The paradigm of urban planning is shifting from Rational Comprehensive Planning to Collaborative Planning in the overall framework. When Gwanghwamun Square was first cons- tructed(2006~2009), the Seoul administration did not make a one-way decision bu...
The paradigm of urban planning is shifting from Rational Comprehensive Planning to Collaborative Planning in the overall framework. When Gwanghwamun Square was first cons- tructed(2006~2009), the Seoul administration did not make a one-way decision but aimed for a ‘citizen participation’ space where the citizens would take an active part in the making of the square. During the reconstruction planning process (2014~2020) of Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul administration announced that it would create a ‘citizen-led’ space, in which the citizens would lead the sketching of the plans. The range of participating parties was expanded, leading to active commun–ication and even an attempt at social learning was made during the construction and reconstruction of Gwanghwamun Square. Also, the Seoul administration announced that the opinions of the citizens and the experts would be actively reflected in the process. However, the construction and the reconstruction processes were pursued in completely different directions after their launch. It shows that the preference of the people and the experts had overturned after the regime change.
The purpose of this study is to analyze whether the construction and reconstruction of Gwanghwamun Square conducted in a clearly collaborative manner and if the collaborative planning didn't function as it should have, this study explores the reasons behind its failure. To do so, the background and the processes behind the rise of collaborative planning were researched. Also, the main components of collaborative planning were deduced, to compare and evaluate the construction and the reconstruction of Gwanghwamun Square in the view of collaborative planning.
The analysis framework of this study was formed under two main perspectives. Firstly, comprehensive planning environment that affects the planning process, direct and indirect parties that take part in the planning process, methods of communication, the information given and attempts of social learning, the connection between the agreements made and their execution were researched with the existing studies on collaborative planning as a background. Secondly, multi-scalar and network analysis, path dependence were further analyzed considering the limitations of the current collaborative planning theory.
The causes behind the failure of collaborative planning in the construction and reconstruction process of Gwanghwamun Square are the following. Firstly, Gwanghwamun Square has a unique sense of place such as its complex publicity and its identity as a political symbol, and as the scale of the planning became wider and multi-scaled, a scalar-mismatch had occurred. Secondly, asymmetrical power balance among the parties and over- politicization of the planning had made collaborative planning difficult, and the political culture of South Korea is also far from Habermas's ideal speech situation. Thirdly, on the administrative level, path dependency overshadowed the social learning and execution of agreements, revealing the lack of multi-scalar planning ability of the Seoul administration and worsening the conflict. Lastly, it is the intrinsic limitations of the collaborative planning theory. Collaborative planning can be used as political rhetoric. Also, collaborative planning could turn into organized anarchies in real-life situations. The ‘agreements' made under mutual interaction may not be agreements in the true sense of the word, but possibly structural exclusions or just temporary compromises.