GWDC (Guri World Design City), economy saver or environment destroyer?

Guri World Design City is a 7 years old plan which has been put on a fierce discussion between the city council of Guri and other government organizations.
This large-scale business will focus on redeveloping Guri into a city representing ‘World architectural design’ for the first case in Asia.

As most of population can feel in reality, the biggest problem facing South Korea is the instability of economy and job crunch. However, the mayor of Guri Park Young Soon points out GWDC as a problem-solver to these issues.

According to the forecast of experts, GWDC is expected to bring a economical profit of 7 trillion won annually plus providing job for 110,000 people.

So far, the idea GWDC appears to be the optimum business plan that no one should raise in revolt. However, there has been strong voices of disagreement on this plan since 2013, mainly because of the environmental problem it should cause. Surely, the price to be paid seems a lot too expensive.


According to proud description of Mayor Park on one of his interviews, Guri contains *‘Greenbelt’ area of over a million pyeong(over 3,300,00.00 m²) which is considered to be the greatest advantage of the city. However, in order to leave the area as described, it is necessary to ask the question: Will GWDC really be a rewarding plan when looking back from the future?

First of all, significant environmental destruction is unavoidable throughout the establishment of GWDC. While the city council of Seoul is constantly presenting its fear about a serious water pollution it may cause on entire Han-Gang River and especially on Drinking Water Protection District, mayor Park is yet to come up with a efficient solution to wrap this issue up. However, the real problem is after the construction of GWDC, when more than 1.8 million people are visiting the city each year. GWDC will force the city to constantly build more for visitor’s convenience, for example, accomodations, roads, entertainment buildings etc, therefore causing increasing and endless environmental harm.

Secondly, Guri is 30 minutes distance from Seoul and an hour away from international airport with a smooth traffic condition. Such geographical characteristic is another great reason why Guri is considered to be the perfect location for GWDC.
However, with the condition where vast number of tourists communicating in and out the city, residence will have to suffer from not only the disadvantageous traffic but also from serious air pollution.


Where it is doubtful if the economical benefit is worth the permanent harm to city’s environment, It is very difficult to beg the question that Guri World Design City is simply an innovative idea which will benefit in every way. Before any further decisions, efficient balance of development and protection of Guri seems like the most important and urgent subject at this point.















Reference

*Greenbelt :　development restricted area, a area that is to remain undeveloped (green) in order to prevent chaotic diffusion and for natural preservation of environment.

*First picture : GWDC illustration
*Arimi (second picture) :　Eco-friendly mark which represents Guri.