A Dark Side to Daylighting?

Seoul's plans to restore the city's streams are gaining international attention, but critics contend that the project is moving too quickly.

1 minute read

February 29, 2004, 5:00 AM PST

By Connie Chung


The Cheonggyecheon project, in Seoul, South Korea, a plan dedicated to restoring the city's streams, "will get world wide recognition at Venice's ninth International Architecture Biennale, one of the world's most prestigious international architecture exhibitions." The project will be part of an exhibition called "City and Water" and will include "environmentally friendly urban planning designs from various waterfront cities, such as Berlin, Barcelona and Boston." Despite the honor and the international recognition, the project is not without its critics. "With deconstruction workers continually unearthing artifacts from Seoul's 600-year-old past at stream sites, some feel the project has been conducted too hastily." One local architect and environmentalist, and critic of the project contends that "the central problem concerning the project [is] what will happen after its completion, an issue that the biennale exhibition will in all likelihood avoid addressing."

Thanks to Connie Chung

Wednesday, February 25, 2004 in Korea Herald

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

Mamdani behind a microphone, in front of a snowbank

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge

A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.

November 6 - CNN

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6 - Grist

People board a bus in Seattle.

Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion

Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.

November 6 - KOMO News

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.