The Rapid urbanization through industrialization resulted in cityward tendency of both population and capital, causing a variety of social problems such as human alienation, capital accumulation, environmental problems and quantitative and qualitative...
The Rapid urbanization through industrialization resulted in cityward tendency of both population and capital, causing a variety of social problems such as human alienation, capital accumulation, environmental problems and quantitative and qualitative housing problems. The national housing policy, in response, has contributed in part to increasing housing supply from the aspect of the total amount, as the policy gave priority to easing the housing shortage problem by expanding housing supply. It, however, also raised the economic and social problems - exorbitant prices, high costs of housing, skyrocketed housing rent, rapid change into monthly rent system and the atmosphere in which housing is considered as a good investment. High-rise and high-density apartment buildings have been newly constructed in the process of redevelopment and reconstruction after tearing down old buildings. That led the existing communities to collapse and be destructed, damaging urban scape and driving out natives to the city's outskirts.
Recently, there is a growing interest in 'cooperative' as a countermeasure to solve such problems. Cooperatives are all the more meaningful in that they have been noticed as an alternative model since 2008 economic crisis. Even the United Nation designated the year 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC). Cooperatives refer to any autonomous organizations voluntarily structured by businesses which are communally owned and democratically running in order to meet the economic, social and cultural wants and needs of their members.
That is why the study suggests 'housing cooperative' system as an alternative means of solving housing problems. Housing cooperative is a kind of cooperatives that workers themselves set out to address their residence problems. The housing cooperative would be in charge of housing management and its affairs including resident support as well as housing construction and thus would be the one supplying low-cost rental houses planned by policy. In addition, it is not only a business that provides various kinds of housing by income classes, reinvigorates and vitalizes regions and local communities, creates jobs and stimulates social economy, but also an association that conducts cooperative movements. The study then progressed to examine the social and economic feasibility of implementing the housing cooperative.
According to the study result, community movements emerge primarily in the isolated areas with few stories and dense zone where low income groups live in. The movements tend to be a public participation which aims to counteract socially institutional change, such as securing housing rights, not just a voluntary participation of local residents. Above all, the analysis points out that conflicts within the community hinder the common prosperity.
Next, the feasibility study figures out income brackets that can afford to purchase houses by housing type: 'Ownership housing cooperative' is suitable for the high-income; 'Leasehold housing cooperative' is for the middle class; and 'Tenant management cooperative' is for the low-income.
However, when it comes to the tenant management cooperative, it is necessary to come up with more aggressive measures for the bottom level class which can't afford to purchase housing even within the cooperative. In case of ownership housing cooperative, further measures to supply land with low cost should be prepared given that only high income class has ability to purchase housing within the cooperative.
For the implementation of housing cooperative, first, it is proposed to reinforce educational function. The creation of cooperative education center can offer the members a continuous education about cooperative. Then, the activists motivated by education should be mobilized to play an active role in cooperative activities. It is advisable to foster pooling system of cooperative experts and to make cooperative coordinator advise on an overall construction, operation and management.
Another approach is to introduce 'Community Land Trust System(CLT)' for supplying affordable and stable land and to arrange financial support plans for housing. In other words, an independent foundation should be established for the management of communal financial resources that belong to the housing cooperative, preventing the resources from being easily distributed.
The study also suggests amending existing relevant laws related to the operation of housing cooperative, such as Housing Act, Rental Housing Act and 'Act on the Support for Improving the Quality of Lives of Tenants in Long-Term Public Rental Housing' or, developing a specific law tentatively titled 'Special Act on the Construction of Cooperative Housing.'
In sum, the study ultimately insists the introduction of housing cooperative system and that social, economic and institutional support should be underpinned for the system to take firm root in Korea.