First-generation planned cities built in the post-war decades have become a shared urban challenge of large-scale residential renewal. South Korea’s 30-year-old new towns exemplify this very challenge, where current policy promotes high-density reconstruction with floor-area ratios (FARs) up to 500%, which raises concerns about environmental quality and community livability. This study examines 143 apartment complexes in Bundang, South Korea, for their potential for high-density reconstruction and public value enhancement, categorizing them into three types: transit-adjacent, general, and low-rise/low-density. Results show the feasibility of creating open spaces that support public life, even in high-density environments, through precise spatial configurations, including publicly accessible perimeter zones, quasi-public pedestrian corridors, and resident-shared private areas. Our mass simulations employ three-dimensional podium designs, hierarchical open-space systems, and strategic connectivity, maintaining substantial open-space ratios while increasing density. Yet, the mass simulations demonstrate that achieving 500% FAR requires significant regulatory relaxation. We recommend that location-specific density standards be established as local ordinances, with clear guidelines on public value and design for open-space connectivity. With implications extending beyond the Korean context, this research provides practical guidance for balancing development feasibility with community and public value enhancement in aging planned cities, and offers broader lessons for planned city renewal, grounded in urban design theory and emphasizing spatial openness, permeability, and connectivity to the broader urban fabric.
Kim et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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