Planning program going global: Sustainable Urbanism in Seoul, South Korea

Published Oct 16, 2018 by
Filed under:

More than half of the world’s population today lives in cities and major metropolitan areas. It is estimated that urban dwellers will make up roughly 70 percent of the world’s population by the year 2050. Rapid urbanization poses tremendous challenges to society and the environment. Seoul, a city with more than 600-years-old history, has experienced rapid urbanization and globalization in just the last 50 years. Seoul metropolitan ranked as the top 4th populated city in the world with over 25.5 million people in 2016 (Demographia World Urban Areas, 2016).

Realizing sustainable urbanism is the key to the future, tremendous sustainability efforts have been implemented in Seoul. South Korea is one of the leading countries grappling with the challenges of scarce natural resources, limited land, and dense population concentrations. Seoul has consistently developed and accomplished initiatives in urban policies, programs, and projects for sustainable urbanism. The summer study abroad program aims to provide students with an opportunity to explore, identify and interpret the sustainable and global approaches that Seoul offers.

With the title, “Sustainable Urbanism,” students will take two planning courses that share four central themes: Sustainable urbanism with the focus on environmental innovations, transportation innovation, world architecture and urbanism, and cultural placemaking (reclaiming urban space). PLAN4050/6050: World Architecture and Urbanism will focus on the urban built environment. PLAN4305/6305: Ecological Landscape Planning will look at the systematic approaches, focusing on transportation planning and environmental planning. This program is open to any Undergraduate and Graduate students with specific target students majoring in Urban Planning, Interior Design, Architectural Design, Engineering, Public Administration, and International Studies.

Students will meet the lead designer, planner, architect, engineer, and city officials of Seoul to hear directly from professionals.

The trip will occur during the 2019 Summer I for two weeks (May 27th to June 10th). Link on this link to access the application: Application Site

Relevant information is available in the links given below. For additional information, contact Dr. Misun Hur (hurmi@ecu.edu | 252-328-1270).