Penn IUR Announces Joint-Research Study on Urban Regeneration in South Korea and U.S.

The Penn Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR) is pleased to announce its role in a new joint-research study comparing urban regeneration practices in South Korea and the United States. The project, which began in February 2019, is being undertaken by a team of researchers from Penn IUR, the Wilson Center in Washington D.C., and the Korean Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG).

The study is designed to compare South Korean and U.S. practices for implementing urban regeneration projects, and will look at different models for public-private partnerships in older neighborhoods and former industrial town centers. The research will include case studies to investigate how public agencies, developers, civic organizations, and other actors form and fund partnerships that lead to successful projects and community investments.  

Penn IUR will develop case studies around two types of business improvement districts (BIDs) in Philadelphia: the Center City District, a state-authorized self-taxing real estate district and the University City District, a university led grant-based organization. Penn IUR and Wilson Center will be presenting these case studies at HUG headquarters in Busan, South Korea in the summer of 2019.  

About Penn IUR

The Penn Institute for Urban Research develops knowledge in three critical areas: innovative urban development strategies; building the sustainable and inclusive 21st-century city; and the role of anchor institutions in urban places. It builds essential collaborations among scholars, policy-makers and designers, both on and off the University of Pennsylvania’s campus. Since 2006, the Institute has published 40 titles in its City in the Twenty-First Century series, including Revitalizing America’s Cities and Design After Decline: How America Rebuilds Shrinking Cities.