MVRDV's plant-covered walkway in Seoul may look like a low-budget version of the High Line, but it's much more than that ? it's the sign of a new frontier in city-making, says new Dezeen columnist Gerard Reinmuth.

It seems every city has a disused conduit that is set to be transformed into "the new High Line". Upon completion, comparisons to the so-called "original" version  ? conveniently forgetting the Coulée verte René-Dumont in Paris ? are then made.
The recently opened Seoullo 7017 in Seoul, Korea, is no exception to this pattern. Completed in time for the inaugural Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism, Seoullo was traversed by many of the architects and journalists moving from one biennale site to another. Before the dust settles and everyone moves on, some reflection of the project outside the inevitable comparisons is warranted. Yes, Seoullo is a pedestrian-only path through the city, and yes, it is raised above ground level. But simultaneously, the project can also be understood as a specifically Seoul moment of urban regeneration, which has occurred as part of a progressive series of public space transformations in the city over the past 15 years. This specificity poses significant questions, not because of a formal or typological resemblance of the walkway to something else, but around how architects might engage with city-making, as the focus of cities continues to move from expansion to consolidation and renewal. This shift brings...