South Korea’s biggest city will establish a 10-minute city to provide short-term rental accommodations for its millions of residents, with the official goal of becoming the world’s first city of 10-minute cities. Officials on Tuesday unveiled plans for the “Minjok,” or fast-city, as part of Seoul’s next ambitious urban development plan.
Minjok, also known as a 10-minute city, is meant to provide a short supply of rental housing for what officials see as a market demand for “instant housing.” It’s set to feature as many as 45,000 residence units that will be quickly rented out and more than 20,000 public spaces where people can rest and exercise. It will also be built to be easy to walk to, so as to keep foot traffic out of traffic.
Construction is expected to begin next year and complete by 2022, in time for the 2032 Olympic Games. Currently, only a handful of local governments have in place plans for a 10-minute city. Since September 2016, a town called Wukchon in south China has held what they call a “10-minute city.” But Wukchon is little more than a glorified car park, while it’s plan is still in the initial planning stage in Seoul.
Follow Emily on Twitter