Urban agriculture differs from rural agriculture in that it focuses on providing citizens within urban areas with opportunities for production activities alongside diverse social engagement. The multifaceted values of urban agriculture—including soc...
Urban agriculture differs from rural agriculture in that it focuses on providing citizens within urban areas with opportunities for production activities alongside diverse social engagement. The multifaceted values of urban agriculture—including social, economic, and environmental benefits—serve as a key driver for urban regeneration, infusing cities with vitality. However, the objectives and policy approaches for revitalizing urban agriculture within city centers vary between domestic and international contexts. Therefore, this study aims to derive specific types and elements that can activate urban agriculture by analyzing overseas urban agriculture cases that embody the meaning of spatial regeneration. This requires prioritizing empirical foundational analysis to identify potential sites, such as vacant lots and areas needing regeneration, for people-centered urban regeneration. Furthermore, it can serve as foundational data for developing concrete spatial plans to overcome the limitations of temporary urban agriculture in Korea.
This study examined the relationship between urban agriculture and urban regeneration by reviewing prior research that explored ways to activate urban agriculture using diverse spaces in city centers. It primarily covers urban agriculture cases from Canada, France, and Japan, which have been pioneers in integrating urban agriculture into urban planning. Utilizing the Urban Transect concept, the study understood the location and overall environment of each case. Through CPUL literature, four multifaceted value items (economic viability, sustainability, public benefit, community) were derived for in-depth analysis. By analyzing the pluralistic values, macro-environment, and micro-environment of 19 overseas urban agriculture cases, the study identified ‘types of regeneration targets’, ‘types of urban agriculture’, and ‘types of spatial reconfiguration’.
To propose a spatial regeneration planning through urban agriculture, a current status survey was conducted in the Naedeok-dong area of Cheongju City, classifying it into seven zones. Naedeok-dong is an urban regeneration activation area where the high-density residential zones U2 and U3 within the urban transect occupy a large proportion, and underutilized buildings continue to emerge. Zones C and E were selected from the seven zones to apply the urban agriculture types and spatial reconfiguration types. For Zone C, considering the user characteristics of spending most of their daily lives in residential areas, a ‘Park Regeneration Type’ urban agriculture space plan was proposed. For Zone E, considering the complex purpose visitor patterns of public and cultural facilities, a ‘Residential Building Regeneration Type’ urban agriculture space plan was proposed to increase revisit rates.
This study is significant in that it specifically proposes sustainable urban agriculture space plans based on empirical analysis processes targeting specific areas. The ‘urban agriculture types’ and ‘spatial reconfiguration types’ derived by analyzing overseas urban agriculture spaces, integrating macro and micro perspectives, contribute to creating innovative urban agriculture spaces. The process of discovering spaces for revitalizing urban agriculture within inner-city areas lays the groundwork for inducing long-term outcomes in urban agriculture and can guide people-centered, practical urban regeneration.
The analysis of overseas cases was not based on field surveys examining practical usability and accessibility. Furthermore, when applying the types derived from overseas cases to Korea, they may manifest differently depending on climate conditions, resident characteristics, and policy features; thus, these specific differences were not examined. Furthermore, technical aspects for reconfiguring spaces for urban agriculture were not addressed. Therefore, the plan proposed in this study can serve as a reference for regeneration projects and plans aiming to expand the diversity of urban agriculture.