Our textbook describes New Songdo City, located outside of the South Korean capital of Seoul, as one of several new East Asian “eco-cities” (Brunn et al., 2012). The need for environmental sustainability in the face of global climate change may mean that these cities end up being glimpses of the urban centers of the future. For this reason, I think that this community is definitely worth a closer look in this blog post.
According to the project’s official website, the city’s full name is Songdo International Business District (IBD), and it is described as a “master-planned metropolis [that] is a model of sustainable, city-scale development and innovation” which opened partially in 2009 (Gale, 2012). Geographically, the city is located on a 1,500 acre site that is 40 miles from Seoul and close to Incheon. The chief designer of the city is a firm called Kohn Pederson Fox, which is referred to as a global architectural group that is renowned for their novel projects. Some high points in the project’s plan include a 68-story skyscraper, a new convention area, plenty of park space, a cultural complex for fine art, the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, a prestigious primary and secondary education center, and a state of the art hospital. Concerning transportation, Songdo is projected to “offer many green transportation alternatives, including miles of dedicated bike and walking paths,” while it will also have integrated into its design a Venice-like system of canals (Gale, 2012). Although several different housing arrangements will be offered at the site, it appears that most of the residents will be living in modern-looking tall apartment towers, but all residences are advertised as being in walking distance of nearby attractions. A total of 22,500 housing units are projected to be included when the city is complete. The proximity of the city to the busy Incheon International Airport is another key selling point for developers, and this point is accentuated by saying that Songdo is within three and a half hours of one third of the total human population via the airport (Gale, 2012).
This article in the Economist offers a more critical look at the $40 billion new city that is Songdo IBD. Specifically, the author says that it could become “merely Dubai for the Far East” as it involves creating “everything one could possibly want, need and dream of in a world-class city” (D.T., 2010). At the same time, the author does not totally rule out this development as possibly becoming a financial success, but he simply notes that it is likely outside the realm of possibility for the price ranges of even potential middle-class residents (D.T., 2010).
Besides the environmental and somewhat questionable economic feasibility of this development, I would particularly object to social exclusiveness of Songdo. Simply reading about Songdo in the textbook did not inform me that this city is almost primarily for the world’s economic elite, thus I would argue that it may be environmentally friendly and able to support a thriving local and international economy, but until it becomes inclusive for people of all income brackets it is by no means a truly sustainable city. Therefore, the world should look elsewhere when searching for potential models of the cities of the future.
Source: http://www.economist.com/blogs/banyan/2010/07/city-building_south_korea
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