Solving Diverse Common Social Problems of Seoul through Design
Seoul is an old city where people first began living 6,000 years ago. During the Joseon Dynasty, the capital was enclosed by four gates, but under Japanese rule, the Japanese government established the Governor-General for 36 years of colonial rule. Afterwards, during the Korean War, Seoul was bombed and the city was turned to ashes. Despite all these difficulties, Seoul joined the OECD in 1996 through rapid economic growth that is called the miracle of the Han River, and in 1988 Seoul introduced itself to the world by hosting the Olympics. Such economic development brought benefits, but on the other hand, it brought the negative problems that go with large cities such as environmental pollution, overcrowding, traffic problems, and social problems. In terms of design, signboards that cause visual pollution in the city center, unplanned skylines, and environments covered with obstacles remain yet another challenge for Seoul to solve.Using architecture to design shared ecosystems
Humans are linear social animals, who have great interest in each other as well as many other places. Gehl has been pursuing human-centered designs for a very long time. As we are faced with climate change and various social issues, we recognized the increasing significance of relational resilience, and that the relationships between humans, animals, nature, plants, and the environment are important. In this context, our work and approach are grounded in connectivity, kindness, courtesy, and a dignified experience for all, and examples can be found all over the world. Just as you dine or have a drink with friends on public benches and small tables to take a rest, small but generous gestures and designs for the public end up providing connectivity and kindness for all.Village for the developmentally disabled
What factors cause family members with children with developmental disabilities to face discomfort in the city and surrounding areas? In order to help spread universal awareness, we must observe and take a deep interest in every sector of society. Taking the case of the family of a 20-year-old who lost vision in one eye due to ankylosing cerebral palsy and has an autistic disorder. Despite the fact that they face many difficulties, their opinions are not passed to the community smoothly, due to their difficulties in communication. Intellectual disability is a blind spot even in the disability-related community when communication is difficult and needs are varied. Children with developmental disabilities spend their childhood in the community and school age in institutions or schools, but after reaching adulthood, they have nowhere to go. Most of them stay at home or move to care facilities. Recently, as the level of needs of people with developmental disabilities increases, the proportion of people who want to stay together in the community is increasing. However, the reality is that there is no place to go for education and no facilities.3rd Pre-forum for 2022 Seoul Design International Forum Part2
TALK 2. Values in daily lives that were changed by the public designUniversal design of Yokohama City Current events in design
The evolution of universal design in Japan Yokohama City is an area with a population of 3.77 million. Its area is about three quarters of Seoul, and it is divided into 18 wards. It started with a population of 500 150 years ago, and after the port was established, the population increased. However, the rapid population increase between 1960 and 1970 caused problems in urban development. Yokohama is currently a city with a significant aging population. Although this is a problem for Japan as a whole, based on the analyzed data, the population growth trend of Yokohama City is expected to peak in 2019. After that, the proportion of the elderly population is expected to continue to increase, and it is expected that one-third of the total population will be elderly by 2030. Looking at the map showing the aging population, it is like looking at the history of how Yokohama's housing development has taken place. The beginning of universal design in Japan was triggered by the Tokyo Olympics 50 years ago. The Tokyo Olympics, held in 1964, introduced the use of pictograms to solve the problem of communicating with foreigners. In 1965, Braille blocks were introduced, and actual installation began in 1967. In 1969, awareness of the need to make the city accessible to wheelchairs increased. Braille blocks were first introduced in the provincial cities to the western part of japan, which is also the case with barrier-free access in Japan, which started in provincial cities rather than the capital.Absolute Value of Design and Innovation – Thinking Beyond Competitiveness
Previous design innovation aimed at gaining a competitive edge, but today’s design innovation in products, services, or policies raises the necessity of absolute values. In order to establish “good brands,” companies and institutions should bear in mind that unlike the past, it is hard to build trust when there is no originality as distribution channels of content diversify, resulting in intensifying competition. Customers can now compare and analyze various brands thanks to increasing data and diversified channels conveying such information. In other words, creating innovative momentum or developing brands using previous method is no longer effective. As customers today access numerous contents, unforgettable consumer experiences can only be made through a new dimension of challenges; hence, the need for absolute innovation. Companies mainly consider “the targets to connect their products, services, and policies with” for absolute innovation. Still, the most significant thing is to understand the core value of services, products, and policies which have strong chemistry with customers based on understanding the momentum of customers.Panel-discussion
The Seoul Design International Forum is being held under the theme of ‘How does design enrich our future?’. Presentations in the forum explained the issues of the urban environment that we face from various perspectives and proposed countermeasures. We will now have a panel discussion to hear the opinions our panels based on the contents that were presented today.Design for Public Service Platform
