Housing abandonment and socio-spatial inequalities: experience from a shrinking inner-city area of Incheon, South Korea

Housing abandonment is one of the most distinct characteristics of urban shrinkage. Previous research has investigated the extent and process of abandonment in the United States and Europe’s former industrialized centers. However, little is known about its features in places that have recently seen rapid urbanization. The study examines the relationship between vacant houses and a variety of urban factors, further expanding it to the perspective of spatial inequality. The multilevel logistic regression model was applied after constructing a new parcel-level dataset of vacant houses in Incheon, South Korea. The findings showed that spatially selective patterns of housing abandonment occurred at the intra-downtown level. Older, smaller, and less-accessible residential buildings were more vulnerable to abandonment. Failed large-scale redevelopment attempts fueled the emergence of vacant housing clusters. Vacant houses were associated not only with the collapse of industrial and commercial activities, but also with an unsustainable population structure. The results suggest the necessity for vacant house management plans tailored to neighborhood characteristics, especially for vacant house clusters, and a greater emphasis on socio-demographic dynamics such as age and generation in relation to urban shrinkage.