Starfield Hanam - is it SPRAWL?

On September 9, 2016, STARFIELD HANAM, South Korea's largest retail center (152,000 sm of GLA; 460,000 sm of GFA), opened its doors to the public.

Within its first half day of business (from 10am to 2pm) it attracted over 270,000 people, 60,000 more than the country's busiest subway station, Gangnam Station, whose daily floating population is around 210,000 people.

Given Starfield Hanam's positioning as South Korea's newest suburban, super regional retail center, that is well on its way to becoming the country's most popular destination, is it considered "sprawl"?

First, I think it is important to define what "sprawl" really is.

A "sprawlful" retail development can best be described by the rendering below courtesy of DPZ:

Given the above rendering's traits, it is fair to define a "sprawlful" retail development as (1) being disconnected from its surroundings, (2) being located in a transit poor area, and (3) encouraging automobile/vehicular usage as a primary means of transportation.

(1) Being Disconnected from its Surroundings

There are no surface parking lots at Starfield Hanam that create any disconnection from neighboring residential developments. All 6,000 parking spaces are located underground.

The image above is from Starfield's main entrance looking south-west. Crosswalks, sidewalks, transit, and access roads make it easy for residents from nearby areas to walk to the site.

There are several restaurants that line the front of Starfield to create the feeling of a food and beverage street with al fresco dining. There are no blank walls that face towards main residential areas to the south-west.

A central plaza coupled with a performance stage and children's play area welcome guests arriving from Starfield's south-western edge. You can begin to see the beginning of the food and beverage street starting with Devils Door (yellow awnings)

Starfield has an outdoor-park on its western border, but I did not see any direct pedestrian connection or signage from Starfield's outdoor park to Hanam Union Park, an adjacent park which is home to several athletics/sporting facilities and Union Tower, a (free) unique observatory that can provide unparalleled views of the city.

Even though Starfield is home to Sports Monster, a comprehensive and futuristic indoor sports facility, Starfield may leverage Union Tower and Union Park's sporting facilities as a unique point of difference in its marketing initiatives.

(2) Being Located in a Transit Poor Area

Starfield is located in Hanam City, directly east of Seoul's Gangdong District.

Currently, those traveling to Starfield Hanam from Seoul, anywhere west of Songpa District, may take bus 9302 directly to Starfield Hanam which only takes 7 minutes more than driving a car. I would argue that taking the bus/transit is actually more efficient and quicker than driving given the amount of time required to park your car.

There are plans to extend Seoul's subway, line 5, to Hanam City Hall Station, which is about 1 kilometer walk to Starfield.

(3) Encouraging Automobile/Vehicular usage as a Primary Means of Transportation

I was surprised to see the number of bike racks that were provided and in use at Starfield Hanam. As you can see from the photos above, alternative transportation remains an important factor in how Koreans visit retail centers.

In conclusion, is Starfield Hanam considered "sprawl"? I definitely do not think it should be, especially to how westerners would describe it.

Will Starfield Hanam promote sprawl and other kinds of vehicular-centric development in South Korea? Most likely not since most planned retail development is occurring in cities at sites that are accessible via transit (e.g: LOTTE Ulsan, LOTTE Incheon, SHINSEGAE/GIC Incheon FEZ & Dongdaegu).