Rethinking Cheonggye Stream Restoration Project: Is urban greening strategy socially inclusive?

Abstract

Increasingly, cities are adopting urban greening strategies to enhance the quality of citizens’ life and contribute to the city’s attractiveness and vitality. While there have been many discussions about the environmental, social and economic benefits of urban greening, little attention has been paid to the concerns for social inclusiveness. Specifically, urban greening projects often involve displacement and exclusion of the existing, typically lower-income communities resulting from site clearance or gentrification. Using a case study of the Cheonggye Stream Restoration Project, this study explores the issues surrounding the displacement and relocation of small businesses in the area. It examines the ways in which the Seoul city government has dealt with such issues and the impacts on the affected Cheonggye merchants. This study evaluates the case and addresses the vital role of the socially balanced and inclusive perspective obscured in current urban greening projects.