Bupyeong-gu 'Women’s Safety 500 Steps' Chooses Effectiveness Over Murals... Chairperson Kang Yeon-sook Urges 'Thorough Post-Management'

The '500 Steps Project', aimed at creating a women-friendly city in Bupyeong-gu, has been pointed out to need a shift from exhibition-oriented administration to a focus on practical safety and post-management.

During the 4th Administrative Welfare Committee meeting of the 274th Bupyeong-gu Council held on the 2nd, Chairperson Kang Yeon-sook (People Power Party·Proportional) highlighted in the major work report from the Department of Gender Equality and Family that "while murals may look good aesthetically at the time of creation, over time, poorly maintained murals can actually damage the urban landscape and become risk factors," calling for a change in the project approach.

The '500 Steps Project' aims to create a safe distance (approximately 500 steps) for vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly to return home from bus stops. Each year, about 50 million won is allocated per location to improve lighting in dark alleys and enhance the environment.

In her inquiries that day, Chairperson Kang stated, "Looking at past cases, many projects focused on murals, but due to inadequate post-management, many places have been left as eyesores," emphasizing that "the village environmental improvement design research service being promoted this year should include measures to prevent such side effects in advance."

In response, the head of the Department of Gender Equality and Family explained, "Due to the difficulties in post-management, we are currently trying to avoid mural projects as much as possible," adding, "Beyond simple aesthetic improvements, we are prioritizing areas with high crime rates or concentrations of single-women households in consultation with the Bupyeong and Samsan Police Stations to implement the project."

Chairperson Kang urged, "While resident satisfaction is high immediately after environmental improvements, if continuous management is not supported, the significance of the project diminishes," and requested, "Please focus administrative efforts on creating a pleasant and safe walking environment that residents can feel during this year's project implementation."

Based on the contents of this work report, the district plans to analyze the applications from 22 districts and police data to select final candidate sites and to actively promote the creation of safe streets applying environmental design (CPTED).