Search Results (22)

This study employs Hannah Arendt’s (1958) the human condition as a philosophical framework to examine walking not merely as a physical activity but as a meaningful form of environmental consciousness. Homo faber, which denotes tool making, corresponds to the nature-based railway regeneration exemplified by the Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Seoul City, South Korea. By applying walking as a method, bifurcated themes are explored: a pedestrian-provision focus on walkability and an environmentally oriented focus consisting of nature and culture, supporting the notion that environmental elements are co-experienced through the embodied activity of walking. Thematic findings are supported by generalized additive models, grounded in a between-method triangulation attempt. The results confirm the interdependencies among the park’s environment, pedestrian satisfaction, and environmental consciousness. Specifically, the environment surrounding the park, which traverses natural and cultural elements, is strongly associated with both pedestrian satisfaction and environmental sensitivity. The research reifies walking as a fundamental human condition, encompassing labor, work, and action, while arguing for heuristic reciprocity between homo faber and nature, as well as framing walking as a sustainably meaningful urban intervention. This study contributes to maturing the theoretical understanding of walking as a vital human condition and suggests practical insights for pedestrian-centered spatial transformation. Full article

This study aims to empirically analyze the direct effects of local government competencies on regional economic revitalization within the broader context of local communities and to investigate the moderating role of social trust in this relationship. Using panel data constructed from the 2012–2019 Seoul Survey provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and panel data from South Korea’s National Statistical Office, we employed feasible generalized least squares to account for potential heteroscedasticity and serial correlation. The results demonstrate that local government competencies positively impact regional economic vitality within local communities, with high levels of social trust among residents in these communities further strengthening this positive effect. This study highlights the theoretical importance of integrating resource-based and social capital theories to advance the field of urban regeneration and emphasizes the role of local communities in economic development. The findings suggest that even where local government competencies may be limited, a strong foundation of community social trust within local communities can drive economic revitalization. This underscores the need for central and local governments to actively enhance social trust within communities as a means of fostering sustainable economic growth. Full article

This study developed an innovative active vibration canceling (AVC) system designed to mitigate non-periodic vibrations during road driving to enhance passenger comfort. The macro-fiber composite (MFC) used in the system is a smart material that is flexible, soft, lightweight, and applicable in many fields as a dual-purpose sensor and actuator. The target vibrations are road vibration data that were collected while driving on standard urban (Seoul) and highway roads at 40 km/s. To predict and cancel the target vibration accurately before passing it, we modeled the vibration prediction algorithm using a long short-term memory recurrent neural network (LSTM RNN). We regenerated vibrations on Seoul and highway roads at 40 km/s using MFCs and measured the displacements of the measured, predicted, and AVC vibrations of each road condition. To evaluate the vibration, we computed the root mean squared error (RMSE) and compared standard deviation (SD) values. The accuracies of LSTM RNN vibration prediction algorithms are 97.27% and 96.36% on Seoul roads and highway roads, respectively, at 40 km/s. Although the vibration ratio compared with the AVC results are different, there was no difference between the values of the AVC vibrations. According to a previous study and the principle of the AVC system, the target vibrations decrease by canceling the inverse vibration of the MFC actuator. Full article

Recently, gentrification has occurred not only in Seoul, the capital, but also nationwide in Korea. In other countries such as the United States and Europe, it occurs in various areas such as housing, commerce, and culture, but in Korea, it occurs in most commercial areas. In addition, the resulting social problems are also very serious, and the pace of occurrence and progress is also very fast. The present study was conducted on Korean cities, especially local cities where gentrification occurred due to the government’s urban regeneration project. A system was established to analyze the occurrence phenomenon from a supply perspective and a demand perspective, and to synthesize them to predict the stages that proceed when gentrification occurs by period. Through this, it will be possible to observe and predict gentrification phenomena and respond in advance. Full article

The importance of wooden buildings has been highlighted in recent years due to the energy-efficient and carbon storage effect of wood. This study investigates the willingness to pay for one-time tax payments of the citizens currently living in Seoul when Seoullo uses wood as a material for covering the surface of the facilities. The study examines the economic feasibility of Seoullo, which is a part of the government urban regeneration project that built a park on the desolate bridge in 2017. The result indicates that Seoul citizens who participated in the survey feel a greater preference for wood material rather than existing concrete used in Seoullo despite the tax burden. As a result, it is found that the respondents with children under the age of 8, respondents who are aware of the urban regeneration project, and respondents with respiratory disease have a lower marginal willingness to pay than those in the opposite groups. Moreover, the result shows that the respondents who consider farming or returning to rural areas, respondents in need of city improvement, respondents who chose wood as a preferred building material, and respondents with the experience of visiting Seoullo have a greater marginal willingness to pay for the wooden material than those in the opposite groups. Full article

