Block-unit Housing Rearrangement Project (BHRP) is an alternative model to
minimize the impacts of social redevelopment policy due to its large-scale; it rather
considers the community characteristics and economic conditions of residents who lives
in ...
Block-unit Housing Rearrangement Project (BHRP) is an alternative model to
minimize the impacts of social redevelopment policy due to its large-scale; it rather
considers the community characteristics and economic conditions of residents who lives
in dilapidated and substandard low-rise dwellings.
BHRP was introduced through the amendment of the Act on the Improvement
of Urban Areas and Residential Environments (i.e., Urban Improvement Act) in 2012,
and was transferred to the Act on Special Cases Concerning Unoccupied House or
Small-scale Housing Improvement (i.e., Small-scale Housing Improvement Act) in 2018.
The project omits procedures for planning and preparation, such as (1) the
formulation of project implantation plans, (2) designation of zones, (3) composition
and approval of an association, that prescribed in the Urban Improvement Act and
the special cases related to the relaxation of building regulations were established to
promote the prompt project.
Nearly nine years have passed since BHRP was implemented, however, as of
December 31, 2020, 72 projects were designated in Seoul Metropolitan Area. That is
equivalent to 0.32 projects per districts annually. Therefore, it is essential to analyze
what are the risk factors in the decision-making process among the project
participants as contractors and to analyze why such difference in risk perception
exists.
This paper reviewed various research and laws to determine BHRP risk factors
and proceeded the Focus Group Interview to classify risk factors in hierarchical
orders. As result, five variables were set as large category and twenty-seven variables
were set as small category. Based on this classification of variables, the survey was
taken to landowners, constructors, financial institutions, and architects. Questionnaires
used Likert 5-point scale and fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making methods were
adopted for analyzing the survey results.
For large category, constructors and architects recognized the landowners as the
biggest risk factor for the project, meanwhile landowners perceived constructor as
biggest risk factor. Financial institution ranked the market risk in the first place. For
small category, landowners placed the bankruptcy of constructors and poor-quality
construction as highest risks. From constructors’ perspectives, the top three risks were
the unsold properties, collection of agreements from landowners and conflicts among
the association members respectively. The slump of property values and change of
interest rates were great risks to financial institutions. Lastly, architects determined
that the risk factors of the project were the lack of understanding of landowners and
changes to the project relevant laws.
From landowner’s perspective, the construction companies participating in BHRP
are less well-known than those constructors who manages the large-scale sites and
they tend to have low capitals in financial statements; thus, distrust is believed to be
the main reason why BHRP had poor performances previously. On the other hand,
constructors and architects perceives the collection of agreement from the landowners
and conflicts between association members as highest risk. From initial stage of
project, landowners are often divided into those who consent and who do not. Such
conflict worsens as project being delayed, then it is impossible to push the project
forward regardless of business feasibility.
Therefore, in order to break down and convert the risk perception of
landowners regarding the poor constructions, it is necessary to establish the quality
control manuals and supervision checklist that can be applied to relatively small
constructors. Also, to dispel the distrust of funding limits, constructors need to
promote the eligibility of the their firm that they meet the credit rating requirements
of financial institutions including the completion liability and joint guarantee
conditions.
Moreover, BHRP often need some landowner who voluntarily collect agreements
to establish an association to initiate the project at the early stage. Since this process
is very important for the germination of the project, it is essential to establish the
system that allows the mayor and governor to grant the union-like qualifications to
landowners to secure the authority and reliability.