Rebuilding North Korea:
The Progress Archive
Feb. 14
Assessing the Status Quo
Findings (Click to open.)
Document [A] presents the change in North Korea's perspective towards the outside world by investigating the change in its textbooks. I personally thought of this strategy as well- taking a look at the actual textbooks seems to be an optimal method to see how the state educates their own people on economically important regions. I was able to find that the actual textbooks, up to the 2015 revision version, were open to public view at the Information Center on North Korea (operated by the Ministry of Unification). There are three textbooks that should be useful to my research, written for North Korean middle school and high school equivalents.
Document [B] approaches North Korea's economic plan based on state-published records. The report condenses North Korea's key cities to five economic powerhouses that will likely perform in various aspects in the near future. It also assesses the current state of North Korean cities and how they function economically.
Both documents are incredibly useful in that one paves the way for additional personal research, while another provides a professional insight to guide me in the right direction.
Predictions and Goals
While further research is crucial, I was able to make a few predictions/goals/preferences in the outcomes of my research:
- The city of choice will likely be one from the five documents [B] proposed (these are already core cities being backed by North Korea);
- The city will have a harbor or a neighboring city with a harbor
- The city will be connected to at least two highways that connect South and North Korea as a network
- Housing/residential areas of the city will steer away from traditional apartment complexes but rather an environment-friendly neighborhood
Research Plans
-Visit the Information Center on North Korea. Possible takeaways are:
-Core cities backed by the state
-Regional exports
-Primary trade routes
-North Korea's views on foreign policies (urban systems could be an inspiration to implementation)
-Research the following:
-Current status in North Korea highway systems, as well as core infrastructure (harbors, etc.)
-Railway development plans in previous South Korean administrations with North Korea in mind
-LEED ND (Neighborhood Development): Green building guidelines for neighborhood development
Feb. 15
Fundamental Research
Findings
After visiting the Information Center on North Korea I was able to find two key sources:
[A] Middle School Geography III, Educational Publishings Press, 2003 Edition
[B] The Korean Geographical Encyclopedia- Logistics, Educational Publishings Press, 1988 Edition
Scans of these books cannot be posted online due to security reasons. However, some key information was acquired from these sources. As predicted, document [A], being a public textbook, outlined basic information about some of North Korea's largest cities. It also included major industries of different regions, names of factories, and notable topographical differences between regions. The information was straightforward, and I could condense down the candidate cities to around three.
Document [B] was written to bluntly analyze the current state of North Korea in various aspects, and this edition, being focused on logistics, wrote on the past, present, and future of North Korea's transportation system. Out of the three transportation methods- the road, the ocean, and the railway, the railway system is the primary and most functional system adapted in North Korea. There is also information such as diagrams of various ports, the amount of raw material that is transported through different routes, and so on.
The Decision
After review and analysis, the city of choice will be Rason District (Rasin).
Rason, being developed under Japanese Occupation, was the first planned city in Korea's history. Document [A] mentions that Rason is a "hub of the road, railway, and airway" and that it connects Siberia, Mongolia, and China. This is true; Rason is very close to Vladivostok, and the fact that it is simply the largest city with a functional port near the Northeastern border boasts strong appeal. According to document [A] Rason also is home to various industries such as the Chungjin Industrial Sector and the North Hamkyeong Coalfield.
Rason also has a strong infrastructure backbone, such as its three ports, a train station, and a highway (AH6) that crosses the city. With adaptations from similar cities and its unique development plan, Rason has the potential to become a trade powerhouse. Nearby nations are already well aware of this; Russia and China have signed development contracts with North Korea that will grant them a 50-year lease upon completion. The geographical advantage already presents opportunities for multiple structures such as a naval base, a fish market, business parks, and so on. The key is to approach Rason with a sustainable perspective; it is important to retain key structures, keep demolition to a minimum and achieve the most effective redevelopment plan possible.
Plans
The design aspect of this project can be achieved through the usage of urban planning software such as ArcGIS and CityPlanner. Luckily, Pratt's LaunchPad system gives me free access to these otherwise difficult platforms. I am planning to use Google Earth and Adobe Illustrator to first get a glimpse of how this city functions by dividing it into various sections and grouping different elements.
Further research on Rason's history would be helpful in assessing what this city has and needs. I am not interested in Rason's current status in a political aspect and the conflict of interest between China and Russia. I am interested in revamping this city so that it becomes a desirable, flourishing city that people will flock to.
Feb. 23
Phase I
Findings
[A] Moon, Ji Hoon. "Characteristics of the joint development between North Korea and China through investigating a residential building, Namsan 18ho-dong in Rason-si" Seoul, Seoul National University, 2015
Software
OpenStreetMap (OSM), QGIS, Sketchup Pro
Analysis
Document A has an excellent analysis of the background of Rason's development, rooting back to the early 20th century under Japanese occupation. It is clear Rason is a failing city that heavily relies on industrial production and marine trade. In order to restructure this city, it is important to set goals, relocate certain sectors, and strictly zone residential areas.