Since the 2000s, urban regeneration projects have been actively implemented to address urban problems in Seoul. These projects not only help improve the environment but also make the community sustainable. Accordingly, a number of public community facilities have been created through public participation. In Seoul, since there are few existing communities that have been active in relation to public projects, there are many cases in which the government must find residents who could participate in such projects, form a new organization, and induce participation. This study analyzes such cases and identifies related characteristics. In particular, flexibly planning community participation can increase sustainability under these conditions in various communities within cities. Planning from a flexible perspective assumes that the occurrence and impact of participation may not be sequential and allows and induces community change. This study is useful in preparing planning strategies under similar conditions in the future. Full article

Commercial gentrification has had a significant impact on the urban environment, particularly in leading to the upscaling and expansion of food and beverage (F&B) commercial activities. F&B commercialization and proliferation has emerged from (a) the borders of newly provided urban open space and (b) seed points where small-sized commercial areas had already been formed. However, few studies have simultaneously explored the commercialization process of these different contextual sub-regions over a relatively long time period. This study of Yeon-nam district, Seoul, aims to demonstrate empirically (1) how the F&B commercial stores have been distributed over the past decade and (2) which of the factors that are the spreading center of the F&B store is the critical factor. Using kernel density estimation, the study discovered that the old–residential district has been entirely transformed to an F&B commercial district since the Gyeong-ui Line Forest Park opened in the district. Furthermore, through the analysis of standard deviational ellipses, we empirically verified that F&B commercialization was more substantial in the seed region. Based on the findings, policy recommendations for urban planning and design, especially urban gentrification management and regeneration, are provided. Full article

The objective of this study was to illustrate the urban flood resilience and sustainability improvement potential by integration of decentralized water management systems in sustainable urban regeneration projects. This paper discusses sustainable and resilient urban regeneration potentials using the example of an industrial compound (ICs) conversion in Seoul, South Korea. Urban flood vulnerability has been a concern globally due to land use changes, limited capacity of existing stormwater management infrastructures and the effects of climate change. Due to their comparably low building density, ICs can effectively contribute to the separation and decentralized retention and infiltration of stormwater. However, no sustainable and resilient conversion examples of ICs have been realized in Seoul so far. After identification of a representative IC, its exemplary sustainable conversion with implementation of decentralized water management infrastructures were designed. The rainwater collection, retention and infiltration system was dimensioned in order to create a stormwater discharge-free property. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the improvement potentials before and after the conversion unveiled that this conversion contributes also to the improvement of the neighborhoods’ sustainability, spatial quality and resilience to disasters. The research results are transferable to other urban ICs and are a good practice example for sustainable and resilient regeneration of existing urban districts. Full article

Although Korea has made notable progress in the availability of public rental housing, Korea’s public rental housing representing 6.3% of the country’s total housing is still below the 8% OECD average from 2016. The Seoul Metropolitan Area (composed of Seoul City, Incheon City, and Gyeonggi Province) has nearly 50% of the country’s population, but 11% of the nation’s territory, meaning the area suffers from an acute shortage of public rental housing. This is a serious problem which is hampering the sustainability of Korean society in general. We will examine the possibility of improving this public housing problem using certain algorithms to optimize decision making and resource allocation. This study reviews two pioneering studies on optimal investment portfolio for land development projects and optimal project combination for urban regeneration projects, and then optimizes a public housing investment combination to maximize the amount of public rental houses in Gyeonggi province using optimization techniques. Through the optimal investment combination, public rental houses were found to be more efficiently and sustainably planned for the community. Full article

This study examined regeneration issues from the perspective of urban regeneration and the characteristics of areas that have been the subject of public policy failure, namely new towns and redevelopment of project-canceled areas. These areas are in need of improvement, particularly in regard to old housing and poor infrastructure. It is imperative that infrastructure conditions that may be difficult to focus on in the private sector are improved. Therefore, the public (Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG)) needs to play an active role, with a particular focus on providing significant administrative power and finances to these areas in order to reduce the effects of policy failure and make continuous efforts to reverse the failed policy. The public should actively work to resolve distrust and conflict in the public policy and make restorative efforts through new policies. Full article

