and whether replace the bridges or not. The Cheonggyecheon restoration project had the purpose of preserving the unique identity of the natural environment and the historic resources in the CBD of Seoul, and to reinforce the surrounding business area with information technology, international affairs and digital industries. The plan also encouraged the return of the pedestrian-friendly road network connecting the stream with traditional resources, e.g. Bukchon, Daehangno, Jungdong, Namchon and Donhwamungil. This network system, named the CCB (Cheonggyecheon Culture Belt), tried to build up the foundation of cultural and environmental basis of the city.

The stream was opened to the public in September 2005 and was lauded as a major success in urban renewal and beautification. However, there was considerable opposition from the previous mayoral administration of Goh Kun, which feared gentrification of the adjacent areas that housed many shops and small businesses in the machine trades. Creating the environment with clean water and natural habitats was the most significant achievement of the project. Species of fish, birds, and insects have increased significantly as a result of the stream excavation. The stream helps to cool down the temperature on the nearby areas by 3.6 °C on average versus other parts of Seoul. The number of vehicles entering downtown Seoul has shown a decrease of 2.3%, with an increasing number of users of buses (by 1.4%) and subways (by 4.3% - daily average of 430,000 people) as a result of the demolition of the two heavily-used roads. This supposedly has a positive influence by improving the atmospheric environment in the region.

The project attempted to promote the urban economy through amplifying urban infrastructure for a competitive city within the existing business and industrial area centered on the stream. The Urban renewal project was the catalyst of revitalization in downtown Seoul. Cheonggyecheon became a centre for cultural and economic activities.

Cheonggyecheon restoration work also brought balance to the areas both in south and north of the stream. During the modernization era, downtown Seoul was divided into two parts, north-south, based on their features and function. The restoration helped to join these two parts in order to create a new urban structure connecting the cultural and environmental resources in northern and southern areas of the stream (Hwang n.d.), resulting in a balanced and sustainable development of northern and southern areas of the Han River.

Budgeted at 349 billion won, the final cost of the project was over 386 billion won (approximately US$ 281 million). Some Korean environmental organizations have criticized the project for its high costs and lacking ecological and historical authenticity, calling it purely symbolic and not truly beneficial to the city's eco-environment. Instead of using the restoration as an instrument of urban development the environmental organizations have on contrary called for a gradual long-term ecological and historical recovery of the entire Cheonggyecheon stream basin and its ecological system."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheonggyecheon)

Sections of Cheonggyecheon Stream to be Recovered

The Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project engendered a master plan to dismantle the structures covering the Cheonggyecheon Stream and the Cheonggye Elevated Highway, move existing facilities to other places, build facilities to restore Cheonggyecheon Stream, including the sewage system, road, bridges, landscaping, and lighting. Restoration of the Baegundongcheon and Junghakcheon Streams at the upper reaches of the Cheonggyecheon will be pursued over the long-term. The improvement of the section from Majang-dong to Jungnangcheon will also be carried out as a separate project and will apply the same concept as that for Cheonggyecheon.The section to be restored under the Cheonggyecheon Restoration Project stretches 5.84 kilometers from Taepyeongno to Dongdaemun to Sindapcheolgyo Railway Bridge. Considering that the construction work is being done within the center of the city, the entire section was divided into three construction sectors on a design-build basis. In order to ensure continuity and consistency of the stream, the entire project is being coordinated by a joint design office staffed by architects and contractors.

