The study by Hanbat National University and the University of New South Wales traces South Korea’s shift from commuter “bed towns” to integrated, eco-friendly smart cities, using Bundang, Sejong’s First Village, and the Sejong National Pilot Smart City as case studies. It reveals a transition from mass housing to green and digitally connected urban models, balancing technology, sustainability, and community inclusion.
A study conducted by researchers from Hanbat National University in the Republic of Korea and the University of New South Wales in Sydney offers an in-depth account of how South Korea’s neighborhoods have been reimagined over the past few decades. It follows their journey from commuter-heavy dormitory suburbs into self-sustaining, technologically advanced, and environmentally conscious smart cities. Using urban morphological analysis, the research dissects three emblematic case studies, Bundang New Town Pilot City, Sejong City’s First Village, and the Sejong National Pilot Smart City, representing the phases of modern, green, and smart urbanism, and reveals the institutional, technological, and design changes driving these transformations.
The Modern Urbanism Era: Solving Housing Shortages at Any Cost
In the late 20th century, South Korea faced severe housing shortages, prompting the creation of satellite “bed towns” around Seoul. Bundang New Town Pilot City, launched in 1991, became the model of this modern urbanist phase. Planned in a rigid grid and executed in a top-down fashion, it prioritized speed and quantity over environmental or social integration. Reinforced concrete structures, elevators, and automobile-oriented road networks dominated the landscape. While it succeeded in providing large-scale housing quickly, it entrenched long commutes, heavy traffic congestion, and ecological degradation. This was urbanism rooted in the mass production ethos of the first and second industrial revolutions, standardized residential blocks without nearby workplaces, expansive green areas, or mixed-use flexibility.
Green Urbanism: Building with Nature in Mind
By the early 2000s, global movements for sustainability and low-carbon cities began influencing Korean planning. Sejong City’s First Village, developed from 2011, showcased a decisive pivot towards green urbanism. Planners adopted Low Impact Development techniques to minimize environmental disruption, expanding interconnected green-blue-white networks of parks, water corridors, and wind paths. Transit-oriented development replaced car dominance, while mixed-use community hubs and equitable housing were placed near public transport. For the first time, partial citizen participation and collaborative community-building became part of the design process. Green urbanism also integrated eco-friendly technologies, solar panels, zero-energy buildings, and intelligent transportation systems, which encouraged walking, cycling, and public transport use. While this phase still centered largely on physical design, it laid the foundation for more socially inclusive and environmentally resilient cities.
Smart Urbanism: The Digital-Physical Fusion
Since the late 2010s, Korean cities have embraced smart urbanism, merging advanced ICT, artificial intelligence, and green eco-technologies into fully integrated cyber-physical environments. The Sejong National Pilot Smart City, initiated in 2017, represents the pinnacle of this vision. Planned for carbon neutrality and high efficiency, it employs white zoning and 3D mixed-use planning that extends into underground and aerial spaces. Mobility is reimagined with car-free central zones, autonomous shuttles, personal mobility devices, and strategically placed Bus Rapid Transit stations. Business and commercial areas expand significantly alongside vast green spaces, while residential areas shrink to only 12% of the total land. Smart grids, intelligent transport systems, and AI-driven environmental monitoring aim to maximize livability. Yet the model wrestles with the paradox that its highly connected digital infrastructure, data centers, IoT devices, and communications networks require enormous amounts of energy, much of which still comes from fossil fuels.
Shifting Urban Morphology: From Rigid Grids to Living Networks
Across the three phases, neighborhood form and function have shifted dramatically. Total neighborhood areas have expanded while built-up ratios dropped from over 90% in Bundang to just over 57% in the smart city, as green areas grew to 43% of total land. Population densities fell even as building densities rose, indicating more vertical, compact development. Residential land use has given way to diverse mixes of commercial, business, and recreational functions, while street networks have moved from car-dominated loops to pedestrian-friendly, transit-integrated grids. The smart city departs from rigid grid planning entirely, adopting curved, topography-responsive layouts that integrate ecological corridors. The transformation has been powered by both City Technologies, digital communications, platforms, and intelligent systems, and Space Technologies, design strategies like transit-oriented development and compact city forms.
Balancing Technology, Sustainability, and Community
The authors emphasize that technology-first approaches risk creating “ghost cities” without social vibrancy if citizen engagement is neglected. To address this, Korea has increasingly relied on Public–Private–People Partnerships and “Living Labs” to involve residents in shaping neighborhood services. This participatory model identifies mobility, energy, and environmental needs while fostering social cohesion. Planning frameworks now integrate qualitative Key Performance Indicators alongside technical benchmarks, measuring outcomes such as citizen happiness, renewable energy self-sufficiency, reduced commute times, and disaster response efficiency. However, the study warns that without aligning energy use with renewable sources, smart cities could undermine their own sustainability goals. It calls for a “green smart” philosophy, technology serving environmental and social priorities rather than the reverse.
The research portrays Korea’s urban evolution as both a national accomplishment and a continuing challenge. Once dominated by commuter suburbs, the country’s neighborhoods are becoming integrated “job-housing towns” where residential, commercial, recreational, and ecological functions coexist. The synergy between green and smart approaches has the potential to deliver self-sufficient, climate-resilient, and inclusive urban communities, but the success of this vision will hinge on balancing technological ambition with environmental stewardship and human-centered design.
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Dieser Artikel ist neu veröffentlicht von / This article is republished from: Devdiscourse, 14.08.2025
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