Jeong Gyu-yong (fourth from left), director of Changwon's urban policy bureau, briefs reporters Wednesday on the fourth revision study for the district unit plan of the city's residential hinterland. [Changwon City]
Jeong Gyu-yong (fourth from left), director of Changwon's urban policy bureau, briefs reporters Wednesday on the fourth revision study for the district unit plan of the city's residential hinterland. [Changwon City]

Changwon has launched the "Fourth Hinterland District Unit Plan Revision Study," a comprehensive review of single-family housing zone plans across the Uichang and Seongsan districts.

The city announced Wednesday that it will form and operate a resident council to gather broad public input during the revision process, and that it has moved the study's completion date five months forward — from December 2027 to July 2027. Funded with 537 million won ($364,000) from the city budget, the study will also streamline administrative procedures to improve the plan's feasibility.

The revision covers 7.16 square kilometers of residential zones within the city's 11.38-square-kilometer hinterland area. The targeted zones contain about 15,000 buildings and more than 16,800 lots, with roughly 82,000 residents and 45,000 households expected to be directly or indirectly affected.

Under the Act on the Planning and Use of National Territory, district unit plans — a form of urban management plan — may be revised every five years. Changwon completed the third revision in January 2024, but moved proactively to launch the fourth round after determining that five years had already passed since the actual study contract was awarded in May 2021, and after persistent complaints that residents had seen little tangible improvement following the third revision.

Since Monday, the city has been accepting public applications for the resident council, open to single-family homeowners, landowners, building owners and representatives of local development associations in the target zones. The council will serve as a channel for gathering residents' proposals in advance — including calls for deregulation and development — and for jointly reviewing and reconciling legal and technical feasibility alongside potential problems such as parking shortages.

"We have not set any predetermined benchmarks — such as zoning upgrades or easing of building regulations — and plan to review all resident proposals with an open mind," a city official said. "We will work with residents to assess what is legally permissible and how to address any side effects, and then develop realistic solutions."

The revision fulfills the fifth municipal administration campaign pledge: a "comprehensive overhaul and regulatory reform of the single-family housing district unit plan." The city aims to move beyond the regulatory framework originally designed for residential areas supporting industrial complexes, and to create a living environment suited to changed social conditions such as population decline and urban blight.

Jeong Gyu-yong, director of Changwon's urban policy bureau, said communication with residents and swift administrative procedures are "the core of restoring trust in the district unit plan and designing the city's sustainable development." He added that the city would "do its utmost to actively incorporate residents' opinions, faithfully fulfill the administration's campaign pledges, and ensure that every resident's valuable input is reflected without being overlooked — aided by the shortened study period."


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