Restoration of the Stream

The Cheonggyecheon will be restored as an ‘urban stream in nature,’a human-oriented, environment-friendly urban space with a waterfront and walks along the banks. The proper safety management of the stream including measures to prevent overflowing is also under careful consideration. Due to global warming, weather anomalies are increasingly frequent: there could even be torrential rains in the central part of the city in summer. In consideration of the increasing incidence of floods and the extraordinarily heavy volume of floods, Seoul Metropolitan Government received consultation and advice from the Citizens’Committee for Cheonggyecheon Restoration and experts on streams. It designed the sections of the stream in such a way as to ensure maximum flood capacity and built embankments that can withstand the worst possible flood that is expected to occur every 200 years. The safety of the citizenry comes first. The torrential rain last July inflicted huge damage in the center of city. Gwanghwamun, City Hall, and Seosomun districts were all flooded. Tall buildings, not to mention small ones, including the Dong-A Ilbo Daily building and Sejong Center, were inundated. Sejong-no main street was also inundated. Terraces and lower-lever sidewalks will be built along the upper and lower reaches of the stream. The mid-stream section from Samil-ro to Nangye-ro, extending 3.4 kilometers, will be made water-friendly. Main roads will be built along the lower level of the left bank of the stream to allow citizens visiting Cheonggyecheon to access the water more easily. From Baegundongcheon to Junghakcheon, the upper reach of Cheonggyecheon, intercepting sewage lines will be installed to collect rainwater and wastewater separately. Covering structures will be used in order to prevent wastewater from flowing into Cheonggyecheon during periods of rainfall.

Water Supply

It is most desirable for a stream to receive water from its upper reaches. However, Cheonggyecheon is an intermittent stream: it is normally dry and, therefore, requires additional flow to maintain a certain depth of water throughout the year.The water for the restored Cheonggyecheon will come from the Han River, until advanced technology to treat environmental hormones, smell, and foaming of wastewater is developed. The Ttukdo water plant will supply a aximum120,000 tons of water daily. In emergencies, Jungnang sewage treatment plant will supply 100,000 tons a day. Only after the results of monitoring on the wastewater treated at Jungnang plant prove that the BOD level of the water is below 3㎎/ℓ will the treated water be supplied to the restored Cheonggyecheon, or mixed with water from the Hangang River. The water for Cheonggyecheon will be supplied at four locations; at the starting point, Samgak-dong, Dongdaemun, and the ownstream of Seongbukcheon. Cheonggyecheon will be accessible 22,000 tons of groundwater each day from the subway stations. All told, the average water depth will be 40㎝, and 120,000 tons of water will flow through Cheonggyecheon each year.

Waterfront Roads and Access Road

The roads will be as small size as possible in order to minimize the flood hazard.The roads will facilitate the business operations of neighboring stores and allow for parking. According to this plan, the central parts of structures covering the stream were dismantled. Along either bank of the Cheonggyecheon, a two-lane road will be constructed. A five-meter-wide road including two meters for parking will be constructed for stores. Thus, the function of Cheonggyecheon-ro will be changed to allow access instead of serving as one of the city’s major arteries. (intended speed limit: 50km/hr)Apart from sidewalks for stores, there will be a two-meter-wide sidewalk along the stream where citizens can enjoy the scenery of Cheonggyecheon. Access to Cheonggyecheon will be afforded by bridges and waterfront roads. Citizens will be able enjoy walks along the waterside and use various facilities.The restored stream will be accessible at 17 locations, nine on left bank and eight on the right bank. The handicapped will be able to access the stream at seven locations, four on left bank and three on right bank. For emergency escape due to flooding, emergency ladders will be set up at 16 locations at appropriate intervals. Two accesses for vehicles for maintenance will be constructed, one each at the starting point and the ending point.

Restoration of Ecology

Basic concept of ecology of Cheonggyecheon restoration The effort to restore the ecology of Cheonggyecheon is based on the concept of three axes: history, culture, and nature. These three axes are further classified into eight key sceneries, which serve as modules of what will be known as the ecology street. As Cheonggyecheon is an urban stream running through the center of the capital east to west, it cannot be practically restored as a natural stream. As such, sections of the central part will be restored as an ecology section and street, and key scenery and biotope will be created at specific intervals for environmental conservation. At the downstream section where Cheonggyecheon and Jungnangcheon Streams join, a swamp and habits for fish and birds will be created so that nature and the city can co-exist.

Restoration of Ecological Environment

The waterfront will be planted with wide plants that grow well along bodies of water to create natural scenery. Some parts of the waterside will be restricted from access by citizens, and will be created as green areas for insects and birds. Following the stream, plants will be planted and swamps will be created, making a link of greenery. Reservoirs will be built to allow the fish from the Hangang River to move, to serve as habitats for plants and animals, and also to control water depth. Channels will be created where the water flow is interrupted to allow fish to pass.

Main partners
Chenongguecheon retoration project was accomplished by only Seoul Metropolitan Government. (All budjet, staffs etc)