Busan is drawing up a future blueprint for its old downtown, where decline is accelerating, together with its citizens. The city plans to move beyond simply establishing an urban plan and fully launch "citizen-participatory urban planning," in which residents themselves diagnose problems at the living-zone level and propose improvement tasks, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of old downtown regeneration.
Busan City said it held the "Living Zone Plan (Old Downtown Area) Citizen Participation Panel Inauguration Ceremony" at the international conference hall of city hall on the 13th, beginning work on a citizen-led living zone plan.
The living zone plan is a follow-up plan that details the "2040 Busan Urban Master Plan" at the living-zone level. It focuses on redesigning the spatial structure and living infrastructure of the old downtown, where population decline and aging are intensifying, to improve the living environment that citizens experience firsthand.
The areas covered by this plan are Jung-gu and the areas of Seo-gu, Dong-gu, Yeongdo-gu, Busanjin-gu, and Nam-gu, with a target year of 2040. A total project cost of 1.5 billion won was invested, with the contract work beginning last November and scheduled for completion next November.
The citizen participation panel launched that day was formed with about 130 members. The panel is tasked with identifying the old downtown's pending issues and resources and presenting a future vision for the region, as well as directly diagnosing the shortage of living social overhead capital (SOC) such as cultural, sports, childcare, and welfare facilities to propose priority supply tasks.
Going forward, the city plans to sequentially hold mid-sized living zone workshops at the old downtown level and small living zone workshops for each autonomous district to gather residents' opinions and reflect them in spatial planning and field-specific spatial management guidelines.
In particular, the city plans to enact and revise related ordinances and guidelines so that citizens' proposals do not remain mere plans but lead to actual projects. The aim is to institutionally support the living infrastructure assistance system and thereby enhance policy implementation capacity.
The city expects the living zone plan to serve as an opportunity to shift the paradigm of urban planning from "supplier-centered" to "citizen-experienced." Through customized urban planning that reflects regional characteristics and residents' needs, the city plans to improve living conditions in the old downtown and strengthen the foundation for balanced development.
Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said, "The living zone plan is the starting point for a balanced-growth city that citizens empathize with and experience firsthand." He added, "By reflecting citizens' diverse opinions in policy, we will create a city where the daily lives of all citizens are convenient and happy."
