Finding Symptoms of (Under)Privileged Urban Nature in a Socialist City: The Case of Pyongyang, North Korea

Abstract

North Korean media refer to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, as a “city in a park,” and urban researchers explore the potential for Pyongyang to become a sustainable city. Given North Korean media’s function as a propaganda organization supporting the Kim Jong-un regime and consistently producing positive content about the regime, we can employ alternative and more objective methods to assess Pyongyang’s sustainability. This article seeks to find unsustainable aspects of Pyongyang by analyzing satellite images while maintaining distance from North Korean media, which monopolizes the production of knowledge that defines Pyongyang as a green and sustainable city. In the socialist city of Pyongyang, there are politically, economically, and socially privileged areas, even if they are not as clearly evident as in capitalist cities. These areas exhibit privileged urban nature, as evidenced by a less polluted and higher quality natural environment. Specifically, I estimate hybrid spaces where the line between privileged and underprivileged blurs. Although they belong to relatively privileged areas, residents take certain risks, referred to as an (under)privileged urban nature. These (under)privileged urban natures could crack the dominant discourse on seeing Pyongyang as a sustainable city.