Speaker
Description
Participatory urban planning has emerged as an essential approach to addressing urban decline and fostering sustainable development. This study examines South Korea’s Majeon Urban Regeneration Special Program, implemented in Majeon Village, Geumsan County, as a case study to assess the effectiveness and limitations of participatory planning in the Korean context. By analyzing planning and implementation processes, this research aims to derive insights applicable to both South Korea and broader international urban planning practices.
The study employed qualitative research methods, including collaborative workshops and focus group interviews (FGIs) with key stakeholders such as local residents, municipal authorities, public institutions, urban planning experts, and a local university. The results demonstrate that participatory planning in South Korea can generate democratic and context-specific urban design proposals by employing a phased approach and clearly defined stakeholder roles. Collaboration with a local university significantly improved the feasibility and quality of design proposals, while community engagement fostered social capital and economic revitalization. However, critical challenges were identified, including weak institutional support, inconsistent citizen engagement in later phases, and insufficient implementation strategies.
To contextualize the Korean case within a global framework, this study compares the Majeon Urban Regeneration Special Program with international participatory planning models, including Germany’s Integrated Urban Development Concept (ISEK), Japan’s Machizukuri, and the Community-Based Planning framework in the United States. Germany’s ISEK model highlights the necessity of institutionalized participatory planning, where local governments facilitate early citizen engagement while ensuring professional expertise in later stages. Japan’s Machizukuri model underscores the role of sustained community cooperation, fostering long-term resident involvement through locally embedded governance structures. The U.S. Community-Based Planning framework demonstrates the benefits of tailored, bottom-up approaches that integrate local knowledge into urban design.
The comparative analysis suggests that while South Korea’s participatory planning approach has demonstrated strengths in democratic decision-making and collaborative design, it requires stronger institutional backing to ensure long-term sustainability. The study recommends policy measures such as legal frameworks that mandate citizen participation from the early planning stages, localized support networks to enhance community engagement, and standardized models for university-community collaboration. Additionally, the establishment of sustainable resident councils, similar to Japan’s Machizukuri, could provide a mechanism for ongoing citizen involvement beyond the initial planning phases.
This research contributes to the global urban planning discourse by emphasizing the need for context-specific participatory planning frameworks that balance top-down institutional support with bottom-up community engagement. By strengthening the implementation mechanisms of participatory urban regeneration, South Korea can enhance the effectiveness of its urban renewal policies while offering insights applicable to other socio-cultural contexts worldwide.
| Keywords | Participatory Urban Planning; Urban Regeneration; Community Engagement; Sustainable Development |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
