Urban Form and Sustainable Neighborhood Regeneration—A Multiscale Study of Daegu, South Korea

Notwithstanding the Korean Urban Regeneration Act 2013’s support for sustainable neighborhood regeneration programs, the number and scale of such projects relative to large-scale urban redevelopment remain limited. To address this imbalance, this research advances existing form-based approaches through a multi-scalar morphological analysis encouraging harmonized urban transformation and sustainable urban regeneration. The analysis encompasses the macroscale (metropolitan area development), mesoscale (urban characterization of the central urban area), and microscale (aging urban fabric detailed analysis). The case study focuses on Daegu, a major Korean city experiencing population decline. Mappings and quantitative and qualitative analysis used Geographic Information System QGIS, as well as the Python suite Momepy. The study revealed that large-scale urban redevelopments are driving urban densification and demographic shifts. While older low-rise structures occupy most of the urban landscape in the central city area, piecemeal high-rise redevelopment is increasingly fragmenting it. The overly fine urban grain resists regeneration, limiting car access, building scales, and urban density. The research findings help identify the urban areas that are most appropriate for urban regeneration and redevelopment projects and streamline and coordinate planning efforts and the adjusting of regulations. The method developed is transferable to other Korean and international cities, fostering sustainable urban regeneration.