City Development in Northern Virginia and Seoul - Report Example

Introduction Housing Development in Northern Virginia leaves a lot to be desired. The main reason behind this is poor planning. The transport network is poorly coordinated, houses have been constructed haphazardly and local authorities have minimal powers. Seoul serves as an exemplary case study because they have incorporated all the above issues in their plans.1 The problem with housing development in Northern Virginia It may seem rather difficult trying to identify which sort of housing development plan is appropriate and which one is not. However, housing experts agree that there are certain plans that may be used to indicate good planning. Houses that have been constructed in such a manner that residents can access necessary facilities such as hospitals, parks, libraries, firehouses, police stations, sewers, roads, water pipelines, schools and other facilities. If all the above are available and conveniently, located, then communities may live well. However, if houses are built in such a way that they are dispersed or in isolation, then chances are that local governments/ other stakeholders will have to spend huge sums on this. 2 Additionally, such poor city plans cause excessive consumption of fuel, wastage of time when getting from one point to another and limited productivity. Excess use of resources also aggravates the situation. When Cities or towns build their houses in distant locations, then tax payers will have to spend huge sums of their money in constructing access roads. However, Northern Virginia lacks some of these features. In Accomack County, a whooping eighty percent of the employees in the area work within it. Therefore, the remaining percentage has to travel to other destinations found outside it. On the other hand, thirty four percent of the workers in Prince William County work within it. The remaining workers have to go outside the county. This implies that almost seventy percent of workers in some other county have to move to another county when going to work. 3 The overall result of these changes is that Northern Virginia tax payers are forced to carry the burden of servicing these high transport cots. As if his is not enough, different counties have to keep taking in newcomers from other counties because their facilities ere not sufficient there. Additionally, poorly built houses are more difficult to maintain because they require high costs per unit. These high costs are eventually transferred to the tax payer and he may find it difficult to ache out a living in such an area. Many administrators in Northern Virginia have made the mistake of assuming that further road construction will solve the problems however, this not necessarily true. The most viable option for Northern Virginia is introduction of smart building plans. If houses were built in convenient locations, there would be a lesser burden on the taxpayer because houses would be constructed in one area and there would be no need for excessive fuel use in transport. This also means that smart city development also prevents pollution since it will be minimizing carbon emission. 4 Northern Virginia has recorded high levels of sprawling houses because the local government has not bothered regulating private developments. This implies that houses are built haphazardly and it becomes increasingly difficult to manage their resource utility. Northern Virginia's buildings are also not functionally planned. For instance, constructions may be done in very fertile soils that are better sources of farmland. Additionally, where houses are concentrated, some of them do not have any form of buffer zones to a low fro differences in functionality. For example, a dairy farm and a town home are located near one another. Perhaps the biggest problem in Northern Virginia is the fact that the local authorities have minimal powers with regard to land use. Most of them lack the ability to plan houses in the Coty. Private developers have the ability to determine which parts will develop and which ones will not. The law specifically states that local authorities will only have the power to control developers if given permission by the Senate. 5 The local authorities have not been given the mandate to delay housing construction until ample public amenities are built. This is not a provision in the law and there is very little that locals can do about it. This means that it becomes increasingly difficult for counties to affect their overall housing plans hence the current problems A Comparison of Northern Virginia and Seoul (South Korea's capital) Source; Hill, R. and Woo, J. (2006): Global cities; Retrieved from; http://www.msu.edu/user/hillrr/urbstudtxt.htm accessed on 9th June 2008 As it can be seen form the illustration below Seoul's city planning strategies serve as a case study of what Northern Virginia can do to improve. Most of the buildings in the City are vertically integrated. Consequently, it is possible to find a large number of business and activities goings on in one building. There is a wide range of shopping complexes built with the purpose of serving the local community in a dense area. 6 In Seoul's Dynasty City, there are a number of hotels, government offices, markets, hotels and company headquarters. Actually, Seoul ranks the fifth in the number of fortune five hundred companies located in the City. But despite these numerous buildings, on should not assume that there are no natural resources there. As a matter of fact, Seoul has a River known as Han. It was revived by the City administration after it had been clogged by cement. The City's success is mostly depicted by the fact that people need not travel to distant locations in order to purchase one item. They have many one-stop shops. One such example is the COEX Mall. 7 The City was well planed because there was still room for building stadium =s and other sporting facilities. This implies that the public need not travel to other areas outside Seoul in order to enjoy such services. For instance, the City has an Olympic stadium and park too. The same thing cannot be said about Northern Virginia. 