This research was initiated from the increased interest in the city of Suwon and their active community support projet. In particular, through the public business of the Suwon community renaissance conducted by the commuity acting as the principal age...
This research was initiated from the increased interest in the city of Suwon and their active community support projet. In particular, through the public business of the Suwon community renaissance conducted by the commuity acting as the principal agent, communities are found to be highly interested in common space. Common space is a physical space available to all residents for sharing emotions and sentiments. The objective of this research is to understand the meanings of community activities through common space in local.
In order to do this, communities that represent real life cases will be selected beyond theoretical studies. Subsequently through the understanding of the selected communities important elements of these communities and their interactions will be examined.
The representative case of research was set to‘Friends of Seo-Ho Stream’which is a local community that has been active in the center of common space for a long time in the city of Suwon. Furthermore, through the understanding of‘Friends of Seo-Ho Stream’important elements among the activities of residents, shared space and the public were derived and how they are interconnected. In order to examine the specific relationship, the formation of residential organization, construction and management of shared space were analyzed. The result was that shared space in a region contributes to the formation, growth and activation of communities. Moreover, in the process of construction of shared space, the use of residual land area and the possibility of private-public partnership possibility were evident.
In other words, through the process of development of shared space via communal activities, the construction and management of shared space leads to the possibility of community formation and growth.
First, community can be formed via the common recognition of problems and interest in the regional common space. Thus, the common space used by local residents served as a medium that forms a community.
Second, wasted residual land area were able to be shared by communities and turned into communal space that all residents can enjoy. Idle space can be actively used by residents for communication purpose, which improved the environment and strengthened interactions between residents.
Third, a partnership was able to be formed in the construction and management of common space. Administrative and residential work was conducted collaboratively in order to convert local empty space into usable space, which brought a great deal of both public and private benefits.
Fourth, various programs in which local residents could participate through common space were initiated and community could be activated and expanded.
In conclusion, community was formed and grew through using common space, and as the utilizing of idle space and the establishment of public and private partnership became possible, community activities using common space also became possible. Participation and cohesion of local residents increased and the persistence of community resulted.
There were also limitation in th use of common space for ‘Friends of Seo-Ho Stream’. First, in order to create common space, land and financial securement is important and this was possible thanks to the support of the city of Suwon. ‘Friends of Seo-Ho Stream’were able to receive support from the city of Suwon due to the policy of public and private partnership, and still depend on administrative work. Second, ‘Friends of Seo-Ho Stream’continue to excessively increase the range and amount of activities. Development of contents to increase the participation of residents may be helpful but with limited resources, the dependence rate of the public will be high while the sustainability of the program will decrease. Third, because ‘Friends of Seo-Ho Stream’is a resident-formed organization based on region so that it seems likely to observe the regional characteristics but this turns out not to be true.
The research analyzed one case of regional community therefore it may be challenging to apply other regions or communities. One of the limitations of this study may be that the research target is not specific enough. However, despite such limitations, the research provides sufficient evidence that the construction and management process of shared space can recover and form private-public partnerships. In addition, the research provides directions in which how lost communities can be recovered through the use of shared space as well as establishing residents’participation in the construction and management of shared space.