Elsevier

Sustainable Cities and Society

Volume 6, February 2013, Pages 51-56
Sustainable Cities and Society

Assessing the sustenance and evolution of social and cultural contexts within sustainable urban development, using as a case the MAC in South Korea

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2012.08.003Get rights and content

Abstract

A sustainable urban vision needs to reflect the distinctive qualities, characteristics and identities of each individual city. This vision is also an expression of the integrated values and perspectives the inhabitants of each city have for what should be sustained. This paper provides a spatial assessment framework for discussing a new model, with suggestions for sustainable design alternatives in relation to urban design principles and practices, focusing in particular on development within the Multifunctional Administrative City in South Korea.

Introduction

Sustainability is a key issue in urban transformation and development in the 21st century. The Climate Conference in Copenhagen in 2009, for instance, included government-level debate on how to achieve responsible and sustainable urban growth whilst preventing global warming and climate change. Sustainability means more than the protection of the environment; it also requires a long-term vision for catalyzing positive change leading to sustainable social and cultural contexts in relation to the built environment (Newman & Jennings, 2008). This vision needs to reflect the distinctive nature and characteristics and identities of each city.

The vision could also express the integrated values and identity of the people for their cities to become more sustainable. Newman and Jennings (2008) noted that a vision based on sustainability will help align and motivate communities, governments, businesses, and others around a common purpose, and will provide a basis for developing a strategy, an action program, and processes to achieve that vision.

Considering this collective determination for achieving sustainability in urban visions, this paper provides a systematic framework for discussing a new model which can suggest new possibilities to both designers and decision makers, particularly using the case of the Multifunctional Administrative City (MAC) project in South Korea, and also guide sustainable design alternatives in relation to urban design criteria and practices. This framework is set out so that it is responsive to how place and function can be adapted to achieve sustainability in different cases and contexts.

The notion of sustainability can be defined not as some fixed perfect state, but rather an evolving one that responds to both change in the form production processes as well as ecological change. The UK Government's reformulation of the Brundhand definition of sustainable development using the term ‘a better quality of life’ was published in its sustainable development strategy of 1999 (Wilson, 2003). Brandon and Lombardi (2011) also noted that sustainable development is a process of change in which exploitation of resources, the orientation of technological developments and institutional change are all in harmony.

This process is about creating a learning environment in which all participants strive to improve the situation that exists for the needs of today and tomorrow, acknowledging aspirations as well as needs and therefore engaging the drive for change and improvement within society. These arguments underline that a change of approach is needed, in which the sider sustainable objectives are part of the agenda for change.

This paper intends to provide a spatial assessment tool in terms of environmental sustainable management, to help measure the contribution of sustainable development beyond the perceptions changes, needs change, the technological infrastructure changes, and developments in scientific knowledge.

Over the last 25 years, the UNFCCC and other international societies (FSD, IISD, ISDRS, ISBE) have proposed that governments worldwide should address the rising levels of air pollution and greenhouse gases produced within cities. Given the finite natural energy resources involved, these recommendations and proposals include special consideration for alternative approaches to the generation of energy within urban development.

The impact of climate changes brought about through rapid urban development and infrastructural growth in developing countries, including within the South East and East Asian region, has meant that these developing countries have started to respond to the need for alternative approaches to this development and growth. For example, recent statistics regarding South Korea (ABB, 2011) show that consumption associated with the built environment is as follows:

  • Total consumption of each person in the South Korea averages 12.4 tonnes of material per year, of which 3.9 tonnes stems from new industries, buildings, and new infrastructure

  • Up to 70% of total energy use can be directly or indirectly attributed to buildings and infrastructure.

To provide an international comparison from other continents, research by McGrawHill Construction (Bernstein, 2012) shows that Sub-saharan Africa devote 58% of total energy to the construction of commercial and residential buildings, Australia/New Zealand devoting 20%, and Asia sitting between these extremes at 41%. These statistics highlight how important the built environment is to any policy and evaluation of environmental sustainability.

Considering this, how can the built environment respond to the need for sustainability? Whilst involving a complex range of issues, one key aspect is understanding the relationship between each element of the built environment and sustainable development policy. The built environment is largely determined by the communities that dwell there and the buildings reflect the needs of the individuals and different key actors, physical and social structure, and the physical location of the structures (Bentley, 1999, Carmona, 2003, Lee, 2002).

However, when identifying a response to the issues of sustainability within the built environment it is sometimes difficult to define the key milestones to be considered in relation to physical, social, economic and scientific contexts. As such, the establishment of a framework in relation to the values of environmental management values can provide a logical and coherent approach to the consideration of these diverse contributions and other criteria.

A main case study of the MAC (Multifunctional Administrative City) construction project in South Korea is undertaken in this paper to provide the conceptual and empirical model for the creation of a more sustainable form of urban development, with the findings and conclusions underpinned by the concept of value. The purpose of the selected case study is to measure the dimensions of sustainable development and the difference between different key actors’ aspirations and needs for sustaining their life in the built environment.

In order to map the urban design process in the new place making of the MAC project, data was collected using a variety of methods. The most commonly used method was a series of semi-structured interviews that allowed feedback to be gained from different key actors regarding their knowledge, experience, and sense of identity and sustainability in new place making. These interviews were conducted with government, local authorities, public and private producers, developers, non-governmental organizations, and residents. Other methods of obtaining information involved direct observations within the field, questionnaires and the gathering of archival material such as government documents, newspapers, reports, previous research work and policy documents.

Section snippets

The response to the built environment: reviewing the MAC project in South Korea

In 2003 the nation of South Korea announced plans to create a new sustainable and green city, the Multifunctional Administrative City (MAC). The fundamental goals of this new city were described as social redistribution, population redistribution and spatial reorganization, whilst attracting global investment to support industrial growth at the local level and the forming of a finance and economic hub in South East and East Asia at the international level (Park & Lee, 2004).

The development of

The consolidated findings for spatial assessment of sustainable urban development strategies

Modern urban development often produces monotonous and uniform products of the built environment that simply follow global trends and design ideologies led by the power and ambition of the decision makers in place. The MAC project, particularly with regards to methods of sustainable development, has the opportunity to be different. The analysis within this paper aims to provide a better understanding of the needs of social and physical integration in the design process that will determine

Conclusion

This paper discussed how we can assess and value sustainable forms of development, whilst considering social and cultural contexts, in the creation of environmentally sensitive cities, using as a particular case the MAC in South Korea. Within the contemporary urban development context, many cities have recognized the importance of sustainability in delivering better qualities of cities and spaces in which to live, across different continents, climates, and cultures. This recognition is

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