The aim of this study was to better identify the information generated by citizens and to explore the regional social phenomenon whereby higher quality urban services focused on understanding regional issues are promoted. Citizens voluntarily and continuously communicate with local government both online and offline. We wanted to determine how civic information can be applied to urban planning. We selected Shiheung City, Republic of Korea, as our study area, as the city is formed of various types of land use: industrial areas, agricultural land, and residential areas. This area is facing developmental pressure with released development-restricted areas, and has been environmentally damaged by industrial complexes. We conducted a semantic network analysis of the top 10% most commonly used nouns in civil complaints to determine the keywords. Each thematic map we created was based on geographical information to explain the temporary, continuous, and chronic issues. The chronic problems were discussed in relation to the regional development process. The process of identifying and analyzing local issues by analyzing information voluntarily provided by citizens plays an important role in government-led urban management planning and policy formation and can contribute to decision making in the development of future urban policies.

As we enter an era of climate crisis response, ecosystems and human lifestyles are changing, creating a growing demand for solutions that balance ecological and social needs with budget constraints and land-use changes. Climate change impacts both ecosystems and human well-being, making the interaction between humans and ecosystems complex and unpredictable. This study analyzed the relationship between land use and land-cover connectivity and satisfaction/dissatisfaction with ecosystem services (ES) to understand the dynamics of these interactions. We introduced the concept of perceived landscape connectivity (PLC), which assesses landscape continuity, physical connectivity, and accessibility from a human perspective. Using the R package “landscapemetrics,” we analyzed PLC in 18 legal neighborhoods (Dong) in Seoul and examined its correlation with satisfaction/dissatisfaction regarding the socio-cultural value of ES. The results revealed that factors influencing satisfaction and dissatisfaction with ES are distinct rather than opposing. Specifically, decreased aggregation of impermeable surfaces and increased access to water and green spaces boosted satisfaction with urban parks and health-related ES. Conversely, increased aggregation of impermeable surfaces and reduced boundary areas heightened dissatisfaction with biodiversity-based ES. In addition, reduced water-surface aggregation increased dissatisfaction with resilience-based ES, such as natural disaster prevention and heat control. This study highlights the significance of PLC in supporting decision-making processes that enhance ES satisfaction and reduce dissatisfaction, particularly through nature-based solutions (NBS) in urban environments.

Properly manage ecologically sensitive environments, especially where ecosystems and societies are hydrologically connected. However, keeping track of everyone's behaviour toward the environment within and around wetland protected areas can be challenging where one-dimensional regulation is applied to specific designated areas. Despite hydrological connections of wetland with the surrounding environment, only specific wetland or open-water areas designated for protection are strictly regulated. At the same time, residents of different villages are exposed to different quality and quantity of ecosystem services depending on the location of their residences. This study observed how local residents of the Upo Wetland (Ramsar, a national wetland protected area of Korea) community perceived and identified fundamental landscape components differently depending on the residence location where water flows in, through and out of the wetland protected area. A semi-structured interview was conducted for each participant to understand the local residents' perceptions. Semantic Network Analysis was used after the interviews to identify outstanding keywords and keyword groups derived from each interview. The results demonstrated a shift in perceptions toward landscape components based on the villages each resident belonged to, whereas landscape components, such as agricultural land, rivers and streams, were understood uniformly by decision-makers on a map. Visualising and understanding different perceptions towards fundamental landscape components revealed that residents residing at the upper stream of Upo wetland cared less about the water quality and were more interested in human-induced activities. In contrast, residents of the lower stream of Upo wetland expressed greater concerns about the degradation of water and were less interested in human-induced activities.

한국조경학회지(Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture)