Shaping suburbia: A comparison of state-led and market-led suburbs in Seoul Metropolitan Area, South Korea

Abstract

The Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA), South Korea, is a region where two distinct types of suburbs exist today, new towns developed by the public sector and suburban communities by the private. This article comparatively analyzes Bundang, a state-led new town, and Suji, a market-led community, in the SMA in terms of two key foci. The first is urban form characteristics, which include land use pattern, street pattern and circulation, public open space, built form pattern, and control. The other is residents' livability and satisfaction, which include public transit service and use and neighborhood satisfaction. Findings suggest that Bundang outperforms Suji in all aspects, demonstrating the benefits and effectiveness of planning in shaping suburbia, while Suji shows many negative signs of sprawl.