Coupling urban regeneration with age-friendliness: Neighborhood regeneration in Jangsu Village, Seoul

Abstract

This paper examines a neighborhood regeneration effort in Jangsu Village, Seoul, through which residents strived to continue living in the area on the verge of wholesale renewal. In Seoul, a large-scale urban development and/or regeneration has shaped urban fabric since the 1960s, while the recent phenomenon of rapid aging has led to a sudden demographic shift. Jangsu is a low-income, dilapidated neighborhood in the center of Seoul where many inhabitants are aging long-term squatters. Therefore, this research provides a glimpse into how older inhabitants with fewer resources are able to continue living in their neighborhood in a gentrifying city undergoing rapid spatial, socio-economic and population changes. The paper demonstrates how neighborhood social capital has fostered multi-stakeholder collaboration and the participation of older residents in the area's regeneration, enabling residents to continue living there and improving living conditions by repairing and reusing existing buildings. Thereby, this paper highlights: (1) neighborliness as a significant dimension in making age-friendly cities and, (2) the notion that age-friendliness might serve as an urban regeneration framework, emphasizing stable and affordable residency as well as progressive transformation.