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According to the Population Reference Bureau, more than half of the world’s population in 2008 was living the urban areas. The population living in the urban areas is expected to grow to 70% by 2050. The most urban growth is expected to occur in the developing countries. The need for more sustainable urban development that reduces dependence on cars, discourages sprawl, and reduces wasteful resource use is growing. Governments around the world are encouraging the concept of smart growth through sustainable urban development. Korea being one of the major ravenous adopter of technology invested over $3o billion to developed a brand new sustainable city called Songdo International Business District (IBD) from the ground up.

The New Songdo IBD is a 1,500 acre city in South Korea developed on a muddy man-made island of Yellow-Sea. Although the city will not be completely finished until 2015, the Songdo IBD was officially opened on August 7, 2009 as a free economic and the first sustainable city in the world. The city was designed with the concept of smart growth, sustainable principles, and best practices of urban planning. The Songdo IBD will have commercial office space, residences, retail shops, schools, hospitals, hotels, civic and cultural facilities as well as 68-story Northeast Asia Trade Tower – the tallest and most advanced building in Korea.

The eco-friendly design of the city makes the Songdo IBD as the greenest city in the world. The city has dedicated 40% (600 acre) of the space as open space including 100 acre for the central park. The landscape design minimizes or excludes high water demand plants. Subway line will run through the Songdo IBD and city buses will further provide easy access to surrounding areas. To provide safe and carbon-free transportation, a 25 kilometers long network of bicycle path will be in the city. Designated parking will be assigned for fuel-efficient and low-emitting as well as carpool vehicles. The parking garages will include electrical vehicle charging stations to facilitate low emission vehicles. The green roofs will reduce stormwater runoff. The vegetated green roof will also help mitigate the urban heat island effect and promote biodiversity and species habitat preservation. The natural gas will be used to provide clean power. Energy efficient LED traffic lights are planned for the city. A new waste collection system will be used to collect wet and dry waste, eliminating the need of waste removal vehicles from the city.

When finished completely, the Songdo IBD will be a landmark in sustainable urban development.

Below are some of the pictures of Songdo IBD:

Canal Walk

Central Park

Harbor view, Dec 2009

North East Asia Tower

Songdo Hospital

Source: songdo.com