Pocheon Mayor Park Yoon-guk, "'Urban Regeneration New Deal' and 'Green New Deal' as New Growth Engines for the City"

'Urban Regeneration Collaborative Governance Forum' Held... 12 Local Government Heads Announce 'Joint Declaration' for Regional Balanced Development

Pocheon Mayor Park Yoon-guk is introducing the case of Pocheon City linking urban regeneration and the Green New Deal at the Urban Regeneration Cooperation Forum on the 1st. [Provided by Pocheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter La Young-cheol] At the 'Urban Regeneration Governance Forum' attended by heads of 12 local governments nationwide, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and urban regeneration experts, Park Yoon-guk, co-chairman of the Gyeonggi area and mayor of Pocheon, emphasized that the 'Urban Regeneration New Deal' and the 'Green New Deal' are new driving forces for urban growth.

Mayor Park, who participated as a presenter in the policy research sector by local government at the Urban Regeneration Governance Forum held on the 1st at the Seoul Air Force Hotel, explained the vision and goals of the 'Green New Deal' being promoted as a national policy and introduced plans and methods linking 'urban regeneration' and the 'Green New Deal' using the Pocheon case.

Mayor Park stated his political philosophy as a local government head, saying, "For a city to grow, it must be based on clean air, clean water, and fertile land, and within that, the goal of city administration is a healthy and happy life for its citizens."

He added, "For Pocheon's urban regeneration, we are planning key projects such as improving the residential environment in target areas, creating jobs linked to the tourism industry, and revitalizing neighborhood commercial districts."

He particularly identified the core of the 'eco-friendly urban regeneration' sector as the 'Urban Regeneration New Deal' and the 'Green New Deal.'

He emphasized, "When establishing activation plans for each target area, we incorporate plans for 'energy self-sufficient village creation' and 'nurturing eco-friendly experts and specialized companies' into Green New Deal projects that consider local conditions."

Currently, Pocheon is promoting various energy transition facility support projects, including the creation of an eco-friendly ecological city in the '2035 Pocheon City Basic Urban Plan.'

In this regard, Mayor Park said, "We are planning 'green remodeling construction projects' such as creating eco-friendly energy housing, 'carbon emission reduction' through building eco-friendly transportation infrastructure, operating 'energy living labs' for citizen-led energy transition and management, and running 'expert training courses.'"

He continued, "Pocheon is a tourist and resort city with beautiful natural scenery, adjacent to the metropolitan area, and has unlimited growth potential in northern Gyeonggi Province," emphasizing, "We have supplemented previously vulnerable transportation infrastructure through efforts such as the opening of expressways between Pocheon-Guri and Pocheon-Sejong and the confirmed attraction of railroads, thus securing new growth engines."

Meanwhile, the 12 local government heads participating in the region-tailored urban regeneration policy research group announced a 'joint declaration' to overcome the crisis of local and population extinction and establish a self-sustaining development model suited to regional characteristics, thereby laying the foundation for balanced regional development through small-city type urban regeneration policies.

At the temporary general meeting, Park Yoon-guk, mayor of Pocheon, Gyeonggi; Hwang In-hong, county head of Muju, Jeonbuk; Go Yoon-hwan, mayor of Mungyeong, Gyeongbuk; Joo Nak-young, mayor of Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk; and Park Seung-won, mayor of Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, each received appointment letters as 'co-chairmen.'

The forum was attended by 12 local government heads, Moon Sung-yo, head of the Urban Regeneration Promotion Team at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Kim Hyun-soo, president of the Korean Society of Land and Urban Planning, Dr. Lee Sang-jun of the LH Urban Regeneration Support Organization, and about 50 others.