Daejeon speeds up renewal of aging planned urban areas in Dunsan and Songchon, selects two years’ worth of projects at once

[Financial News, Daejeon = Kim Won-jun] Daejeon City will select all at once the planned renewal volume for 2027–2028 in the aging planned urban districts of Dunsan and Songchon (including Jungni and Beop-dong). It will also change the evaluation system, which had focused on resident consent rates, to reduce competition and conflict among residents that arose during the selection of pilot districts.
Daejeon City announced on the 23rd a call for proposals based on a plan it drew up to ensure renewal projects proceed quickly and steadily. The key feature of the proposal process is that resident representative groups will directly prepare and submit special renewal plans.
Last July, Daejeon City selected three zones as pilot districts: two in Dunsan District (Zone 13: Mokryeon and Clover; Zone 14: Gongjak and Hangaram) and one in Songchon District (Zone 6: Boram and Samik Sowol).
However, competition arose among complexes seeking resident consent, along with conflicts among residents, and administrative resources were also spent checking and verifying consent forms. The city subsequently held several resident meetings and policy meetings with the city council to gather opinions, and incorporated residents’ suggestions for a resident-led proposal process and the one-time selection of two years’ worth of projects into the call for proposals.
The renewal volumes for 2027 and 2028 will be selected together in the first half of 2027. Each year’s volume will total 5,500 households, including 4,000 in Dunsan District and 1,500 in Songchon District. The selected zones will proceed with their projects in stages, with the timing of their designation as special renewal districts staggered according to the annual allocations. The city expects this approach to ease the burden on residents of annual calls for proposals and improve the predictability of project timelines, thereby increasing stability and efficiency.
The evaluation system will shift from a quantitative assessment centered on resident consent rates to a qualitative one that assesses the completeness and feasibility of special renewal plans. Once resident representative groups submit their proposed plans, an evaluation committee comprising experts in fields such as urban planning, architecture and transportation will conduct a comprehensive review of their consistency with the basic plan for the renewal of aging planned cities, the need for and public interest of the renewal, the appropriateness of the plans, and the feasibility of the projects.
This overhaul marks a major change from the evaluation framework used to select the pilot districts. In that evaluation, resident consent accounted for 70 out of 100 points, while the urgency of improving the residential environment, the need to revitalize urban functions and the project’s ripple effects were each worth 10 points. As a result, the two selected zones in Dunsan had an average consent rate of 96.2% and an average score of 87.8 points, while Songchon Zone 6 had a consent rate of 72.8% and a score of 62.7 points. This prompted criticism that consent rates had effectively determined which areas were selected. Under the current call for proposals, applicants will compete on the quality of their plans rather than on securing consent forms.
Daejeon City announced the call for proposals for the one-time selection on the 23rd and will accept proposals next March. After an internal review and evaluation committee assessment, it plans to select the target zones in the first half of the year. It then aims to designate the zones as special renewal districts after public inspection, consultations with relevant agencies, a hearing of the city council’s views and deliberation by the urban planning committee: the 2027 allocation in October 2027 and the 2028 allocation in March 2028.
Choi Jong-su, Daejeon City’s director general of urban affairs, said, “We expect this improvement to the proposal process to reduce competition to secure resident consent and the burden of annual calls for proposals, and to make renewal projects more predictable.” He added, “We will contribute to creating a pleasant residential environment and strengthening the city’s competitiveness by evaluating special renewal plans proposed by residents fairly and rigorously.”
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