KOCER

The Korea Center for City and Environment Research (KOCER) started as the Urban Poor Institute, which was established in 1988 through the initiatives among anti-poverty activists in Seoul Metropolitan Area, South Korea. Since October 1994 when a group of progressive scholars joined the institute, its policy and research capacity has been strengthened.

As a non-governmental research institute, the KOCER aims to: 1) analyze the problems that Korean cities face, 2) present policy alternatives to solve them, and 3) pursue citizen-led urban movements.

The KOCER has conducted research on housing and communities among urban vulnerable population, such as forced evictees caused by urban development plans, inadequate housing residents, and homeless. It has also developed pro-poor policy alternatives for the polarized land and housing market, including, but not limited to, public rental housing and housing welfare policies. 

Based on its experiences on the field, policy, and research, the KOCER collaborates with the public sector and civil society to ultimately foster the urban environment that is just, livable, and future-oriented.