Yongsan in Transition: Balancing Urbanization and Conservation
July 11, 2024 By: Jinsu Kim
Conservation:
https://www.jeonmae.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=958133 ( “Yongsan US military base returns to the citizens.”)
The recent opening of the Yongsan Children’s Garden, as reported in May 2023, connects to themes of conservation and public access to green spaces. While this development aims to provide much-needed recreational areas for children in the heart of Seoul, it also raises questions about environmental stewardship. Environmental groups have criticized the rushed opening, citing concerns about potential soil contamination from the former military base that has not been fully assessed or remediated. This situation echoes historical tensions between development and conservation, reminding us of Pinchot’s principles of conservation for “the greatest good, for the greatest number, for the longest time.” The controversy highlights the ongoing challenge of balancing public access, urban green space creation, and responsible environmental management in formerly restricted areas.
Urbanization:
https://www.hankyung.com/article/202407054576i (“Yongsan US military base’s ‘Transportation Unit site’ to be redeveloped into a 20-story building.”)
The May 2023 approval of a 20-story development plan for the former U.S. Army Transportation Corps site in Yongsan illustrates the rapid urbanization occurring in this historically significant area. This decision, allowing for mixed residential and commercial use up to 70 meters in height, represents a major shift from the site’s previous low-density residential zoning. The development is part of a larger trend of transforming former military lands in Yongsan into high-density urban areas, coinciding with the creation of Yongsan Park and the redevelopment of Hannam New Town. This process of intense urbanization in Yongsan echoes themes from our course about the challenges of managing urban growth while preserving historical and cultural heritage. It raises questions about how cities can balance development pressures with the need for green spaces and livable environments in rapidly changing urban cores.
I do agree with that rushing the opening of new greenspaces is not always a good idea and in this case, soil contamination is a serious risk. While Pinchot’s principle of conservation made great strides in the past, I believe it is not sufficient in our current time, preservation should be the name of the game.
Living in Burnaby, fast urbanization and the demolishing of small-low level residential building into high-rise building for residential and commercial uses is a must. The demand is will always be more than the supply, but how can governments urbanize fast while providing greenspaces and as you said preserve historical landmarks. This is for sure a tough mission.
I agree very much with the point raised in the second part, which is “In the construction of rapid urbanization, it is difficult to balance the pressure of development and the protection of the environment”. We can think more deeply about why rapid urbanization leads to environmental damage? What points do we need to pay special attention to ensure that the environment can be preserved to the greatest extent? The answers from these question may help us understand more about the damage caused by the urbanization as well as the way to keep the enviroment during urbanization.