Recently, waterfront spaces in urban areas have turned to the spatialrequirement to provide agreeable waterfront environment for citizens and to national strategic projects to restore ecological natural environment through measures to re-establish and...
Recently, waterfront spaces in urban areas have turned to the spatialrequirement to provide agreeable waterfront environment for citizens and to national strategic projects to restore ecological natural environment through measures to re-establish and use the identity of city structure by means of natural environmental elements in the city. In that sense, it is meaningful to develop a design alternative by analyzing and applying the characteristics of the planned waterfront space programs based on waterfront space design techniques in the Banpo Han River Park. Such background has been considered important as an alternative to improving the usability of waterfront space following the gradual changes in functions of waterfront space and city structures over time. By analyzing the plans proposed by city planners regarding the waterfront space, common characteristics have been derived to gain five design elements such as accessibility, spatiality, activeness, aesthetics and identity. Based on such design elements of waterfront space, developmental types and characteristics of waterfront space in advanced countries are reviewed and multiple factors are analyzed through the cases in those countries to find out the directions of city development, conservation and links with surrounding landscapes in regions under development. With its function as a port city declining, the Hudson River in New York underwent an aggressive development to build a waterfront space out of devastation by dividing the abandoned quay into 7 parts, each of which is applied with a peculiar theme for restoring ecological environment and used as educational and cultural data, and by setting aside public space for citizens to approach easily. The Willamette River in Portland is applied with a program to restore ecological environment damaged by urbanization and influx of population and developed into an environment to combine the city with the river. The 'Clean River Plane 10' program is part of their efforts to restore the natural scenic beauty and waterfront environment, and large-scale events are planned for environments to improve citizens'recreation and health. The Seine River in Paris is an example of using waterfront space to link abundant historical and cultural heritages, focusing on a balanced urban development and tourist development. Except two vehicle-only lanes and another two lanes for the Metro among 37 bridges across the Seine River, the rest bridges are open to walkers, and 4 of them are for walkers only as part of a scheme to induce balanced development in connection with neighboring areas. In addition, Paris-Plage linked with surrounding historical and cultural heritages are making an image of a tourist city. The Kitakushu Murasaki River in Japan is another example of improving the ecological environment polluted with a range of industrial and living wastewater in the course of the high economic growth period and making efforts to develop the city further. By developing a station-centered multiple waterfront environment, the city is inducing its vitality and population influx, and restoring historical heritages like the Castle of Gokura to establish its identity.
From the four examples above mentioned, common factors lie in enhancing and taking advantage of the linkage with agreeable waterfront space in the city by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the waterfront space in the city environment and structure. Based on the basic concepts of the examples of the advanced countries, the Han River Park around Banpo area, which is the subject area of this study, is analyzed through the five design elements derived above such as accessibility, spatiality, activeness, identity and aesthetics as a waterfront space. First of all, the Han River seems disconnected with the waterfront space due to the Riverside Road, and the hinterlands are structured with a large-scale residential complex as part of the site planning of the city. In terms of accessibility to the Banpo Han River Park, recent conversion to walking space on the Jamsu Bridge accounts for improvement, but the lack of adjacent bus routes and the only designated gate called Yukgapmun to reach the spot serve as a barrier. Also, when citizens use the subway and public transportation, they have to walk more than 600m through the residential complex. When using their own cars, users are faced with inconvenience to enter the spot due to the lack of info signs and induction facilities as well as the limited ramp and drive ways, getting in the way of traffic flow. Also, though it is necessary to obtain public spaces and plan multiple cultural facilities in connection with the hinterlands so that more accessibility is induced, the private land in use for large-scale residential purposes is hard to develop. Second, the spatiality of the Banpo Han River Park is associated with the Renaissance Plan consisting of the Moonlight Plaza and the Outdoor Stage as the basic open space scheme. Lack of convenience facilities like benches and water systems compared to the wide and broad land, the monotonous asphalt pavement and the uniform structures of landscape facilities may disadvantageously halve the images of a waterfront space used for a promenade. Further, surveillance cameras and nighttime lighting facilities are not sufficient to prevent crimes and protect safety of citizens. Third, the activeness of the Banpo Han River in relation to events and cultural activities is mainly based on the Moonlight Plaza and the Rainbow Fountain for the sake of better amenity and leisure activities, and on riverside restaurants and the international yacht club, which extend local community among residents and their activities around the waterfront space. Fourth, the landscape surrounding the waterfront space needs aesthetics that should be considered to maximize its openness, but the hinterlands of the Banpo Han River Park are disconneted with the waterfront landscape because of the uniformly designed apartment complex, and may feel empty due to the lack of plants, trees and shrubs as well as other structures resulting from concerns over flood damages every year. Finally, the natural ecological environment and historical conservation programs that can establish the identity of the Banpo Han River Park are re-located from artificial structures to natural ecological types through revetment plan, and help residents improve their consciousness and understand local characteristics through the Nature Learning Space and the Ecological Culture Experience.
Unlike what it used to be in the past when existing waterfront space was not properly used, now efforts are constantly made to use the space for more agreeable environment and leisure activities of citizens. Therefore, to form an array of basic facilities for leisure activities of citizens and to establish a better vision for the future, it is necessary to make diverse efforts through long-term specified city plans by precisely analyzing the characteristics of spatial use among real users and conducting further researches on user-friendly waterfront space designs.