Since 1960''s, Korea has witnessed imprudent unauthorized buildings and detentions due to population increase and rapid industrialization, resulting in wider poor housing areas and loss of urban functions, and thus, it has been argued that our metropo...
Since 1960''s, Korea has witnessed imprudent unauthorized buildings and detentions due to population increase and rapid industrialization, resulting in wider poor housing areas and loss of urban functions, and thus, it has been argued that our metropolitan cities should be redeveloped or regenerated as a whole.
In such circumstances, Seoul Metropolitan City government undertook the so-called ''New Town'' projects beginning from 2002 in an effort to narrow the regional gap of development between Gangnam (South of Han River) and Gangbuk (North of Han River) areas and solve the problems of the conventional urban regeneration projects of small scale implemented primarily by the civil sector and thereby, create a futuristic living environment. Since it was deemed necessary to arrange a statutory ground for effective implementation of the New Town projects and thereby, rearrange the basic metropolitan facilities and stabilize the real estate markets through increase of housing supplies, "Special Law for Promotion of Urban Regeneration" was enacted in December, 2005 to be implemented beginning from July, 2006.
Currently, the housing ownership ratio in Seoul last year amounted only to around 40%, specifically 44.6%, falling far short of the housing distribution ratio amounting to 89.7%, bi-polarizing housing life between rich and poor, which means that there are still many poorest people living in the inferior living environment not meeting even the basic housing conditions; the absolute majority of them live in the rental houses in slums, which would soon or later be redeveloped only to expel them out, which is a serious social problem.
In such circumstances, this study was aimed at reviewing the possible problems of "Special Law for Promotion of Urban Regeneration", background, procedures, conditions and other various aspects of New Town projects in Seoul in an attempt to examine the socio-economic aspects and unbalanced regional development of the urban regeneration projects as well as their environmental and institutional aspects and thereby, suggesting the ways to enhance the urban regeneration projects in Seoul.
The results of this study can be summarized as follows;
First, in socio-economic terms, New Town projects seem to have some policy problems involving stabilization of citizens'' housing life. In order to solve such problems, it is deemed necessary to introduce an apartment price ceiling system, a post-construction sale system for the apartment houses built by the private sector and expand the financial supports to the citizens buying their own houses and introduce a site-rental apartment housing system.
Second, natives and tenants are not adequately protected for their housing life. In order to help more natives settled in the redeveloped areas, it is deemed necessary to more diversify the housing sizes and construct more rental apartment houses allowable to natives. In addition, it is also necessary to subsidize the natives not capable of resettling there for their rentals depending on their income levels or give them a priority to live in new apartment houses.
Third, the counter-measures against the real estate speculations seem to be ineffective. In order to check real estate speculations and thus, stabilize the real estate markets, it is essential to stabilize the housing prices in Gangnam areas through increase of housing supplies in Gangbuk areas, while taking such anti-speculative measures as tighter control of construction permits in candidate reconstruction or redevelopment areas in Seoul and cracking down more on real estate speculations.
Fourth, regional developments are quite unbalanced between Gangnam and Gangbuk. In order to solve this problem, it is deemed required of the metropolitan city government to drastically expand the basic urban facilities to create a more comfortable housing environment for Gangbuk districts, while authorizing the autonomous district office administrators to induce excellent high schools such as special-goal high schools to improve the educational environment in Gangbuk districts.
The fifth problems involve the environment. Since the TDR (Transferable Development Rights) system has been introduced for an environmental-friendly sustainable development of Gangbuk areas and hill sides in Seoul as well as preservation of the urban environment, it is expected that the urban regeneration projects would be implemented effectively with the environment preserved. Merely, in case conflicts arise between two different areas to take hegemony of the projects and more shares of the development profits, the projects themselves may be delayed, so it is necessary to create a consensus among citizens for such projects.
Sixth, "Special Law for Promotion of Urban Regeneration" enacted to be a legal ground for New Town projects seems to have some problems. Namely, the special law needs to be rewritten to specify the cooperative roles between public and private sectors, invite more citizens to the projects, resolve the disputes about selection of developer between municipal government and residents'' cooperatives, make clear the responsibilities for construction of the basic urban facilities and strike a balance between reconstruction projects and others.
This study may have been significant in that it suggested some realistic policy reform measures to improve the problems of the urban regeneration projects in Seoul. However, this study may have been limited in that it was difficult to analyze the problems of "Special Law for Promotion of Urban Regeneration" because the period of its operation was too short for an in-depth analysis of its problems. So, it is hoped that this study will be followed up by future studies which will examine its problems in-depth to suggest more effective ways to develop the urban regeneration projects in Seoul.