SEOUL’S NAKED STREETS By Justin Wallace, Urban Designer + Architect
SEOUL’S NAKED STREETS In a compartmentalized district wedged between the
the intersection at their discretion.
Cheongyechun Stream and the Jongno commercial corridor, a grid of naked streets criss-cross through
The speed of vehicular traffic generally moves at
the interior of the block. Streets in the East-West
a snail’s pace throughout the district. One moped
direction span the length of the block some 430
driver, whom I suspect to be associated with a
meters while streets in the North-South direction
restaurant business due to the pots and pans
span a width of 200 meters. In total, 6 streets cut the
strapped to the rear of his bike, stands out as being
larger block into a smaller grid-like block structure
the fastest moving vehicle on the street, easily able
with individual parcels measuring 20 – 30 meters
to wind around the moving pedestrians in front of
deep. The streets are retail canyons with three to
him. A parked service truck takes up a third of the
five-story buildings on either side of the street and
road as a man in uniform unloads kegs onto a dolly
hundreds of signs dominating the walls of these
and temporarily uses the street as a loading lock.
buildings to form a vertical visual experience. The
Meanwhile, other service vehicles are sporadic along
signs advertise an array of services on every floor:
the streets creating obstacles for any fast moving
fifth story internet cafes, fourth floor restaurants,
traffic. The rest of vehicular traffic channels through
third floor DVD cinemas, second floor print shops,
the center of the street by-passing the clutter to the
and an adjacent three-story coffee shop next door.
left and right. When met by oncoming traffic, he or
Such an experience is distinguishable in Seoul’s
she will then pull to the side to let the other vehicle
urban districts, but the experience of naked streets
pass while simultaneously causing a temporary
requires a more subtle eye.
constriction of flow within the street.
At these
moments, an exchange of eye contact is witnessed Naked streets, generally coined as “shared spaces”
between pedestrians and drivers as they become
in planning circles, are streets in which all modes of
aware of the other’s intentions. It becomes clear that
transportation are integrated through urban design
human interaction, without the use of intervening
strategies. In Seoul’s many streets, a good eye may
messaging, is relied upon for the concept of naked
observe and identify the distinguishing factors of
streets to function.
being dubbed “naked.” First and perhaps the most obvious is the lack of street signs and traffic lights.
A second observation in a “naked” street is the lack
In the interior of the block, two naked streets form
of a curb and sidewalk for pedestrian use. In lieu of
an intersection. Here, corners of the buildings are
a sidewalk, temporary signs and café podiums create
beveled so that storefront entrances open directly out
a blurry area that softens the bluntness of the asphalt
onto the asphalt towards the center of the intersection.
terminating at a building’s base.
There is no use of pavement indicators, street signs,
column of signage stretching from the top of the
or light signals and yet vehicles pass willfully through
building to the ground creates a column of vertical
The continuous
Myeongdong Shopping District
Hongdae District
Myeongdong Block Naked Streets
Scale: 1’ = 1,000’
Hongdae Block Naked Streets
Scale: 1’ = 1,000’
Jongno District
Gangnam District
Jongno Block Structure
Scale 1’ = 1,000’
Gangnam Block Naked Streets
Scale: 1” = 1,000’
air space that intrudes out into the street. Pedestrians
major pedestrian corridor that looks like it was once
are then removed from the side of the street and are
a branch of the railway system but has since been
channeled centrally down the street in the midst of
converted into a series of pedestrian friendly spaces.
cars, service vehicles, bikes, and motorbikes alike.
Lanes crisscross one another across the sloping
Thus, the pedestrian way is integrated with the
hillside block near the University and these lanes
roadway.
are filled with pedestrians who are predominately younger in age. No lane seems to have the same
The concept of naked streets does not seem to be
atmosphere. The ambience may be quiet on one lane
exclusive to one area but is experienced in districts
within the block but be noisy and crowded on another
throughout Seoul among varying urban spatial
where, depending on the time of day, vehicular traffic
configurations. In addition to the Jongno district in
is limited due to the extensive number of pedestrians
Seoul’s urban core, the concept is observed in a typical
flooding the street. The range in intensity along these
block among Seoul’s Gangnam district. Here, a strip
naked streets in Hongdae may be attributed to the
of commercial frontage lines a secondary street filled
large scale of the block. In contrast, Myeongdong’s
with lively bars and shops of all kinds. An intense
block is much smaller and the range in intensity is
mix of pedestrians flood the roadway in conjunction
considerably more consistent throughout the interior
with vehicular traffic. Cars and service vehicles park
of the block. In Myeongdong, verticality takes over
with their noses touching the base of the buildings
once again with signs towering above the street
while workers take smoke breaks outside their office.
creating an urban canyon-like experience similar to
Local traffic also mixes here since lanes stemming
the Jongno district. Here, shoppers and diners make
from the interior of the urban block often feed into
up the predominant flow of traffic with the occasional
these secondary perimeter streets. Here, large roads
moped or service truck parked on the side of the lane
some ten lanes deep form an expansive urban grid.
with vendors selling products or food.
A continuous line of high-rise buildings 30 meters deep forms the perimeter condition around extremely
Naked streets seem to abound in all parts of Seoul
large blocks (roughly 933 x 833 meters).
Directly
and be successful in these areas. Each area contains a
behind these buildings, naked streets are created by
level of traffic intensity that varies with the flavor of
the mix of traffic stemming from the interior of the
the district, whether it is primarily oriented towards
urban block and the myriad offices workers that often
offices, a university campus, or a shopping district.
feed into these secondary perimeter streets.
Each area also contains a high level of commercial uses and is densely organized in a compact urban
Two
other
districts
in
Seoul,
Hongdae
and
block.
The naked street seems to optimize the
Myeongdong, both find naked street concepts within
function of flow by integrating all forms of traffic into
the core of the block structure. The surrounding
one channel, or canyon, of experience.
area of Hongik University in Hongdae is marked primarily by commercially fronted lanes stemming from the main road.
Streets run parallel to one
another throughout the block with the exception of a
Jongno District - Naked Street
References Kim, Sung Hong (2001). “The Linear and the Planar: The spatial logic of Chongno and the morphology of its commercial architecture,” Space Syntax 3rd International Symposium Proceedings, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Proceedings, pp.33.1-33.12 Hamilton-Baillie, Ben (2008). “Shared Space: Reconciling People, Places, and Traffic,” Built Environment, Vol. 34, no. 2, Alexandrine Press.