Paju City to Grow into a Mid-to-Large-Sized City of 760,000 by 2040... Urban Master Plan Approved

Paju City in Gyeonggi Province has established a plan to grow into a mid-to-large-sized city with a population of 760,000 by 2040.

On June 5, Gyeonggi Province announced that it had given final approval to Paju City’s application for the '2040 Paju Urban Master Plan (draft),' which centers on these goals.

The Urban Master Plan is the highest-level statutory plan that presents the long-term development direction, spatial structure, land use, transportation, environment, and overall future vision of a city or county. Through this plan, Paju City reflected the potential for urban growth due to changes in metropolitan transportation conditions such as the opening of the GTX-A line and the implementation of various development projects, and presented a long-term urban development strategy targeting the year 2040.

According to the new plan, Paju City's target population for 2040 is set at 760,000, up from the current approximately 540,000. This figure was comprehensively determined by considering both the influx of population from various development projects and population projections from Statistics Korea. In order to prevent excessive population estimates, projects such as the Peace Economic Special Zone and the Free Economic Zone were only included under final selection conditions.

For land use, out of Paju City's total administrative area of 673.96 square kilometers, 38.105 square kilometers of future development-available land have been designated as areas planned for urbanization to ensure efficient use, prevent indiscriminate development, and enhance residents' quality of life. The existing developed areas of 50.769 square kilometers have been set as urbanized areas, while the remaining 585.086 square kilometers have been designated as conservation areas.

The spatial structure was set as a system of one main city center, two sub-centers, and seven regional centers, taking into account changes in urban hubs resulting from new development projects and the expansion of metropolitan transportation networks such as the GTX, as well as balanced development between regions. Through this, the plan aims to systematically distribute urban functions according to the characteristics of each region, and to promote balanced development and growth across different living zones.

The living zones were divided into three regions: Unjeong-Gyoha, Geumchon-Jori, and Munsan. The Unjeong-Gyoha living zone will strengthen its role as a residential, cultural, and transportation hub. The Geumchon-Jori living zone will leverage accessibility to metropolitan transportation such as the Gyeongui Line, the Second Outer Ring Road, and the Seoul-Munsan Expressway to secure growth engines centered on industrial complexes and urban development projects. The Munsan living zone will utilize local growth potential such as the ecological resources of the Imjin River and the DMZ to foster itself as a cultural and ecological leisure hub in preparation for the era of unification.

"Paju City's '2040 Urban Master Plan'"

In particular, the 'Peace Economic Special Zone,' which is part of the 2040 Northern Gyeonggi Development Plan (Northern Gyeonggi Grand Development) and the Western SOC Grand Development Project, aims to serve as an inter-Korean exchange belt connecting the Paju LCD Industrial Complex and the Kaesong Industrial Complex, thereby laying the foundation for economic and exchange cooperation between South and North Korea.

The transportation plan reflects road and railway projects set forth in upper-level plans such as the National Road Network Plan and the National Rail Network Plan. In the Unjeong-Gyoha living zone, where population density and infrastructure are concentrated, a grid-circulation road network will be established. For the Geumchon-Jori and Munsan living zones, a grid road network has been planned to improve connectivity and accessibility between living zones.

Additionally, the plan includes the introduction of future mobility options such as autonomous vehicles and urban air mobility (UAM) to connect large residential areas, metropolitan transportation facilities such as GTX-A, and central areas of the living zones.

Kim Heeseong, Director of Urban Policy at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "With the approval of the 2040 Paju Urban Master Plan, the foundation has been laid for Paju City to leap forward as a 'city of peace.' We expect that this paradigm shift—moving away from a framework of security-related sacrifices and regulatory restrictions—will not only improve the residential environment and create quality jobs for Paju citizens through projects such as the Peace Economic Special Zone, but also comprehensively enhance quality of life and promote sustainable urban development."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.