The Seoul city government is introducing a "shade walking right" as a basic principle of urban policy so that citizens can walk comfortably from the moment they leave home to their destination while avoiding the heat. By next year, it will select 10 busy neighborhood streets and begin installing facilities to create shade. Starting with this, it plans to create shade across all of Seoul by 2028.
Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor, held a press briefing on the "Seoul shade walking right declaration" at City Hall on the 19th and said, "We will make shade not a convenience facility enjoyed only in certain places, but a basic city service that protects citizens' health and daily life."
The shade walking right is a policy concept that plans and manages urban space so citizens can continuously enjoy a certain level of shade along everyday walking routes. Rather than the number of trees or shade canopies, it uses as criteria the actual area, duration, and connectivity of shade while citizens walk, wait, and rest.
The Seoul city government will reflect the shade walking right in the city's master plan and neighborhood plans and apply it step by step to projects that change real spaces, such as district unit plans, renewal projects, and public building projects. It plans to link street trees and gardens, building shade, canopies, awnings, publicly accessible open spaces, and public walking passages into a single system, connecting the "dots" of individual facilities into the "line" of neighborhood shade paths.
Seoul is moving to secure shade in the city center for citizen safety. For citizens who must commute to work or school, shop for groceries, and use public transportation even during heat waves, prolonged sun exposure can be dangerous. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's heat illness emergency department surveillance system, among 815 heat illness patients in Seoul from 2023 to 2025, the largest share, 31.4%, occurred along roadsides.
However, many sections reportedly lack shade or have breaks in walking routes. The city analyzed shade created by buildings and street trees across 67,029 sidewalk segments totaling 4,031 km. As a result, the average sun exposure time on Seoul sidewalks was 4 hours and 21 minutes. In 27.6% of all sections, exposure lasted six hours or longer.
Also, the average shade ratio on Seoul sidewalks was found to be 44.4%. Building shade accounted for 29.2% and street tree shade 15.2%. In particular, when building shade shortens around noon, street trees were found to compensate for the lack of shade. To sufficiently secure walking shade, it means planners must consider not only increasing street trees but also building height and location, road orientation, sidewalk width, planting spaces, and shading facilities together.
To create shade paths, the Seoul city government will pursue a three-stage strategy. The plan is to precisely "find" where shade is needed, "create" it to fit local conditions, and "link" it seamlessly along citizens' daily routes.
First, it will analyze sun exposure times together with citizens' actual walking routes to identify places where shade expansion is urgent. Rather than simply choosing where the sun is strong, it will set priorities by comprehensively considering pedestrian volumes, use by heat-vulnerable groups such as older adults, outdoor waiting times, feasibility of facility installation, and expected improvement effects.
Shade will be created to match each location's size and use patterns. Where trees can be planted, natural shade will be secured first, and where planting is difficult due to underground utilities or narrow sidewalks, seasonal shades, canopies, awnings, and small rest areas will be installed. In addition, individual facilities will be connected to major everyday spaces to form neighborhood shade paths. It will link residential areas with subway stations, schools, markets, hospitals, and parks, and where tree planting is difficult, it will supplement with canopies and awnings so shade is not interrupted along actual travel routes.
By next year, the Seoul city government will run a pilot project on 10 neighborhood streets that are heavily used by citizens and tourists or lack shade. The sites will be selected by comprehensively considering sun exposure time, pedestrian volumes, the older adult population, the degree of shade discontinuity, and feasibility of facility installation. After applying shading methods tailored to different conditions such as wide sidewalks, narrow sidewalks, and slopes, it will measure shade area and perceived temperatures, as well as citizen usage and satisfaction, before and after the project. Effective methods will become standard models, while inadequate facilities will be supplemented, and from 2028 the project will expand across Seoul.
Mayor Oh Se-hoon said, "If the garden city Seoul initiative has increased green spaces in neighborhoods, the shade walking right is the next step that connects them from home to destination," adding, "We will create tailored facilities where shade is needed and connect them seamlessly in each neighborhood so anyone can walk safely and comfortably even in summer."