Gyeonggi-do Officially Begins Redevelopment of 5 New Towns Including Bundang and Ilsan

Redevelopment Projects Also Underway in Deteriorated Urban Areas
Resident Briefings to Tour Five Districts Starting from the 20th

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Building Exterior

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will expand the application scope of the "Special Act on the Redevelopment of Aged Residential Sites" from new town-scale areas to residential sites of 1 million square meters that have been completed for over 20 years, in order to enable rapid and systematic redevelopment of aged residential sites such as first-generation new towns.

On the 19th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it will share the contents of the "Special Act on the Redevelopment of Aged Residential Sites in Gyeonggi Province (draft)" and the "Comprehensive Plan for Redevelopment and Development Directions of First-generation New Towns (draft)" with residents through five rounds of public briefings.

The schedule for the related public briefings is as follows: January 20 in Gunpo City (City Hall), January 25 in Seongnam City (Bundang District Office), January 26 in Goyang City (Flower Exhibition Hall), January 30 in Anyang City (Dongan Lifelong Learning Center), and January 31 in Bucheon City (City Hall).

These public briefings will serve as opportunities to gather opinions from residents and master planners (MPs) on the "Special Act on the Redevelopment of Aged Residential Sites in Gyeonggi Province (draft)" which the province has directly reviewed from August last year to recently, and the results of the "Comprehensive Plan for Redevelopment and Development Directions of First-generation New Towns (draft)" conducted by Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation from August to December 2022.

The "Special Act on the Redevelopment of Aged Residential Sites in Gyeonggi Province (draft)" was prepared through comprehensive review including expert consultations by comparing and analyzing eight special bills currently pending in the National Assembly.

The main feature is the expansion of the application from residential sites of 3.3 million square meters or more (new town-scale) to residential sites of 1 million square meters or more that have been completed for over 20 years, allowing not only existing new towns but also aged districts within the province to benefit from the special act.

Additionally, it includes provisions such as ▲omission of implementation plan procedures ▲relaxation of various regulations including floor area ratio and support measures (tax and charge reductions) ▲simplification of procedures and support for project promotion through integrated review.

The "Comprehensive Plan for Redevelopment and Development Directions of First-generation New Towns (draft)" proposes four specialized strategies and five core tasks (apartment complex redevelopment, single-family housing redevelopment, support function supplementation, self-sufficient function supplementation, and transportation improvement) as redevelopment directions.

Specifically, the four specialized strategies are as follows: Land use focuses on establishing a sustainable urban spatial structure in response to the pandemic while guiding station areas to mixed uses such as culture, leisure, business, and exhibitions. Mobility aims to restore and expand the role of the existing pedestrian system while establishing a smart green mobility operation base for electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, etc. Energy and Smart Life respectively emphasize the introduction of new and renewable energy and smart public and private services.

Since the public briefings are open not only to residents of the first-generation new towns where the events are hosted but also to residents of old downtown areas and neighboring cities and counties, a variety of opinions are expected to be presented.

The province plans to collect opinions from residents and experts at the public briefings and propose the "Special Act on the Redevelopment of Aged Residential Sites in Gyeonggi Province (draft)" to the central government, striving to ensure that Gyeonggi Province’s views are reflected in the government-level special act legislation (draft).

Yoon Sung-jin, Head of the Urban Regeneration Promotion Team of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "Gyeonggi Province will continuously listen to residents’ opinions and cooperate with the central government and local governments to do its best to improve residential environments so that residents of not only first-generation new towns but also old downtown areas do not experience inconvenience in their daily lives."

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province is promoting measures such as ▲proposals for institutional improvements including relaxation of reconstruction safety diagnosis standards (reflected) ▲support for redevelopment consulting costs ▲support for initial administrative procedure costs such as safety diagnosis and redevelopment plan establishment ▲support for maintenance costs of common facilities in aged apartment complexes to facilitate smooth redevelopment of first-generation new towns and other aged cities.