Songdo, South Korea Master Plan

Guest Post By Don Southerton

I’m a baby boomer. I grew up in a small town of 6,000 in northeasternPennsylvania—a county seat surrounded by dairy farms. We walked to theelementary school, the neighborhood store for a loaf of bread and maybe asoda, and weekly shopping trips downtown–3 blocks from home. Mostbackyards displayed gardens with long rows of vegetables, some yardscultivated grape vines, raspberry bushes, or an apple tree. Seasonally, we atetomatoes, cucumbers and green beans in the summer, then squash, sweetcorn, and apples in the fall. Fresh eggs and milk came from local producers.People canned goods for the winter, and most home menus followed theseasons. Long before sustainability, environmentalism, and new urbanism,small town America was rooted in comparable notions.

Jump forward a few decades; I now live in Belmar, a new urbanismcommunity on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado. New urbanism represents adesign movement that promotes walkable neighborhoods where residentslive, work, dine, and shop. The communities embrace energy-efficientbuildings, smart growth, transit-oriented development, sustainability, andquality of living.

MARKETS | 11/15/2011 @ 1:35PM | 1,145 views

New Urbanism: ComparingSongdo, South Korea to Belmar,United States of America

Jayne Jung, ContributorI focus on energy and environmental and social issues

For Belmar, the developers converted a former 1960s era dying mall into amixed-use community of 23 city blocks. The community incorporates LEED’sgreen standards, along with solar farms on the roofs of parking structures,and outdoor street lighting that conforms to the Retail stores like Belmar’sTarget were built to meet LEED certification, while corporations includingThe Integer Group, an international advertising agency, embrace thecommunity’s sustainability and green policies.

What perhaps is most interesting is that my desire to live in Belmar washighly influenced by another high profile new urbanism project—this one onthe western coast of South Korea—Songdo International Business District(IBD), a joint venture of New York-based real estate developer GaleInternational and the engineering and construction arm of South Korea’s steelproducer Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO). The urban developmentis a master planned mixed-use community that set out and conform to rigidinternational standards for design, sustainability, and, most importantly, anunparalleled quality of life.

A model for new urbanism, the developer’s vision for Songdo IBD wentbeyond Green, sustainability, and quality of life with western-style amenitiesto attract international visitors, residents, and business firms to South Korea.This in turn would pave the way for Koreans to interact more closely withforeigners, and create good jobs for the Korean people.

In both cases the developers set out to transform and reshape communities.For Songdo IBD, the city-size project is built upon reclaimed land andmudflats. For Belmar, it was a greyfield transformation of an aged and datedmall. In both cases, we find extensive master planning, large scaleconstruction, mixed-use development, cultural amenities, and a pedestrianand transit oriented lifestyle with less dependency on automobiles—althoughI’d like to see the Belmar add some clean energy LPG or electric rechargingstations.

That said, living in Belmar my task at hand is now to look deeper into howclosely the developers’ goals and visions for the respective U.S and Koreancommunities manifests over time. I plan to share my cultural research infuture writings. Meanwhile, frequent visits to South Korea and Songdo IBD,along with daily strolls through Belmar will provide first hand impressions of21st century new urbanism—amid memories on my youth growing up in smalltown America.

Don Southerton is a consultant, marketing strategist, and researcher for topKorean-based corporations with global business, along with major westernfirms that have ventures in Korea and Asia Pacific.

Southerton frequently comments in the media on topics including the Koreancar market, Green technology, and global business. His work, Chemulpo toSongdo IBD, Korea’s International Gateway was released in August 2009 atthe gala opening of the Songdo IBD and the Incheon Global Fair.

This article is available online at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaynejung/2011/11/15/new-urbanism-comparing-songdo-south-korea-to-belmar-usa/