Study of Campustown Projects for the Sustainable Win-Win Growth of Universities and Communities

Abstract

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has initiated projects to create campustowns to fully utilize university infrastructure. In this study, the first campustown project implemented in South Korea, Korea University-Anam Campustown Project, was evaluated to develop sustainable growth plans. Universities have useful infrastructure in terms of facilities, equipments, and human resources. There is a recent focus on breaking down boundaries between universities and communities to share this useful infrastructure. The methodology of this study is as follows. Primary indicators of win-win growth plans were identified by literature reviews and case studies. The indicators were applied to the target area by evaluations of the status of the area, SWOT analysis, collection of stakeholders’ views, and in-depth interviews. A commercialization plan was verified, while focusing on the project budget, feasibility, and administrative procedure. In total, 34 projects spanning five sectors (i.e., start-up, residence, culture, sharing with communities, and sustainability) were identified. Finally, measures to secure project implementation capacities and a master plan to improve the sustainability of this project were suggested. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the creation/development of similar projects at other universities in Korea.