Urban regeneration refers to the economic, social, physical, and environmental revitalization of cities that are declining due to population decline, changes in industrial structure, urban sprawl, and deterioration of residential environments by stren...
Urban regeneration refers to the economic, social, physical, and environmental revitalization of cities that are declining due to population decline, changes in industrial structure, urban sprawl, and deterioration of residential environments by strengthening local capabilities, introducing and creating new functions, and utilizing local resources (Special Act on Revitalization and Support of Urban Regeneration, 2022. 12). Unlike other countries, Western cities that first experienced urban decline in the 1970s implemented urban regeneration projects to revitalize their cities once again, and the United Kingdom began to explore urban regeneration strategies in the second half of the 20th century when changes in industrial structure led to urban decline. In the case of urban regeneration, traditional, unilateral policy-making is not enough to effectively solve complex urban problems. This means that it is necessary to introduce a governance system that involves and collaborates with stakeholders in urban regeneration projects.
In urban regeneration, governance refers to all public activities or interactions that various urban regeneration entities perform through mutual cooperation and collaboration to revitalize a declining city, and defines that the state, local governments, local residents, public institutions, and various related organizations and individuals can participate as urban regeneration entities. Based on the background of urban regeneration in the UK, British urban scholar Andrew Tallon (2009) classified the types of governance that operate in urban regeneration projects into four types of urban regeneration governance: top-down regeneration, bottom-up regeneration, market-led regeneration, and property-led regeneration. The importance of proper functioning of governance in the process of promoting urban regeneration projects has been continuously raised, and continuous research is necessary.
Since 2006, the Korean government has adopted urban regeneration as one of the country's future new growth engine industries, and has formed the Urban Regeneration Project Group to conduct R&D projects on urban regeneration policies, systems, legal systems, and environments. However, despite these urban regeneration policies, systems, and legal systems, the concept of urban regeneration and approaches to various types of urban decline are still ambiguous. Therefore, from the perspective of promoting the effective implementation of urban regeneration projects and establishing an appropriate governance structure, this study examines the cases of urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom, which has promoted urban regeneration before Korea and has developed its cities by recognizing the importance of governance, based on Andrew Tallon's (2009) four types of urban regeneration projects: stakeholder-led regeneration, resident-led regeneration, and market-led regeneration, By examining the cases of urban regeneration projects in Korea, which started urban regeneration projects relatively late, based on the four types of urban regeneration governance, this paper aims to provide clues on the approach of each type of urban regeneration governance to overcome urban decline by exploring the direction that urban regeneration in Korea should go and what should be considered.
The scope and method of this study were urban regeneration projects in Korea and the UK, and cases of urban regeneration projects in each country that can be classified based on the four types of urban regeneration governance of Tallon (2009) were selected through prior research and literature review. The cases of government-led regeneration were: Docklands Development Corporation, London, Castle Vale, Birmingham in the UK; Beautiful Making in Buk-gu, Gwangju and Theme Space Creation Project along the Railroad in Ansan in Korea; resident-led regeneration cases were: Coin Street Communities Builders, Northmoor Manchester in the UK; Seoul Pilot Project for Creating a Livable Village and Incheon Cultural Street Activation Project in Korea; market-led regeneration cases were: King’s Cross Development, Thames Gateway, London in the UK; Balsan Creative Culture Village in Gwangju and Renaissance Urban Regeneration Project in Changwon-Masan in Korea; and finally, landowner-led regeneration cases were: Hartcliffe-Withywood, Bristol, Glasgow Clyde Waterfront in the UK and Cheonan in Korea. The Dongnam-gu Office Complex Development Project and the Cheongju City Tobacco Manufacturing Plant Remodeling Project were selected as examples, The research method is to clarify the relationship between urban regeneration projects and governance through theoretical examination of urban regeneration and governance, examine the urban regeneration governance types of Tallon (2009), analyze the regeneration background, characteristics, and participating stakeholders of urban regeneration projects in each country selected based on the urban regeneration governance types, and based on the results of the analysis, examine the two analysis items of organizational structure composition and promotion method and funding and support method, which are important elements related to governance in urban regeneration projects in Korea and the UK, and provide implications by examining the differences in governance in urban regeneration projects by type. Based on the results of the analysis of the above cases, the following conclusions and implications are presented regarding the basic direction of urban regeneration.
First, the comparative utilization of urban regeneration governance types. In the case of the UK, the four types are utilized relatively balancedly, and each type pursues a balance of publicness and efficiency with institutional and financial foundations, making it possible to maintain the convenience of government legal and financial support. However, in the case of Korea, most urban regeneration projects are government-led and market-led regeneration, with policies still being enforced. There are various reasons for this, such as centralization, insufficient related legal systems, and the unilaterality of the top-down promotion system.
Second, there is a lack of legislation and institutionalization for various funding and support. Funding and support methods are key elements that enable the actual operation of urban regeneration governance. The UK has institutionalized various funding channels, so it can maintain urban regeneration projects of the urban regeneration governance type and operate sustainable regeneration projects based on collaboration among stakeholders. On the other hand, Korea relies on a central government-led subsidy system focused on government-led regeneration, so resident-led and landlord-led regeneration types, excluding market-led ones, have weak independent financial bases or laws and institutinnons. Korea needs institutional diversification of the financial structure that reflects the characteristics of each type and regional demand, as well as the introduction of social finance, public-private partnership investment funds, and similar systems to those in the UK.
As seen through this study, each type of urban regeneration governance has clearly different outcomes and limitations depending on the structure of funding, organizational system, and policy support system, and the ability to design and coordinate this institutionally is the key to the sustainability of urban regeneration policy and the recovery of local communities. Although the system was created through a verification process of long-term research and test beds, there are many tasks that need to be refined as there are many new attempts. In order for the newly enacted laws to be established as stable systems that will lead Korea’s urban regeneration in the future rather than just a passing fad, they need to be supported by a more solid logical foundation and detailed operational plans for each area of organization, planning, and support. I believe that this will be a strategic turning point that goes beyond the physical regeneration of the city and lays the foundation for social resilience and community self-reliance.