There is a continuing academic and policy interest in the potential for
culture-based urban regeneration across the world. Such regeneration is
intended to attract investment, re-imagine spaces and create employment,
business and urban planning opportunities. This book seeks to examine
the use of culture and arts in the urban regeneration sphere of South
Korea. Specifically, a one-year-long cultural event (Culture City of
East Asia) is used as a case study for exploring wider debates around
and understandings of the relationships between culture-led urban
regeneration initiatives and the impacts on communities in South Korea.
Despite the proliferation of culture-led initiatives aiming to tackle
broad social issues, there is a lack of in-depth research into the
efficacy of such urban regeneration. Previous researches have asked such
questions as: What benefits can cultural elements (e.g. mega-events or
signature buildings) bring into a city? What is the role of culture in
economic development (e.g. tourism and internal investment)? What is the
economic value of cultural goods and services?
This is not to say that such questions should be the only concerns in
assessing a culture-led urban regeneration strategy. However, the
evaluation process of culture-led regeneration frequently fails to ask
questions about the impact on human communities: Are cultural resources
being used to spread culture, or just to focus on economic development?
Are cultural initiatives like mega-events being used to benefit local
citizens? How can residents shape a culture-led regeneration strategy?
This book is intent on examining residents' opinions and perspectives
about culture-led urban regeneration. It recognizes how culture-led
regeneration schemes interact with local communities, focusing on the
actual views of local people rather than being coldly theoretical.
