YEONGJU, SOUTH KOREA Resilience to Shrinking

Although the city of Yeongju has a relatively small population of 106,000 people, in 2009 it was the first city in the country to develop a governance system between the private and public sectors for architecture and urbanism. Since then, this system has supported the city’s continued investment in urban landscaping. The most notable of such projects include the establishment of a community rehabilitation center and senior center in the Samgakji district and an indoor swimming pool and boxing gym in the Yeongju Civic Stadium district. This project, with the implementation of urban planning in collaboration with public architecture clusters, introduced a three-dimensional design incorporating the surrounding areas to improve accessibility and the public image of these locations. The core of these efforts was to improve the value of the aforementioned spaces through public architecture, eventually expanding to improve the architectural integrity and quality of surrounding roads, parks, plazas, and other public areas throughout the city. The ultimate goal of this project is to establish a network centered on these locations.
The most important task that lies ahead of the city of Yeongju is its transition to a city space structure that enables the implementation of flexible response measures to the ever-decreasing size of the city. This project aims to introduce SOC-driven sharing platforms that support various lifestyles, thus particularly aligning with aid efforts for tourism sites, such as Buseoksa, Sosu Seowon, and Museom Village; for transportation infrastructure, such as renovating and restoring the central railroad; and for developing the national industrial complex for advanced bearings technology. Through this project, the third official Urban Architecture Management Team aims to establish an adaptive urban network that links sharing platforms with shared spaces, thus paving the road for Yeongju’s future.