In-Formality?: Two Cases of Temporary Uses in Urban Regeneration of South Korea
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7.1. Distributed Powers between Actors; Weak Planning
One of the key aspects examined in this research is the role of T&T projects as a power distribution passage in the process and as a hub node between the actors involved. Making process as a network which continually negotiates and reshapes relationships between actors is a key characteristic of fluid entity [31,32], and the precariousness of relationships is a division line between ‘weak planning’ and ‘masterplanning’ [15]. This paper argues, based on the cases, that T&T projects played a key role to bring more actors into the process network, and this openness made the network more power-distributed and the regeneration more inclusive. The two cases commonly showed co-evolution based on the local knowledge of actors, which was organized and delivered by the T&T projects.
In the Young-do case, the initial innovative idea of reusing the derelict industrial area was made outside the formal planning process under the loosened administrative network and the openness of experiment ideas. Along with the key actor, RTBP Alliance, many experts, such as engineers, designers, activists, film makers, and others, were involved in the events. These diverse attempts are difficult to make under the formal planning process, which need to be pre-planned with intensive financial input. Various initiatives characterized as “temporary, low-risk, and short-term” [4] involve dividing the responsibilities of administrative authorities in advance and gradually evolving them into substantial and specific redevelopment plans through proactive proposals. This imparts a highly flexible nature to the overall development of the area and ensures adaptability to changes in the surrounding environment.
Their successful series of projects, such as cultural events in unused warehouses and the mixed-use rebuilding, have stimulated government authorities and shown new possibilities. An interesting point is the period of time after the formal actors of MoLIT and LH Corporation designated the shipbuilding yard as a ‘revitalizing industrial district’, a full formal process of regeneration. They tried to draw ‘a masterplan’ for the district as a conventional habit of development, and the contents of the future plan lost the initial flexible, innovative, and vitalizing aspect. This is because the formal process worked as a barrier, cutting out the other actors, which were mostly private. The formal process based on the legal act limits the boundary of actors and the planning network cannot draw in or drag out actors flexibly by changing circumstances.
In the Gunsan regeneration case, the formal actors, the city council and AURI, have a key authorization to proceed, and they actively tried to bring the informal actors—the local skateboard club, the shop owners, and residents nearby—to find a suitable functions for the facility and a management method. In this process, the diverse T&T projects worked as a tool to connect formal and informal actors while they also changed some of actors’ opinions from negative to positive. The network was a flexible process of decision making. Even though the contents of experimental temporary events were not directly applied in the Gunsan Municipal Cultural Centre, they were valuable processes in pursuing the proper programs for the site, as well as a useful tool to call attention from the residents/shop-owners and to involve them in the process. The rooftop skateboard park and the parklet festival have changed nearby shop owners’ attitudes to the regeneration process. Previously, many shop owners and residents wanted just a parking area after demolishing the building, but later, they became actors who proposed diverse ideas for regeneration.
There was no proper passage to connect diverse actors such as shop owners and residents before the open events of T&T, and it made the unempowered actors closely connected to the process. Throughout this flexible and open process, the derelict building and space became an interesting place with full of relationships with many stakeholders. It has become a fun place. The Gunsan City Council realized that the success of the regeneration was hinged on the way of intermingling diverse actor relations rather than proceeding only by an authority management.
As mentioned earlier in this paper, this research attempts to obtain a clue from the cases for the question Roy [3] asked, “how this state of exception can in turn be strategically used by planners”. Even though they have a common aspect of utilizing T&T projects, the two cases showed different trajectories when making a co-evolution from the local actor relations to the formal regeneration process. The difference was caused mainly by what is a key actor, or a network builder, to lead the process. In the Gunsan case, it did not have a risk that the Young-do case innately possessed.
“It wasn’t a research project. The legal terminology has now changed but at that time, there was a concept of government agency outsourcing. … We received delegated authority and responsibilities from municipal officials at the city hall, allowing us to carry out administrative processes on their behalf.”
(Interviewee P3)
The key players who introduced and conducted the T&T project were formal actors (Gunsan City Council and AURI) with the legal authority, and the idea produced could be immediately applied into the site without any major alterations. These two directions provide valuable insights as two opposite directions with many in-between urban situations which need different planning and execution approaches. In the situation where upfront capital investment and public planning are not feasible, diverse and unconstrained urban experiments are necessary. This implies an incremental, networked, and collaborative planning process rather than a complete overhaul structure. Also, where formal authority has a will and a financial foundation, a T&T project can be a good tool to find proper functions. The direction for redevelopment was found through T&T projects before adopting such business models.
7.2. Conclusions
In conclusion, the fundamental advantages of T&T urbanism projects can be identified. The cases showed that T&T projects have the ability to break down the boundaries between formal and informal areas. T&T projects strip away pre-conceived functions imposed by designers and public institutions, allowing for a more open interaction with human activities by viewing the subject as a physical entity itself. This makes the space or building more inclusive and breaks down the boundaries between informality and formality, connecting them fundamentally. Furthermore, experiments conducted outside of the permitting system, along with incorporated activities, can transition into the formal process with innovative informal ideas that could resist the decline of the city. This characteristic of T&T projects and urbanism can serve as a complement to the rigidity of formal planning processes.
The two cases in South Korea showed a new possibility for playing a key role in the formal planning system, leveraging the advantages of informal activities to bring flexibility and adaptability to urban spaces. Despite some skepticism regarding the benefits of temporary and tactical uses [33], these cases could serve as solid evidence that T&T can assume a new role in the conventional urban system. Moving forward, more case studies encompassing various urban situations in different societies need to be explored. Additionally, detailed actor relations within diverse cases and their dynamics also require investigation.
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