Space and Environment
- P-ISSN1225-6706
- E-ISSN2733-4295
- KCI
ISSN : 1225-6706
Vol.34 No.1
Abstract
This study aims to examine the evolution of inclusive urban planning discourses in South Korea, analyzing their origins, development, contextual backgrounds, forms, and practical implications. We selected major planning theories based on criteria of urban inclusivity and categorized them into discourses on substantive inclusivity, on procedural inclusivity, and on integrated inclusivity. The analysis of these discourses on inclusive planning reveals the following: In Korean urban planning history, the discourses on substantive inclusivity dealing with material inequality such as advocacy planning, Marxism, and geoism developed first. Then, the discourses on procedural inclusivity, such as participatory planning, expanded as political democratization and local autonomy began in earnest. Issues of diversity and recognition, pursed by feminism and multiculturalism, are related to integrated inclusivity that encompasses both substantive inclusivity and procedural inclusivity. As as result, these discourses were raised later and have become strong points of contention in recent years. Civil society has been the main driver of the expansion and development of inclusive urban planning discourses, and the discourses provided the knowledge necessary for the civil society movements, leading to a mutually cooperative and complementary relationship. In terms of practice, inclusive planning discourses, which initially had radical and critical characteristics, has partially become mainstream and institutionalized, serving as a source to overcome the philosophical poverty and narrowness of mainstream planning theories. However, there is also a tendency for them to retreat and become more conservative than their original stance. These findings provide implications that it is important to have a pluralistic and tolerant public sphere where various discourses can be debated, and emphasize the role of civil society in providing critical and liberating perspectives.
Abstract
This paper examines the trends in geopolitical research in Korea, highlighting that while the classical geopolitical approach remains dominant, new approaches such as feminist geopolitics and urban geopolitics are emerging, spearheaded by critical geographers. In particular, it analyzes the significance and implications of the new geopolitical-geoeconomic strategy of the Biden administration in the United States for understanding the era of polycrisis. By examining the Indo-Pacific Strategy of Freedom, Peace, and Prosperity promoted by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, it also critically explores the mainstream geopolitical discourse in Korean society, which seems entrenched within the framework of U.S.-ROK alliance. The paper further argues that geopolitical research should move beyond the state-centered strategic approach and actively incorporate insights from various social theories, such as feminism and postcolonialism, into the analysis of the interplay between space and power. In doing so, it posits that overcoming the limitations of contemporary geopolitics requires a focus on how geopolitical conflict and violence disrupt people’s daily lives and how resistance to these forces can transform the prevailing geopolitical order.
Abstract
The dominance of new regionalist economic geographers in leading progressive regional economic research waned around 2010, marking a noticeable hiatus in progressive theoretical advancements within Anglophone academia. This change implies a significant challenge for South Korean progressive regionalists: the conventional approach of adapting and applying Anglophone theories to Korean contexts is no longer tenable. Yet, this challenge presents a unique opportunity for the advancement of regional economic studies in South Korea. The reduced workload on deciphering and integrating Anglophone theories allows for more focused, internal dialogues among South Korean scholars. This environment is conducive to developing innovative, progressive regional theories that are deeply rooted in the empirical realities of Korea's regional economies. To realise this potential, a critical reassessment of the theoretical and methodological foundations previously embraced by progressive regional researchers is needed.
Abstract
Researchers of urban commons in Korean academia have focused on two contexts since the 2010s: the city as commons and the urban commons. However, studies have yet to discuss the administration‘s role in institutionalizing each or combining the two. The ways of collaboration between administration and citizens have yet to be the research focus as well. On the contrary, this analyzes the Regulation on Collaboration between Citizens and the City for the Care and Regeneration of Urban Commons (Regolamento sulla collaborazione tra cittadini e amministrazione per la cura e la rigenerazione dei beni comuni urbani, the Bologna Regulation) to identify specific issues and measures of participatory administration for constructing urban commons. This paper aims to accomplish two goals at a time when the vision of urban commons in Seoul and elsewhere has become a distant memory. First, it systematically analyzes the provisions of the Bologna Regulation to understand its content, features, and meaning. Second, it examines the feasibility of using the Bologna Regulation from the perspective of participatory administration.
Abstract
The commons is defined as a pragmatic process that crafts a series of social practices, values, and norms related to the management of common tangible and intangible resources. This article aims to contribute to the theorization of urban commons by simultaneously examining the universality of commons, as applied to urban contexts, and the particularities of urban settings, grounded in the empirical studies and theories of commons presented by Ostrom and others concerning traditional resources. It focuses on the constituent elements of commons—resources, communities, and institutions (commoning)—to articulate and scrutinize issues, thereby attempting a reinterpretation of urban commons. Key issues include the relationship between humans and resources traditionally explained through ‘private ownership and beyond,’ the prevalent view of traditional commons as closed versus urban commons as open, and common notions regarding commons communities. Regarding the relationship between resources and humans, this examination seeks to transcend the conceptual path dependency skewed towards private ownership, illuminating the public nature inherent in common resources to reinterpret the meaning of common resources. The ‘boundaries’ mentioned in commons theory as a basis for exclusivity are suggested not so much as markers of exclusion from resource use but rather as indicators of the scope within which self-organization and autonomy of resource users, that is, the operational domain of common resources, take place. Finally, commons communities are not merely assemblies based on identical beliefs but spaces for reciprocal relationships and trust-building through the interaction and learning among resource users, governed by autonomous norms. Furthermore, examining urban commons in connection with the contextual characteristics of the city (collectivity, diversity, complexity, connectivity) reveals that unlike traditional commons, urban commons transform the daily lives of city dwellers and the city itself into common resources, organizing each urban common as an independent yet interconnected management unit within an organic network. Future research is necessitated on practical approaches for igniting urban commons within cities saturated with capitalism and on institutionalizing collaborative relations between urban commons and representative democracy through city governance.
Abstract
Given the steadily increasing number of students from multicultural households, it is imperative to analyze the educational environments these children encounter. This study investigates the influence of neighborhood characteristics on the education of children in multicultural households, employing the geography of opportunity framework. While the growth pathways of children have been extensively discussed, little is known from a spatial perspective. Focusing on the city of Seoul, we attempt to explore the landscape of educational attributes associated with the educational attainment of children from multicultural backgrounds. We measured indicators of the educational characteristics at the neighborhood level and performed various spatial analyses to explore the spatial association between the location of multicultural children and educational attributes. We find spatial segregation in several educational characteristics and a significant spatial correlation between the concentration of multicultural children and lower educational opportunities. Our findings shed light on the importance of policies that tackle spatial inequality in neighborhood opportunity and expand diverse affordable housing options.