1. Digital platform of public service Public service based on digital platform is emerging as the most important factor in the competitiveness of a nation and a city. In 2020, Korea ranked 8th in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking announced by the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, which was a 2-step rise from 10th position in 2019, to show its potential in the digital field. Also, in the government index announced by OECD, Korea is exhibiting strength and performance in digital-based public service by achieving 1st place in digital by design government, 2nd place in government as a platform, 3rd place in data-driven government, 1st place in open by default government, 4th place in user driven government and 12th place in proactiveness of government. Seoul is also making efforts to drive innovation in public service based on excellent digital infrastructure, and moreover, there is a demand to resolve problems in a way that can be felt by our citizens and achieve transformation in terms of creating sustainable and real values.A Study on the Application of Universal Design for Urban Mobility of Buses - Seoul Design Foundation
The 'Universal Design Application Study for Urban Mobility of Buses', a collaborative study by Seoul Design Research Center’s TBS Research Center, Professor Young-Jun Koh of Seoul National University of Science and Technology and Professor Min-Hyeon Choi of Sungshin Women's University, started in June 2016 is expected to run until December 2016. The study aims to apply universal design principles to buses, bus stops, and bus operation information, establish a future bus service scenario study, and to study universal design in smart bus usage information. The ultimate goal is to generate universal design guidelines for buses and bus stops, universal design guidelines for operation information services, and near-future bus service scenarios. This study was based on preliminary studies including, 'Criteria for standard low-floor bus model (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 2016)', 'Accessible bus stop design guidance (Transport for London, 2014)', 'Japanese standard specification low-floor bus guideline', 'LinkNYC (New York, USA) as well as 'Maps related to domestic and foreign bus use'. In order to identify the applicable factors, domestic and foreign bus usage surveys were conducted, by visiting Seoul, Japan (Fukuoka, Kyoto, Osaka), and London, UK. Bus stop facilities, and operation information at bus stops were the subject of the survey. In the case of domestic buses, it was found that the vertical handle in front of the wheelchair user area of the bus creates difficulties for wheelchair movement. The wheelchair lift operation sequence was difficult to understand as the instructions were only given in text. It was found that electric wheelchairs could be dangerous because they could not be fixed to the bus.Universal design of Yokohama City Current events in design
The evolution of universal design in Japan Yokohama City is an area with a population of 3.77 million. Its area is about three quarters of Seoul, and it is divided into 18 wards. It started with a population of 500 150 years ago, and after the port was established, the population increased. However, the rapid population increase between 1960 and 1970 caused problems in urban development. Yokohama is currently a city with a significant aging population. Although this is a problem for Japan as a whole, based on the analyzed data, the population growth trend of Yokohama City is expected to peak in 2019. After that, the proportion of the elderly population is expected to continue to increase, and it is expected that one-third of the total population will be elderly by 2030. Looking at the map showing the aging population, it is like looking at the history of how Yokohama's housing development has taken place. The beginning of universal design in Japan was triggered by the Tokyo Olympics 50 years ago. The Tokyo Olympics, held in 1964, introduced the use of pictograms to solve the problem of communicating with foreigners. In 1965, Braille blocks were introduced, and actual installation began in 1967. In 1969, awareness of the need to make the city accessible to wheelchairs increased. Braille blocks were first introduced in the provincial cities to the western part of japan, which is also the case with barrier-free access in Japan, which started in provincial cities rather than the capital.Designing the resilient post-pandemic city
As the world, which has achieved rapid urbanization, is struggling to adapt to extreme weather and the corona crisis, the question of whether cities can ensure the safety and well-being of all citizens has been put to a critical test. In the midst of today's high-impact change, urban planners, architects, policy makers and public health professionals all face the challenge of making cities more resilient. What is the city's resilience? In a narrow sense, resilience refers to the ability to return to its original form after some negative event or influence, that is, to restore its original position or form. However, the resilience of cities means more of a role for them than being a healthier place for their citizens to live and work. Resilient cities must have the ability to anticipate the future and adjust health-related systems and designs accordingly. Therefore, when the term resilience is applied in terms of a healthy city, it can be seen that various aspects are accompanied.Village for the developmentally disabled
What factors cause family members with children with developmental disabilities to face discomfort in the city and surrounding areas? In order to help spread universal awareness, we must observe and take a deep interest in every sector of society. Taking the case of the family of a 20-year-old who lost vision in one eye due to ankylosing cerebral palsy and has an autistic disorder. Despite the fact that they face many difficulties, their opinions are not passed to the community smoothly, due to their difficulties in communication. Intellectual disability is a blind spot even in the disability-related community when communication is difficult and needs are varied. Children with developmental disabilities spend their childhood in the community and school age in institutions or schools, but after reaching adulthood, they have nowhere to go. Most of them stay at home or move to care facilities. Recently, as the level of needs of people with developmental disabilities increases, the proportion of people who want to stay together in the community is increasing. However, the reality is that there is no place to go for education and no facilities.