Taipei Deputy Mayor Charles Lin (林欽榮) yesterday said the city government would designate 550 hectares in the city that include 70 communities as urban renewal areas and provide incentives to developers starting in September.
He made the remark at a forum with academics and specialists in the architecture and real estate fields was held by the Taipei City Government in which the city made public its urban renewal plans for the first time.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said urban renewal is an important tool for pushing forward transformation of the capital, but the city government has not designated new urban renewal areas since 2000 and while administrative districts should conduct an overall review of urban planning about once every five years, some districts have not conducted one for more than a decade.
Photo: Chung Hung-liang, Taipei Times
All 12 districts in the city were instructed to conduct an overall review this year, including a review of urban renewal designation, he said.
“The efficiency and quality of accommodation, transportation, living and recreational areas determine a city’s competitiveness, so how to use land effectively is a very important issue,” Ko said.
“Society’s economic model and lifestyles have changed, so urban renewal should keep up with the times,” Ko said, adding that urban renewal is imperative, but the conflict between public and personal interests is always an inevitable problem that every city mayor faces.
The city government’s urban planning review found a total of 281 sites, covering 535.98 hectares, which were designated urban renewal areas between 2000 and 2003, but the completion rate was only 17 percent, Lin said.
The city government would designate new urban renewal areas in September, he said.
The top five criteria for designating the areas are “international development and industrial functionality,” “restructuring of MRT-oriented development,” “functionality enrichment and adjustment,” “regional preparation and living environment renewal” and “disaster response,” he said.
However, designating the areas does not mean government-led urban renewal projects would take place, but rather the city government can help in making overall plans, assisting in negotiations and guiding private urban renewal projects so that they run smoothly, he said.
The city government would also provide incentives, possibly up to a maximum of 10 percent, for urban renewal projects, he added.
The city government has limited resources, but they are unlimited in the private sector, so partnerships between the public and private sectors could achieve faster results, Ko said.
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