From HURPI to community corridor: the evolution of the central linear axis in South Korean new towns

This scholarly investigation provides a critical analysis of the developmental trajectory of the central linear axis in the context of South Korean new towns. The study traces the genealogy of this urban planning model, examining its conceptual origins in the 1960s, maturation through the Mok-dong New Town project in the 1980s, and subsequent iterations in first- and second-generation new towns. Employing a diachronic methodology, the research elucidates the changing dimensions, compositions, and functionalities across these phases, with a particular emphasis on how the model has been localized to suit socio-temporal and site-specific conditions. This adaptation process has yielded variations such as the ‘service axis’ and the ‘community corridor,’ each contributing to the heterogeneous landscape of South Korean urban planning. Within this evolutionary trajectory of urban design concepts, this paper highlights the pivotal roles of institutional environment, planners, and other stakeholders such as land developers and local municipalities. As the first scholarly work to formally define and contextualize the ‘community corridor’ concept, this study makes a significant contribution to academic discourse. It provides valuable insights into the mechanisms through which imported urban planning methodologies undergo transformation and localization in different cultural and temporal contexts.