[Public Voices] The Public's Role in Sustainable Urban Maintenance

Requires Significant Time and Astronomical Costs
Monopolized Promotion Impossible...
Government and Public Enterprises
Must Fulfill Integrated, Leading, and Inclusive Public Roles

Research Fellow Youngtae Cho, LH Land and Housing Institute

These days, urban planning is focused on urban maintenance targeting areas such as Bundang New Town. The attention that was once concentrated on urban regeneration is now shifting to urban maintenance. For citizens, urban maintenance?which allows them to reconstruct their own houses and apartments?is far more appealing than urban regeneration aimed at public spaces like alleys and parks.

Through this special law, aging planned cities over 1 million square meters (300,000 pyeong) that are more than 20 years old will be maintained. As of 2023, about 1 million households across more than 50 districts nationwide are subject to this, which is eight times the area of Bundang. These areas were developed by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (79%) and local governments (21%). The scope of urban maintenance targets is increasing every year. The development period for first-generation new towns like Bundang was on average 5 to 7 years, and now, after about 30 years, urban maintenance is being pursued. Compared to new development, urban maintenance involves more stakeholders and much more complex social, economic, and environmental issues to resolve. The Tama New Town in Japan, developed from the late 1960s, is only now beginning residential complex reconstruction after 60 to 70 years. During our new town developments, we benchmarked Japan and Europe. However, large-scale, comprehensive cases at the city level are hard to find. Now, it is time to attempt Korean-style urban maintenance that other countries can benchmark.

Rather than maintaining individual complexes or a few complexes as pilot projects, scientific simulations must precede to determine how to restructure the entire city. This is not only a problem for aging planned cities. We need to consider which parts of Seongnam to maintain, which to preserve and develop, and how to restructure Seongnam to improve urban functions and competitiveness. The “plan first, develop later” approach shouted in early 2000s urban planning must now be recalled as “plan first, maintain later.” Furthermore, quantitative and qualitative maintenance of urban infrastructure must take priority according to residential, commercial, and industrial maintenance plans.

Instead of flashy reconstruction perspective drawings, sustainable and innovative urban maintenance strategies are needed. Appropriate urban infrastructure maintenance plans considering the city’s overall carbon neutrality must be prepared. In the mid-2000s, Gyeonggi Province established a broad plan called “planned management” and used it as a means to maintain greenbelt areas. Prior to this, the United States sought harmony between development, preservation, and maintenance under the concept of “smart growth.” Our aging planned city maintenance must be carried out integrally from the perspective of local governments. Long-term considerations are also necessary. This urban maintenance must not be rushed and cause the same maintenance to be needed again 20 years later.

First and foremost, a cooperative role distribution and project participation among diverse stakeholders are necessary. While it is natural for private companies and citizens to expand their participation in maintenance projects, responsible public roles must come first. The public sector has priority roles in establishing integrated urban maintenance plans through scientific simulations, prioritizing urban infrastructure maintenance, operating relocation complexes for cyclical reconstruction, reinvesting development profits, and utilizing funds. Our urban maintenance will require a great deal of time and astronomical costs, and no single entity can monopolize its execution. Fragmented and individual project implementations cannot achieve integrated urban maintenance. The government and public enterprises must fulfill integrated, leading, and inclusive public roles. The Korea Land and Housing Corporation, which led new town projects, should not claim initiative in urban maintenance out of habit but must prepare and be thoroughly ready.

Research Fellow Youngtae Cho, LH Land and Housing Institute