8 The most outstanding feature about Seoul as a world class City is the fact that it has numerous skyscrapers. Some pot them house notable businesses/. Examples of such skyscrapers include; Jongno Tower World Trade Centre Tower Place 63 Building The planning exercises in this magnificent City began as early as the fourteenth Century. The City was designated as the capital and most developments incorporated in that are were created with this in mind. The administration established a vast transport network especially with regard to railway transport. The city now boasts of about eight subway lines. Seoul's' City developers new that there was tendency for other Cities to overstretch their boundaries; this affects nearby areas. Consequently, planners decided to build a green belt to keep development in check within the City. Seoul's' outstanding transport network has made the City a hub for other parts of the Asian continent. 9 First of all, the City has vast air transport network through its international airports; Gimpo and Incheon. The two airports are interconnected through railway lines and buses. 10 The City has established a well-coordinated road transportation system. The bus system is managed by a small number of bus companies in order to ensure that the system is streamlined. They also have a good railway system. All districts in the City can be linked with the railway lines. The train system services close to eight million users daily. It has gone on record as one of the busiest in the world. Because there are so many transport systems to deal with, the company has a number of scientists who plan on time schedules for all the trains, bus and other modes of transport. This high level of organization is something that is lacking in Northern Virginia. The transport system in Northern Virginia is quite inefficient. Many City residents waste lots of time trying to cope with traffic in towns. Most administrators in Northern Virginia use transportation funds to build more infrastructures to cope with sprawling facilities; this makes issues worse. The other problem with Northern Virginia in comparison with Seoul is the fact that most commuters prefer using private means of transport. This implies that individuals spend more and congest the roads further hence wasting valuable time and resources needed to implement the system. Seoul rarely has traffic problems because of the high use of public transport in the area; previously quoted as eight million. 11 As if this is not enough, Seoul has recorded high levels of success in the transport sector because the City has built some form of light rail lines. Seoul planners are always in keeping with rising and changing demographics in their region. They create new developments based on these factors. However, the same cannot be said of Northern Virginia because there are relatively fewer cases of population increases in the central areas. However, suburban areas have recorded relatively higher level of development. Consequently, there is a need to come up with transport plans that feed the suburban population rather than the central areas. Local authorities have not focused on this issue. Instead, most of them are advocating for and implementing more railway lines for the central region. 12 Lastly, the South Korean Capital; Seoul is devoid of high crime rates. This is because many individuals are found within one building. Consequently, each building is given security guards to ensure people's safety. However, the same cannot be said of Northern Virginia. There are still relatively higher cases of crime in the latter City because houses tend to be isolated. This serves as fertile ground for thieves and robbers because they realize that their captivities may not be easily traced when houses are few and far between. Conclusion Seoul is one of the most exemplary cases of what good City planning should be. Northern Virginia should adopt some of their strategies in order to become more viable in the future. Seoul has a wide and effective public system consequently preventing excessive emissions and extra expenses obtained from the use of public transport. Additionally, most buildings are vertically integrated hence minimizing the need to travel for long distances to get to a public facility or to a place of work. The opposite scenario can be seen in Northern Virginia where individuals have to spend hours in traffic jams. Besides this, local authorities in Northern Virginia have minimal powers to delay construction until public amenities are available. However this is not the case with Seoul. It has an active administration that is always planning and controlling further development. 13 Reference: Seoul Metropolitan Government (2008): An Attractive, Clean, & Global City, Seoul retrieved from http://english.soeul.go.kr/today/about/about_12stat.htm accessed on 9th June 2008 Forstall, R. et al (2004): Which are the largest; a report for City Futures Conference, July 2004, p.34, Chicago Forstall, R. et al (2004): Which are the largest; a report for City Futures Conference, July 2004, p.34, Chicago Seoul Metropolitan Government (2008): An Attractive, Clean, & Global City, Seoul retrieved from http://english.soeul.go.kr/today/about/about_12stat.htm accessed on 9th June 2008 City Mayors (2008): The world's most expensive cities; retrieved from http://www.citymayors.com/features/cost_survey.html accessed on 9th June 2008 BBC (2007): Country Guide; retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/country_guides/results.shtmltt=TT002800 accessed on 9th June 2008 Seoul Metropolitan Government (2008): Administrative Districts, Retrieved from http://english.soeul.go.kr/gover/organ_03adm.htm accessed on 9th June 2008 Chung-a, P. (2008): Foreign Population in Seoul Stands at 175,000", Korea Times, 24th July 2007 Hill, R. and Woo, J. (2006): Global cities; Retrieved from; http://www.msu.edu/user/hillrr/urbstudtxt.htm accessed on 9th June 2008 ACI (2006): Airport Service Excellence Awards; Retrieved from http://www.airports.org/cda/aci/display/main/aci_content.jspzn=aci&cp=1-7-46%5E6702_9_2__ accessed on 9th June 2008 Congressional Research Service (1998): - Appalachian Development Highway Program; retrieved from http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/Transportation/trans-19.cfm accessed on 9th June 2008 Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance (2004): The future of transport in Northern Virginia, retrieved from http://www.nvta.org/ accessed on 9th June 2008 Risse, E. (2006): The Shape of the Future retrieved from http://www.baconsrebellion.com/Wonks_Risse accessed on 9th June 2008 Skytrax (2006): World Airport Awards, Retrieved from http://www.worldairportawards.com/Awards-2006/AirportYear-2006.htm accessed on 9th June 2008 Read More