[Senior Reporter Park Jong-il] Guro-gu, led by District Mayor Jang In-hong, is accelerating its "Garden City Guro" initiative by transforming the gray pedestrian environment along the G-Valley industrial complex and Gyeongin-ro into a green walkway corridor.
The district recently completed two projects: the G-Valley Street Forest project near Guro Digital Complex and a water-cycle restoration project along Gyeongin-ro. Both aimed to expand green space in the urban core while improving pedestrian conditions, reducing flood risk and countering extreme heat.
Along Digitallo — a main commuter route for G-Valley workers and residents — the district created a 7,750-square-meter street forest. By installing water-collection boundary blocks and planting a variety of trees including hydrangeas and crape myrtles, the district added greenery to what had been a stark industrial streetscape.
Alongside this, the district carried out the water-cycle restoration project on a 785-meter stretch of Gyeongin-ro between Oryu IC and Gocheok Sky Dome — a corridor long flagged for heat-island effects and flood risk due to heavy traffic and a high proportion of impermeable surfaces.
The project introduced "rainwater piggy banks," storage units paired with strip-green protective panels that collect runoff from road surfaces during rainfall and channel it back to trees for growth. The system helps ease urban heat-island effects and reduces stormwater runoff during heavy rain, contributing to flood prevention.
The strip greenery and street trees store rainwater when it falls and supply it to tree roots during dry periods, improving growing conditions while also cutting overall water consumption.
In addition, the district planted species with strong carbon-absorption and fine-dust-reduction properties — including variegated privet and Judas trees — within the strip greenery, further enhancing vegetation recovery and microclimate regulation.
"This project goes beyond simple green-space maintenance — it transforms the roads that residents and workers use every day into comfortable, sustainable green pedestrian spaces," District Mayor Jang said. "We will continue to expand green areas and rest spaces throughout residential zones so that people can experience the Garden City Guro vision in their daily lives."
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