This study asserts that the higher the degree of artists’ and residents’ participation in a culture-led renewal project, the higher the level of residents’ satisfaction. Engaging artist groups and introducing cultural programs can facilitate building a collaborative network between artists and residents. This paper adopts an experimental study method and defines the experimental and control groups as follows: the experimental group (Changwon city) has relatively high artist participation, and the control group (Sacheon, Gimhae, Miryang cities) have relatively low artist involvement. Multiple regression analysis was conducted utilizing 192 valid survey data in R studio software. The significant variables were compared between the experimental group (Model 1) and the control group (Model 2). As a result, the relative effects of “1. experience (or amount) of residents’ participation in urban renewal programs”, “2. reflection of residents’ opinions”, and “3. neighborly trust” on “residents’ satisfaction with urban regeneration projects and expected outcomes” was shown to be greater in the experimental group. The result implies that the involvement of cultural entities and the operation of arts programs increase residents’ will to participate in renewal projects and to build neighborly trust. Further, collection and reflection of residents’ opinions about the renewal works were more smoothly completed when mediated by artist participation and using cultural content.

South Korea's urban renewal policy emphasizes resident participation and multidimensional activities. This study identifies the determinants of resident satisfaction with five urban renewal projects implemented in South Gyeongsang Province, Changwon, Gimhae (Gaya, Jangyu), Sacheon, and Miryang. Multiple regression analysis was utilized for survey data from these five areas. Results reveal that the resident satisfaction was positively influenced by 1) the level of the resident's opinions reflected in the project, 2) the expectations for improving the local economy, 3) the level of satisfaction with living environments, 4) the importance of improving neighbourly relations, and 5) the level of satisfaction with public hearings/discussions in the decreasing order of severity. Meanwhile, the 1) the need for urban renewal projects, 2) the importance of tourist visits, 3) the importance of improving living environments, and 4) the level of satisfaction with recreational/sports facilities negatively affected resident satisfaction with urban renewal projects in the decreasing order of severity. The aforementioned factors have significant implications to promote practical resident participation in the establishment of renewal strategies tailored to the regional contexts of South Gyeongsang Province.

Developing bidirectional urban networks within areas in megacities is an essential spatial strategy across regions today. In 2018, Korea began its Bu-Ul-Gyeong (BUG) megacity project. Today, Korea is working to improve functional polycentric urban networks within the BUG megacity. To uncover insights useful for this project, this study sought to examine urban network patterns (e.g., network asymmetries and imbalances in the sizes and directions of their weighted flows) and identify the primary and secondary centers of the BUG megacity using mobile flow data from 2019 to 2020. Specifically, a three-step social network analysis was conducted across different geographical scales; namely: (1) the BUG megacity, (2) South Gyeongsang Province (SGP), and (3) every community in SGP. Eigenvector centrality and flow betweenness centrality revealed two primary centers (Changwon and Jinju) and four secondary centers (Haman, Sacheon, Tongyeong, and Geochang). Unidirectional and hierarchical connections were evident between the primary and secondary centers. In response to these findings, this paper proposes some beneficial strategies for the region’s public transportation networks to prevent small- and medium-sized cities from being marginalized and to enhance horizontal urban connectivity in megacities.

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