EAI Issue Briefing: The Current State of U.S. Urban Issues and Korea's Future

Editor's Note

This Issue Briefing is a product of the "Think Tank Joint Research" initiative, led by Yeo Si Jae (與時齋) and conducted in collaboration with major domestic think tanks. It was originally published on the Yeo Si Jae website on January 10, 2018.

From the Main Text

 

Among the various developed nations, U.S. urban issues and related policies offer particularly diverse policy and practical implications. Unlike European countries, the United States grapples with every conceivable type of urban problem, from the cities in the East with over 300 years of urbanization history, to those in the Midwest that once grew significantly based on regional industries and natural resources but have since declined with industrial shifts, and finally to the cities in the West, which were formed relatively recently and where new cities continue to emerge. Consequently, responses to these issues vary greatly, making each region a testing ground for distinct urban problems and policies.

  

Among these, there are broadly four major urban issues that receive particular attention. The first is transportation, related to the movement of people and goods. The second is water infrastructure, managing the flow of water. Just as a human body requires unobstructed flow for life, cities need smooth movement of all elements to sustain life, making these two common issues for all cities. However, the third issue, the renovation and aging of overall infrastructure, is a particular concern for U.S. cities with long histories of urbanization. Extending from this, maintaining the 'youthfulness' of a city is also a key concern. This applies not only to the improvement of buildings and infrastructure but also to people, jobs, and urban administration. Regardless of who says what, the United States remains a nation of immigrants among developed countries, making it demographically young, and urban areas particularly benefit from this.

  

It is true that these self-help efforts by various U.S. cities, including infrastructure overhaul and the creation of new growth engines, are achieving considerable success. Given the deep-rooted tradition of local autonomy in the U.S., the effects of these experimental policies implemented by each region are also amplified. Nevertheless, appropriate federal government support is becoming increasingly important with each passing year. This is because the scale of natural and man-made disasters stemming from climate change and various other environmental issues is growing, leading to frequent problems that cannot be solely managed and resolved by specific regions.

  

However, given that the specific content and scope of necessary support and collaboration vary immensely by region, the success of federal government support hinges on local governments accurately identifying and articulating their specific needs and demands, and on maintaining smooth and continuous communication throughout the collaboration process. For example, while Texas has as many as 7,395 dams, Delaware has only 83. Therefore, applying uniform regulations, interventions, maintenance, and investments nationwide to each region is not only unreasonable but also practically impossible. Furthermore, the fact that ownership and management responsibilities for infrastructure and public structures, including dams, are generally vested not with the federal government but with state governments, local governments, and even private entities, further demonstrates that central-local collaboration is essential for resolving issues such as aging infrastructure.

  

Above all, when examining U.S. urban issues—including aging infrastructure and its overhaul, city-level responses to minimize the adverse effects of climate change, the aging and hollowing out of urban populations, and the attraction and development of innovative industries—while specific details reveal U.S. particularities, these concerns as a whole are by no means unique to them. Rather, these issues can be considered urgent matters that will soon confront, or have already arrived for, South Korea, which has already achieved a higher urbanization rate than the U.S. through compressed urbanization. This is yet another reason why we must meticulously and diligently examine various U.S. regions and research institutions, understanding the U.S. not as a monolithic entity but as a complex and multifaceted entity.

EAI Issue Briefings provide expert diagnosis and analysis on major domestic and international issues, offering recommendations for sound policy development. EAI strives to foster balanced perspectives, create a platform for constructive policy discussions, and generate ideas essential for our society.