Mike Forster, Wilson Center COO, and Chae Kwang Lee, Korea Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG) CEO, signed an agreement in a ceremony at the Wilson Center on August 16, 2018, to launch a joint research initiative on urban revitalization in the U.S. and Korea.

Representatives from Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation (MoLIT), HUG and the Korean Embassy joined with urban and finance experts from Ginnie Mae, the Wilson Center’s Urban Sustainability Laboratory, George Washington University and the University of Pennsylvania. The meeting marked the third year of Wilson Center-HUG collaboration and research on innovative policies and practice to advance sustainable and inclusive urban development, affordable housing, and residential stability in a rapidly changing global economy. Upcoming research will explore case studies of urban regeneration projects, detailing the partnerships and financing tools that contribute to success. Research findings will be presented in 2019 at policy seminars in Washington, DC and Seoul.