Seoul’s Universal Design Comprehensive Plan (2020-2024) Announcement

Mandatory Application of Non-discriminatory 'Universal Design' to Public Facilities in Seoul

 

From next year, Seoul's public buildings and facilities will be designed as a "universal design" so that anyone can use them conveniently without discrimination. Universal Design refers to a design concept that allows facilities or services to be used regardless of age, gender, disability, nationality, etc.

 

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will fully expand its "universal design" that has been laying the groundwork for the past decade. The plan is to realize design welfare so that people can use the facilities and services safely and conveniently without being discriminated against by age, gender, disability, and nationality.

 

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it will establish Seoul's Universal Design Comprehensive Plan (2020-2024) for the first time and implement the plan step by step. It will spread universal design, which has been applied to individual projects so far, to the Seoul Metropolitan Government's administration and society as a whole and implement related policies in an integrated manner.

Under the vision of a "people-centered city where everyone is respected" the comprehensive plan will take part in four areas: 1. Mandatory application of universal design in the public sector; 2. Establishment and operation of an organization dedicated to universal design 3. Accumulation of successful models; 4. Social expansion and system improvement.

 

First, the city will mandatorily apply the 'Seoul Universal Design Integration Guidelines', operating as a public design guideline since 2017, to all public buildings from 2021. The targets include public buildings, libraries, parks, and subway stations funded by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. To that end, the government will push for a revision of the "Basic Ordinance on the Creation of Universal Design Cities in Seoul" by the end of this year and implement it preemptively for the first time.

To ensure consistency and efficiency in applying guidelines, the city will operate an "integrated building TF" in collaboration with the design policy general department, the public building committee review department, and the public building construction department. The government will also provide intensive consulting services to cultural and welfare facilities that are widely used by citizens starting this year. It is also going to work on upgrading guidelines. Starting at the end of the year, the government will organize a TF involving all related departments. The guidelines will be updated to suit the conditions of the site. In addition to detailed guidelines for each type of existing welfare facility, the government will develop additional facility policies every year, including cultural facilities, pedestrian traffic facilities, and educational facilities.

 

Second, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will operate the "Universal Design Center (Ryung Choi, the director of the center)" which will serve as a think tank for universal design policies. The main tasks are - Universal Design Policy Implementation Research - Universal Design Consulting and Monitoring in the public sector - Development of Universal Design Certification Indicators - Development and Operation of Education Contents for Citizens.

 

Third, it will be promoted in conjunction with urban planning, urban regeneration, traffic walking, and park creation so that universal design can be spread in everyday space. It will create a "UD Life Style Platform" within Dongdaemun Design Plaza,  where citizens can experience products, movements, and spaces applied with universal design.

 

Fourth, the "Seoul’s Universal Design Certification System," which covers all subjects regardless of gender, age, nationality, or disability, will be piloted from 2022. In order to foster professional human resources, the curriculum will also be opened in university subjects in cooperation with universities, research institutes, etc., and group training of experts will be conducted.

 

Meanwhile, Seoul’s metropolitan government will closely cooperate with the central government and the National Assembly in the future so that the universal design-related system can be integrated nationwide.

Yeonsik Yoo, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's cultural division, said, "If the public design in the past was aesthetic, functional and rational, it should move toward a design that carefully cares and embraces all citizens so that no one can be left out. In the changing urban environment after Covid -19, we expect the city's comprehensive plan to provide 'fair participation and enjoyment' of all citizens.”

 

 

Seoul Metropolitan Government Official Blog

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Mediahub Seoul

차별없는 ‘유니버설디자인’, 서울공공시설에 의무적용