The Work
Using Google Earth the project boundaries were mapped. Google Earth provides a high-quality image of the city boundaries and its buildings, unlike any other open-source platform. While the usual go-to software seems to be OSM (OpenStreetMap), OSM lacks support and specific information for North Korean cities. Therefore this project will focus on remapping the entire city landscape and view the city as a blank canvas. I am planning to keep only the most necessary assets, such as piers, highways, railways, schools, and so on. The city's foundation and structure that bound it from further development- the structure that has been existent for over 80 years and is making development stagnant- will be completely overhauled.
Phase I
First, using the large-scale map, I color-coded various sectors and zones along with infrastructure. Using OSM's data along with Google Earth helped in identifying important roads, pre-existing zones and locations of various businesses and social structures.
LEFT: A merge of screenshots on Google Earth that shows the scope of the project. Rather than taking a single screenshot from a further distance, this method- while time-consuming- provides a map in higher detail and quality (it's also around 600Mb.)
BELOW: A screenshot of the project scope in QGIS. Data that could be imported onto GIS software is quite lacking in North Korean regions. I wonder why?
ABOVE: The first two diagrams show major roads and current zones in the project area. For diagram 1, the yellow and orange roads were major highways and roads noted in OSM; the red road was identified by me as a structural backbone in the city's transportation.
Diagram 2 clearly shows the city's sparse and incoherent methods of development; industrial areas right next to parks, commercial areas and residential space clearly show the lack of consideration for the quality of life.
LEFT: This is the basic layout that I drafted after analyzing diagrams 1 and 2. A total of 15 neighborhoods, averaging at 1.75 square km per neighborhood. Sectors were cut based on existing roads, zones and to-be-roads.
Initial planning will be based on this layout, starting from neighborhood to neighborhood. As the project pans out this could potentially (all) change.
Feb. 27
WIP
Progress
I've mapped out four neighborhoods of the 15:
Before going into extreme detail in planning (walkways, intersections, traffic light locations, etc..) a general diagram with zones is being laid out on the project area.
- Yellow: Core roads. These roads will weave throughout the most populated areas and necessary points within the city. These will branch out into small roads in neighborhoods.
- Red: Commercial areas. Restaurants, offices, etc. Some of these zones are mixed-use (residential/commercial complex).
- White: Residential areas. These may be apartment complexes, townhouses, etc. I'm trying to not implement any American suburb-style development where roads suddenly end up nowhere.
- Blue: Public space. Schools, municipal offices, city halls, etc.
- Purple: Railway stations or transportation hubs. Subway stations or mass transportation stops will be marked later on. I'm looking forward to researching various modes of mass transportation and implementing the most efficient method onto the project.
- Green: Parks and forestry.
At the initiation phase I am implementing some core concepts:
- No areas that are 'closed off' and no roads that end up nowhere. Everything is connected.
- No private areas for residents in specific areas.
- Multiple routes for a single location to diffuse traffic.
- A universal 'strip and spray' method. I'll explain this later.
For the next few days this initial zoning and mapping will stretch out to the entire project area, so I have a vector image of what I have in mind. This could be exported to SketchUp, QGIS, etc.
Feb. 28
Phase 1 Complete
Progress
All neighborhoods are mapped out- and grouped:
The total project area will be calculated- which will lead me to find the area I designated for each zone.
Now that the basic backbone for the planning phase is set, I plan to go into detail by neighborhood and set specific layouts of each building as well as small roads.
As the planning phases continue small (or large) changes in this design are expected to happen.
Before actual planning starts the next step is to analyze each neighborhood in detail; its role in the city, important structures, how the urban landscape should look like, transportation methods, etc.
Mar. 04
Phase 2 Begins
Progress
After going through numerous software I've decided that using SketchUp is ideal for this project.
QGIS and other GIS software are incredibly powerful and useful analytical tools, but as this project is also geared in a design-oriented perspective SketchUp gives me the tools needed to form buildings and map roads.
Painting, planting trees, lighting, street signs...rather than including all the miscellaneous details I am shifting gears to a design that's more focused on the shapes of buildings, how they work with each other, and layouts to see the bigger picture in an urban landscape.
Moving from neighborhood to neighborhood I'll broaden each project parameter to eventually the full project scope.
Here's today's progress- the transportation district hub with Rason station being the central point in the neighborhood.
ABOVE: Initial planning of the neighborhood. This plan was scrapped.
ABOVE: Various sketches and studies. Rason Station, International Financial
Center Ideas were drafted. I'm also figuring out a solution for mass housing other
than traditional apartment methods..I'm looking at Barcelona for options.
LEFT & BELOW: Progress from today. You can find a modeled version of Rason Station, as well as the skyscrapers, commercial zones, and parks as laid out on the rough diagram on preceding days.
When I flip the terrain over in SketchUp I can see a more well-structured and maintained diagram, which is really the bottom view of all the parts in the model. Nonetheless, this helps in drafting a real 'map' of the entire project once it's completed.
Mar. 27
Completion
The project is now complete. Visit here for the final report.