Songdo, South Korea

A new city has developed 40 miles outside the South Korean capital,so advanced that Seoul appears medieval when compared to it. This is the Songdo International Business District, constructed on an embankment on the Incheon Waterfront. This is a purpose-built 'smart city'. The city was designed for efficiency, convenience and pleasant city living.Songdo is uniquely constructed as an integrated hi tech environment, it has also been described as a global business hub. This district was built as part of former President Lee Myung-bak’s drive to promote low carbon and sustainable developments as the principal avenue for growth.

The city has been promoting its 16 miles of bicycle lanes, its central park and its waterways. One of Songdos smart innovations is a smart rubbish disposal system, a futuristic bit of hardware that spairs the whole complex. No rubbish bins will be in the leafy streets anymore instead all household and office waste is sucked through a network of underground tube to vast sorting facilities where it is all process, deodorised and treated. The aim is to convert all the treated waste into energy for the community. Songdo is gearing towards sustainability even the water pipes are designed to stop clean water, suitable for human consumption, being used in showers and toilets and all the embankment’s water goes through a sophisticated recycling system. The main attractions namely are Songdo central park, IFEZ Songdo Arts centre and the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club. The most breathtaking place to me was the central park, it's the districts centrepiece of green space. Visitors can take a water taxi around the network of seawater canals that criss cross the park, it has also been said to be a beautiful place of refuge, inspiration and relaxation.

Author: Netisha Moodley

Editor: Rethabile Maboa

References:

Businessdestinations.com, (2015).South Korea’s hi-tech city: Songdo. [online] Available at: http://www.businessdestinations.com/featured/south-koreas-songdo-city/ [Accessed 13 May 2015].

Wikipedia, (2015). Songdo International Business District. [online] Available at: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songdo_International_Business_District [Accessed 14 May 2015].