Proposal of Urban Agricultural Park Management and Operation Plan Using the Public Service Design Process

Background and objective: With the revision of the Act on Urban Parks, Green Areas, Etc. in 2013, the “urban agricultural park” was newly established under the subcategory of “themed park,” thereby establishing the institutional basis for the creation of urban agricultural parks. However, urban agricultural parks are still in the early stages of their introduction. There is a lack of research on direction setting and specific operation management that considers urban residents needs and the city s physical infrastructure. Methods: We utilized the public service design process suggested by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety of the Republic of Korea in 2019 to identify problems and develop directions for urban agricultural parks. The process consisted of the following four steps: Understanding, Discovering people s needs, Defining real problems, and Developing ideas. Results: As four types of ideas for revitalizing urban agricultural parks, ‘information users want to know,’ ‘user participation in design,’ ‘venue for local communities,’ and ‘urban agricultural parks as health and rest areas were derived. This means that urban agricultural parks must provide the information users want; users must plan, decide, and implement such information by directly participating in the creation and efficient management and operation of urban agricultural parks; and urban agricultural parks must be used as a venue for local communities. Urban agricultural parks should also be spaces for health and relaxation. Conclusion: Urban agricultural parks should avoid the unified space and passive participation patterns of existing urban parks, and become real spaces for resident participation that can satisfy all the production, leisure, landscape, ecology, and psycho-social needs of the users of urban agricultural parks. Furthermore, it is necessary to introduce a more systematic and diverse operating system so that it can work to revitalize the local community and connect organically with the function of the city.