Seoul's Songpa-gu will host the "Better Walkable City International Symposium," bringing together walkable-city experts from around the world, at Songpa Culture and Arts Center on Friday, the district office announced.
The selection of Songpa-gu as the venue carries significance, as the district has been at the forefront of people-centered walkability policy, including the "Street Garden You Want to Walk" project along Songpa-daero.
Major cities worldwide have been expanding policies to restructure urban space around walking and green areas, moving away from car-centered city planning.
Songpa-gu has pursued that shift through its "Songpa-daero Premium Street Development Project," a flagship initiative of the eighth elected-term administration that has improved the urban streetscape and pedestrian environment. Under the ninth elected-term administration, the district is now pushing ahead with the "Songpa-daero Street Garden You Want to Walk" project, which will transform an approximately 1.5-kilometer stretch from Seokchon Lake Intersection to Garak Market Intersection into a people-centered green pedestrian corridor.
The district is also creating gardens and green spaces in large and small pockets of urban land — including street gardens at Seokchonhosu-ro, Jamsil Station Intersection and Mongchontoseong Station — along with a four-season flower path along Olympic-ro and an expansion of the World Garden in Pungnap-dong. The effort realizes the district's vision of "Garden City Songpa," giving residents a place to rest and unwind wherever they go.
The symposium is co-hosted by the Better Urban Design Forum (PUDA) and the Architecture and Urban Research Institute (AURI), with Songpa-gu as a sponsor. PUDA has maintained academic exchanges on urban design and public space since 2013; this year's international symposium is themed "Walking: Value and Charm Beyond Movement."
The event will open with remarks by PUDA President Lee Seok-hyeon and run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., proceeding through thematic presentations followed by a general discussion.
"It is a great honor to hold this event in Songpa-gu, a district that has been pursuing pioneering plans to create an innovative pedestrian environment," PUDA President Lee said.
The presentation segment will feature overseas experts from Poland, China, Japan and Oman, as well as specialists from domestic research institutions, sharing best practices and policy directions for walkable cities. A general discussion will follow, with urban planning and architecture experts examining practical steps for applying international cases to cities in South Korea.
Songpa-gu District Mayor Seo Gang-seok said the competitiveness of a city depends on how well it creates spaces that are pleasant to walk through and worth lingering in. "I hope this international symposium will serve as an opportunity to share the experience and wisdom of experts from around the world and take Songpa's walkable-city policy to the next level," he said.
The event is free and open to anyone with an interest in pedestrian environments, not just professionals in urban planning, architecture and design.
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