ABSTRACT
This paper examines a neighbourhood regeneration effort in Jangsu Village, Seoul, through which residents strived to continue living in the area on the verge of the ‘knockdown-rebuild’ model of redevelopment. In Seoul, a large-scale urban development and/or regeneration has shaped urban fabric since the 1970s, while the recent phenomenon of rapid ageing has led to a sudden demographic shift. Jangsu is a low-income, dilapidated neighbourhood in the centre of Seoul where many inhabitants are ageing long-term squatters. This research provides a glimpse into how older inhabitants with fewer resources are able to continue living in their neighbourhood in a gentrifying city undergoing rapid spatial, socio-economic, and population changes. The paper demonstrates how neighbourhood 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. In particular, this paper highlights (1) the notion that age-friendliness might serve as an urban regeneration framework, emphasising stable and affordable residency as well as progressive transformation, and (2) the involvement of civil society and the influx of younger migrants that have led to older residents becoming an important stakeholder in urban development.