Abandoned industrial facilities have become a nuisance in cities because the needs of society members are continuously changing. Idle industrial facilities might be considered to be merely abandoned and empty spaces, but they are in reality historic sites that illustrate the period of industrialization in the region. They are valuable because they serve to accumulate memories from the past. Recently, with the need for urban regeneration, there have been various discussions on converting the abandoned industrial facilities into cultural art spaces. They are intended to promote the sustainability of communities and cities by vitalizing the area. Considering the social dimensions of urban regeneration, it is necessary to render such a creative space as a ‘Third Place’ to promote the city’s sustainability. Converted industrial facilities, through the medium of ‘Voluntary Arts Activities,’ have many elements that are suitable for the needs of a creative space, and even for a ‘Third Place’. As opposed to the private sector, it is seen that when the public sector regenerates these facilities, they approach this issue in order to lower the cultural arts barrier. The public sector, which is a government-centered first sector, conducts regeneration projects based on the ‘Democratization of Culture’ perspective. However, in order to promote participation in the third sector, which is a community-based, non-profit sector that actually uses the space, it is important to approach the issue from the ‘Cultural Democracy’ perspective. Focusing on this aspect, this study aims to examine cases of public sector-led converted cultural arts spaces by ‘Voluntary Arts Activities’ in France and South Korea, namely ‘Le Centquatre-Paris,’ the ‘Oil Tank Culture Park,’ and the ‘West Seoul Arts Center for Learning’. This will allow us to contemplate the possibility of sustainable spaces, individuals, communities and cities. Full article

Apartments were crucial solutions to provide sufficient dwellings and to improve residential environment quality in the period after the Korean War. Thirty years after the first rush of apartment construction, many of those apartments have been demolished. However, several small-scale apartment complexes or single-building apartments without collective estates were not included in reconstruction efforts due to property, ownership, and reconstruction feasibility issues. Four such apartments remain in the Seoul Station Urban Regeneration Area. Although they are considered severely deteriorated, their architectural, historical, and cultural heritage values warrant inclusion in the Seoul Future Heritage list. From the perspective of urban regeneration, these apartments should be targeted for revitalization not only to preserve their originality but to improve the quality of sustainable building conditions and operations. In this study, we examine Choongjeong Apartment, Hoehyeon Civic Apartment, St.Joseph Apartment, and Seosomun Apartment in terms of balance among six heritage values and their improvement needs, as well as possible revitalization strategies that support sustainable urban regeneration in the area. We argue that their physical conditions can be brought up to applicable building codes, if financial support is forthcoming and numerous decision-makers allow. However, sustainable revitalization of apartments requires examination of factors affecting adaptive reuse. Through a literature and data collection review within an analysis framework, we analyze factors and issues for adaptive reuse of the four apartments. It is expected that the findings of this paper will provide insight into the role of various actors determining and taking actions for strategic physical interventions and change of uses. Full article

With the process of urbanization and post-industrialization, the diversity of regions and their unique cultures have become cultural properties for the competitiveness of cities. The concept of cultural heritage and resources has expanded in recent years. In the past, they were confined to architectural and artistic artifacts, but now, cultural heritage and resources have evolved to include environmental elements, industrial and vernacular construction, urban and rural settlements, and intangible elements related to community activities and ways of life. The community is the carrier of cultural resources and heritage. Cultural heritage sites contribute to the creation of a community’s identity. This multi-layered discussion of community engagements in cultural heritages and resources provides a unique approach to understanding cultural properties as sustainability enablers. This paper intends to go beyond the theoretical assumptions of the role of community cultural resources by studying the target research group, Bukjeong village in Seoul, Korea. The paper focuses on the possibilities of community engagement for sustainable development for urban regeneration. It proposes that cultural sustainability in its broader definition should be derived from the community realities of a particular place or cultural context. This approach must be grounded in the principles of regional networks, urban governance, and community-based activities. Full article

Seoul is a rapidly developing city that attempted to keep up with the swift rate of industrialization by constructing large buildings with short life cycles to provide basic urban facilities. Today, however, these buildings are obsolete, and Seoul has become a cultural city rather than an industrial one. Rather than destroying these old buildings, many seek to transform them into cultural facilities, thereby giving them location value. This study examines both international and domestic case studies to determine five ways that such revitalization endows these spaces with location value. Through this, the study demonstrates that providing historic buildings with traditional Seoul architectural and urban characteristics with location value creates a meaningful city in which traces of past industrialization coexist with the present. As Seoul continues to develop as a cultural hub in South Korea, this paper’s findings suggest directions for future urban design. Full article

From a social perspective, successful cities compete with other cities and with each other for residents, resources, and economic power. The important characteristic of that is the number of outdoor social activities (events, festivals, forums, etc.) held in cities that are included in several cities’ evaluation indexes. Attempting to analyze the urban environment features that foster a productive ground for social activities, this paper correlates the number of social activities with the recent ‘public park-making’ urban regeneration trend. It considers four unique project case studies in New York, Tokyo, Seoul, and Moscow in the 2016–2018 years, with outstanding and ambitious designs selected to represent the trend. This paper analyzes the global ‘public park making’ trend for city’s urban regeneration with different scales of project interventions viewed through qualitative case studies. This paper puts forward a question of global features of a public park and continues the discussion on keeping a balance between local architecture and the global public park making trend, as well as public facilities and profit, and a role of nature as a universal remedy and tool in reshaping the image of cities. Full article