Gyeonggi Province Designates 55 'Rest Spaces in Urban Areas' Across 28 Cities and Counties to Prepare for Post-Coronavirus Era

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon, Reporter] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 31st that it has decided to create 'Rest Spaces in Urban Areas' to allow residents to enjoy comfortable leisure in outdoor spaces, and has selected 55 project sites across 28 cities and counties including Suwon as pilot program target sites.

The pilot program is being pursued to establish a model for creating urban spaces with 'rest' and to discover exemplary cases. From March 9 to April 17, a total of 40-day recruitment period was held for all 31 cities and counties in the province. The province received 106 project applications from 28 cities and counties and made final selections through procedures including document and on-site verification, analysis of foot traffic using big data, preliminary review meetings, and selection committee review.

The pilot program target sites selected this time are 2 projects each in 27 cities and counties including Suwon, Goyang, Yongin, Seongnam, Bucheon, Hwaseong, Ansan, Pyeongtak, Siheung, Paju, Uijeongbu, Gimpo, Gwangju, Gwangmyeong, Osan, Yangju, Icheon, Guri, Anseong, Pocheon, Uiwang, Yangpyeong, Yeoju, Dongducheon, Gapyeong, Gwacheon, and Yeoncheon, and 1 project in Hanam.

By type, 21 projects in park spaces such as Osan's Goindol History Park, 15 projects in street spaces such as Gwangmyeong's Chulsan Rodeo Street, 12 projects in public plazas such as near Sangdong Station in Bucheon, and 7 projects in waterfront spaces such as Chidongcheon area in Hwaseong are included in diverse configurations.

The province plans to install benches, gazebos, stone chairs, and sun beds at the selected sites to create spaces where residents can rest comfortably.

Creating 'Rest Spaces in Urban Areas' for all residents is a priority initiative by the province to address the shortage of spaces for rest and communication in daily life. Previously, on December 18 of last year, before the spread of COVID-19, the province held a policy briefing and announced its 'Plan to Promote the Creation of Rest Spaces in Urban Areas.'

To gather residents' opinions on the necessity of universal 'rest' spaces in everyday life, the province accepted resident recommendations for pilot program target sites from January 20 to February 20 for about one month, receiving 950 applications. Subsequently, by having cities and counties review and apply both resident-recommended sites during the recruitment process, 14 sites were included in the pilot program target sites selected this time, ensuring that the new policy is promoted as a resident-participation type initiative.

In particular, reflecting recent COVID-19 spread issues in closed indoor spaces such as clubs and karaoke establishments, and the trend of residents' leisure activities shifting preferences toward open spaces, the province plans to promptly provide a total of 2.6 billion won in special adjustment grants to ensure that projects can be completed within this year.

Son Im-seong, Director of Urban Policy at Gyeonggi Province, said, "In light of preparing for the post-coronavirus era, we expect that residents' demand for the necessity of universal 'rest' spaces in daily life will continue to increase," and added, "We will consistently promote the 'equal world - Gyeonggi Pyeongsang' policy that enables 'rest' for all residents, and will make continuous efforts to expand universal rest spaces close to residents' daily lives."