A Study on the Use of Smart farms for the Response to Urban Hollowing (Focusing on Case Studies and Expert Interviews)

Urban hollowing refers to the phenomenon in which economic activity is reduced due to industrial decline and a decrease in the settled population, and the self-sufficiency function of a city is lost.To address this, a comprehensive approach is necessary to enhance the residential environment of underdeveloped areas, develop tourism resources, promote local startups, and foster specific industries, while also attracting more people to boost the city's vitality.This study focused on the case of utilizing smart farms as one of the various methodological approaches to respond to urban hollowing.If smart farms are used, it is possible to establish an efficient production system for crops even in narrow spaces such as abandoned buildings based on advanced IT, breaking away from the existing land-intensive traditional agriculture.These advantages can help prevent slums in regions through the threedimensional use of urban idle space, and help restore the self-sufficient function of cities by creating related jobs.In particular, it can be a notable alternative to solve the problem in a situation where social phenomena such as low birth rate, aging, low growth, and polarization are becoming entrenched, and the regional extinction crisis is emerging.This study focused on the need for such academic and policy research and presented an efficient use plan for smart farms from the perspective of responding to urban hollowing out through domestic and international literature and expert interviews based on major smart farm introduction cases to date.The research results show that introducing a complex smart farm type, such as processing facilities, stores, farm cafes, and experience facilities, will increase the effects of job creation and local economic activation.In particular, it was shown that the economic and administrative support of the government, local governments, and related public institutions, as well as the active participation of residents, can increase the probability of success through linkage with urban regeneration projects.Starting with this study, we hope that various methodological discussions on convergence research in the two fields will unfold in earnest.