The continuous development of large-scale apartment complexes has often disrupted existing urban pedestrian flows. To address this issue, public pedestrian pathways were introduced. However, due to the inherent characteristic of designating public fun...
The continuous development of large-scale apartment complexes has often disrupted existing urban pedestrian flows. To address this issue, public pedestrian pathways were introduced. However, due to the inherent characteristic of designating public functions on private land, conflicts surrounding the closure of these pathways have persistently arisen. Despite various institutional improvements by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the underlying conflict structure has
remained largely unchanged over the past 15 years.
Originating from this problem statement, this study conducted a comprehensive survey of public pedestrian pathways installed in redevelopment projects with over 500 households in Seoul, specifically those occupied between 2020 and 2024. The research aimed to provide fundamental data necessary for institutional improvement by analyzing the installation status, types, and usability of these pathways.
The survey yielded three key findings: Firstly, while most public pedestrian pathways were formally designated as open, some complexes exhibited limited accessibility, such as arbitrarily closing pathways during nighttime hours or installing unsecured gates. Given that these pathways primarily serve as internal pedestrian routes within complexes, safety indicators (e.g., CCTV, security lights) and comfort indicators (e.g., adequate width) were generally satisfactory.
Secondly, despite adequate openness, safety, and comfort, accessibility restrictions emerged as a critical factor hindering the utilization of public pedestrian pathways. In 28% of the surveyed complexes, accessing the pathways was challenging due to physical barriers such as level differences, stairs, fences, or security gates. Notably, level differences proved to be a decisive impediment for pedestrians with reduced mobility.
Thirdly, the usability of public pedestrian pathways was maximized when they provided high-quality accessibility to essential destinations like schools and subway stations. For pathways leading to non-essential but quality-of-life-enhancing destinations (e.g., parks, mountains, the Han River), the pathway's comfort and sense of openness significantly influenced their usability. Conversely, pathways formally installed along complex boundaries without a clear purpose exhibited significantly low utilization.
Currently, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's incentives for public pedestrian pathways are solely based on the pathway's area, neglecting to evaluate its "purpose of passage." This oversight leads to the development of pathways that, despite their potential public value, are underutilized or rarely used by external pedestrians. Therefore, this study proposes an institutional reform that clearly evaluates the pathway's purpose from the planning stage, determines
designation based on its importance, and provides differentiated incentives. For essential-purpose pathways directly related to ensuring mobility rights (e.g., connections to schools, public transportation hubs), higher incentives should be provided, coupled with strong encouragement to ensure their physical completeness, including openness and accessibility. Furthermore, to maintain pathway openness, a management model should be established where residents
and local governments jointly agree on opening hours, management responsibilities, scope of liability, and cost-sharing.