Mapo-gu, Recipient of the 2020 Korea City Awards Special Prize

Evaluation of Urban Sustainability and Living Infrastructure Levels Led by the Ministry of Land... Mapo-gu Urban Regeneration Activation Project Demonstrates Excellence in Sustainable Systems through Intermediate Organizations

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Mapo-gu (Mayor Yoo Dong-gyun) received a special award in the support system category at the ‘2020 Korea Urban Awards’.

The Korea Urban Awards, hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is an award given to cities nationwide that have demonstrated clear achievements in improving residents’ quality of life and urban competitiveness by evaluating urban sustainability and living infrastructure levels over the past year. It is the most prestigious award in related fields in Korea.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport formed a panel of expert evaluators including the Korean Land and Urban Studies Association and the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, conducting a first round of document screening and a second round of on-site evaluation across 78 indicators in four areas: urban society, urban economy, urban environment, and support system to select the winners.

Mapo-gu was recognized for establishing a sustainable urban system by revitalizing intermediary organizations through urban regeneration and revitalization projects in downtown areas such as the Hapjeong-dong Urban Regeneration Activation Project, Hapjeong-dong and Yeonnam-dong Alleyway Environment Improvement Project, Mangwon 1-dong and Dangin-dong Alleyway Regeneration Project, and pledge projects including ▲the establishment of the Workers’ Comprehensive Support Center ▲the establishment and operation of Mapo Youth Naru ▲the enactment of social economy ordinances and the establishment of committees.

In particular, policy projects such as ▲the policy communication platform ‘Mapo 1st Street’ ▲the operation of SNS communication channels and designated communication officers ▲roundtable discussions on pledge projects ▲resident jury operation for pledge projects ▲village-making and shared public contest projects ▲and the operation of Mapo University received high evaluations for eliciting strong resident participation.

Among these, the roundtable discussions on pledge projects during the 7th local government term involved residents, the mayor, and pledge project department heads. Last year, the district discovered a total of 49 resident opinions and reflected them in projects (36 accepted, 12 already implemented, 1 rejected), continuing its communication policies.

Also, during three repeated meetings of the resident jury for pledge project implementation evaluation, the jury proposed improvement plans for 49 pledges, and the district significantly reflected these recommendations (20 accepted, 18 already implemented, 4 requiring cooperation with other agencies, 3 under long-term review, 4 rejected), laying the foundation for cooperative governance.

Through these efforts, the district achieved an SA grade in the 2019 pledge project evaluation conducted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters in May.

Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo-gu, said, “This Korea Urban Award is the result of efforts based on the belief that sustainable urban growth must be achieved through communication with residents,” and added, “We will continue to do our best to promote urban development policies that residents can directly experience and participate in.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.