Urban Morphology Resilient to Urban Shrinkage: Unveiling the Paradox of Modernism in Regeneration Projects

This research proposal addresses a critical social-scientific need to analyse urban fabrics resilient to urban shrinkage, filling a significant gap in urban planning and design literature. Urban regeneration, which prioritises incremental revitalisation through civic participation while preserving local heritages, has gradually supplanted grand-scale redevelopment projects by aligning with Postmodernism and New Urbanism principles. However, a paradoxical viewpoint exists that some modernist urban design principles may be more resilient to urban shrinkage, as urban regeneration sites often do not have superblocks and high-rise apartments in reality. Still, research on understanding and categorising fabrics resilient to urban shrinkage remains insufficient. Thus, this project will interview various local stakeholders and use the Spacematrix analysis to examine the predominant patterns of block and building typologies in declining areas of Shanghai and Seoul and to conceptualise the mechanisms driving the patterns. This project will develop urban design frameworks that are resilient and sustainable for urban shrinkage. This research objective can be achieved by the applicant’s expertise and research skills, honed via the publications of two research articles in prestigious journals worldwide and PhD dissertation focusing on urban shrinkage issues. The applicant’s previous research experience on urban shrinkage issues, supported by the National Research Foundation of South Korea, will also be a great asset to the successful completion of this project. As expected outcomes, the applicant will publish at least two research papers in world-leading journals in the urban planning and design field to share the research values with communities worldwide.