How can morphology contribute to urban management – a case of Daegu city, South Korea

Up until recently, South Korean cities have been managed to serve and foster the economic growth of the country. Cities like Daegu grew following a form of liberal 'laissez-faire' accommodating the dominant car-focused ideology and the speculative large-scale construction market. Little debate was conducted on the different options and qualities of urban form. The role of the government was to facilitate private development rather than to input a specific direction to urban and architectural projects. The result is a form of 'generic city' with limited coherence in its urban fabric and poor preservation of its historical value. Recently, the local government turned to a more proactive role in the management of urban space, following the notion of cultural city. Urban morphology analysis is being introduced into the leading plan of Daegu city's Urban Design Department. But what can be the input of morphology in such an adverse context, where urban form and history have long been neglected, functionalist zoning is still the main urban planning tool, and car traffic the major determinant in planning? Using a typomorphological approach, the study aims to articulate city scales and develop policies and projects sensitive to the existing urban form. The results are discussed to establish the potential for urban form study to participate in the urban planning practice of public agencies in today's South Korea.