Response to shrinking cities: Cultural urban regeneration

Abstract

This study aims to delve into the effectiveness of cultural urban regeneration projects in mitigating the challenges associated with Shrinking Cities. Busan City, South Korea's second most populous metropolitan area, has encountered a recent population decline, driven by factors like an aging demographic, youth outmigration, and plummeting birth rates. These trends have exacerbated the phenomenon of urban emptiness, particularly in the old downtown area of Busan. To counteract this trend, an urban regeneration initiative was launched near Busan Station, strategically positioned at the heart of the old downtown. The primary objective of this project was to reimagine Busan Station as more than just a public service facility but as a bustling center for commerce, culture, and information exchange. Against this background, this study sets out to evaluate the impact of the urban regeneration project at Busan Station through the lens of DID analysis. The empirical findings validate the research hypotheses, suggesting that cultural urban regeneration positively influences both the vibrancy of the local community and the revitalization of commercial districts. Since the inception of the urban regeneration efforts, there has been a discernible uptick in the vitality of the local community. While the DID coefficient for the number of businesses did not yield statistically significant results, the Parallel-trend test uncovered significant differences after the establishment of the creative knowledge platform in 2019. This underscores the potential role of physical infrastructure development and external factors like tourism in shaping the surrounding commercial landscape.