Yeosu City Council's Deliberation on 'Urban Policies for Everyone'

Research Group Meeting... Various Opinions Raised on Building Inclusive Cities

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] A call was made at the Yeosu City Council yesterday to strive to create an ‘inclusive city’ that reduces inequality arising from urban growth and ensures that all citizens share the benefits of growth.

According to the Yeosu City Council (Chairman Jeon Chang-gon) on the 8th, the council’s research group ‘Urban Policy Research Group for All’ held its first meeting yesterday to discuss its activity plans.

The ‘Urban Policy Research Group for All’ was formed in January with the goal of overcoming problems arising during urban growth such as gentrification and establishing sustainable living conditions.

The group consists of seven members: Min Deok-hee (representative member), Kim Young-gyu, Lee Sun-hyo, Kim Jong-gil, Lee Chan-gi, Na Hyun-soo, and Kang Hyun-tae.

As this was the research group’s first meeting, various opinions were exchanged regarding future activity plans.

First, Councilor Kim Jong-gil emphasized differentiation from other regions and argued for development policies focused not on ‘hardware’ but on Yeosu’s unique ‘humanware’ and ‘software.’

Councilor Kim Young-gyu stated that in-depth research is needed on social exclusion and discrimination, which are representative side effects of social growth, while Councilor Lee Sun-hyo said that domestic and international inclusive city policy cases should be analyzed to derive applicable measures for Yeosu.

Councilor Na Hyun-soo proposed raising citizen awareness activities, emphasizing the need to change the perception of the city from a commodity to a shared resource, and Councilor Kang Hyun-tae said spatial equity must be enhanced to resolve polarization issues.

Representative member Min Deok-hee said, “The research group’s goal is to find alternatives to the various problems inevitably arising during urban growth,” adding, “We will strive to present a city development model where citizens actively participate in solving urban problems and share the benefits of growth together.”

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