International housing welfare nonprofit Korea Habitat and the Korean Society of Urban Regeneration held a forum on Feb. 11 at the University of Seoul’s 100th Anniversary Memorial Hall in Seoul, focusing on sustainable, housing-centered urban regeneration through cooperation among the private sector, government and academia and through corporate social responsibility.
Organizers said the event was designed to seek sustainable models for regenerating housing-vulnerable areas as South Korea faces structural challenges including low growth, population decline and regional depopulation.
Experts in housing welfare, urban regeneration and CSR, along with corporate, academic and civic participants, discussed strategies that combine corporate social contributions with public-sector and academic expertise. The program, which began at 2 p.m., featured presentations followed by a panel discussion, sharing on-the-ground case studies and policy proposals.
In the first session, Lee Eun Kyung, a manager at Korea Habitat, presented the “Sustainable Society” program (formerly the Urban Innovation School) under the theme “Sustainable Society operating cases: Revitalizing communities through private-public-academic cooperation.” She said Korea Habitat has operated an urban regeneration model since 2020 that links local government regeneration projects, corporate social contributions and curricula at 17 universities, with residents and young people working together to improve neighborhood environments.
Citing outcomes such as resident-run village restaurants and cafes and the creation of rentable spaces by improving vacant homes, Lee said, “Sustainable urban regeneration where residents and young people grow together is possible when the power of government, voices from the field and professional knowledge come together.”
Park Jung Eun, a research fellow, said, “Cities must thrive for companies to thrive, and companies must thrive for cities to thrive,” and called for a “Collective Impact” collaboration platform that sets shared tasks with local governments, public institutions and civil society and shares results. Park introduced domestic and international examples that connect private-sector creativity and execution to solving local problems, saying quality of life and local economies can improve at the same time.
Kim Young Ha, a center director, said regeneration should go beyond building hub facilities and instead design operating models and leadership structures together. Kim cited youth-participation models including the Ibagu Platform, where young people from outside the area settled and built a startup ecosystem; the Namseon Center, where local youth joined a village enterprise to strengthen revenue models; and the Muan Mokpo National University Portfolio Club, based on short-term participation by college students.
In the second session’s panel discussion, Kim Hang Jip, honorary chairman of the Korean Society of Urban Regeneration and a professor at Gwangju University, moderated a conversation on “Sustainable development directions for housing-centered urban regeneration.” Panelists were Kim Su Min, CEO of Localstitch; Na Hae Moon, head of the Jeju Urban Regeneration Center; Choi Jeong Hwa, a professional at POSCO E&C; and Yang Se Young, a student at Hanyang University.
Korea Habitat Secretary-General Lee Gwang Hoe said the forum brought together nonprofit field experience, corporate social contributions, public policy and urban planning research, and young people’s experimentation and entrepreneurship to discuss ways to revitalize both housing and cities.
“Housing is the starting point of urban regeneration and a social safety net,” Lee said. “We will continue to identify and expand models that connect private-public-academic cooperation and corporate CSR to long-term housing improvements and regional regeneration.”
Organizers said the forum was free and open to anyone, including related institutions, businesspeople, experts and interested members of the public.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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