First Introduced Nationwide in 2015... Expanded to 24 Locations in 8 Counties and Districts This Year
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City is revitalizing the operation of 'Village Housing Management Offices' that provide apartment management office functions in existing low-rise residential areas of the old downtown.
The city announced on the 29th that it will allocate 450 million KRW of the 900 million KRW budget for the operation of Village Housing Management Offices this year to seven districts including Jung-gu, and declare the first year of revitalization with the start of operations.
The Village Housing Management Offices provide home repair support services such as wallpapering, flooring, window repair, heating, and boiler maintenance for housing vulnerable groups and the underprivileged.
Additionally, for general residents, they offer free home repair education and tool rental, operate parcel storage for office workers, and promote neighborhood residential environment improvements such as creating flower paths and removing fences through volunteers, community groups, talent donors, and professional companies coordinated by the autonomous districts.
The Village Housing Management Offices are established by utilizing idle spaces in each neighborhood community center or remodeling abandoned or vacant houses in the village.
Incheon City first introduced the Village Housing Management Office nationwide in 2015, starting with five locations in four districts. It operated until 2018, and last year, with the enactment of an ordinance providing a basis and system for continuous promotion, eight additional offices were installed, increasing to 13 locations across seven districts.
This year, the city plans to expand the Village Housing Management Offices by adding 11 more locations, totaling 24 across eight districts, laying the foundation for full-scale revitalization.
The Village Housing Management Offices have shown a total of 9,579 cases of operation performance: 202 cases in 2015, 596 in 2016, 1,716 in 2017, 2,691 in 2018, and 4,374 last year. The performance last year, five years after introduction, increased more than 21 times compared to 2015.
To supplement the shortcomings in the operation of the Village Housing Management Offices so far, the city will assign two permanent staff members to each office this year.
Furthermore, the city plans to accelerate revitalization through linking Village Housing Management Offices with Housing Doctors to provide visiting home repair services, expanding home repair education and tool rental, unmanned parcel services, implementing low-rise residential area management projects in connection with village resident councils, and diversifying Village Housing Management Office operation projects.
An official from Incheon City stated, "By supplementing the operation and management of Village Housing Management Offices, we will strive for practical residential environment improvement and revitalization of the old downtown through region-customized and resident-centered support in the aging low-rise residential areas of the old downtown."
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