Policy Sharing

The world is experiencing urbanization at an extremely rapid pace. The global urban population is projected to grow from 3.6 billion in 2010 to 6.3 billion in 2050, and it is expected that the emerging countries will be responsible for most of this urban population growth(UN , 2012). This translates into an urban population increase of 5 million every month.

Amid such urbanization on a global scale, Seoul's experience of handling rapid urbanization has more implications compared to the experiences and urban planning strategies of the more advanced cities in the western countries.

Seoul’s urban development model is more appropriate for solving problem caused by rapid urbanization than an western urban development model. There is three reasons, below.

First, if cities in emerging countries emulate the development model of the western countries focused on low-density,

automobile-based urban development, the world would not be sustainable due to environment problems and lack of resources. So emerging cities must become eco-friendly and sustainable, unlike the already advanced western cities. Seoul city is an efficient and eco-friendly city in terms of carbon emission and energy consumption.

Second, in retrospect, western societies went through urbanization through industrialization, as the cities developed into manufacturing based cities.

However, in the case of Seoul as well as many emerging country cities, people first moved to the city without industrialization setting in. As the city expands rapidly, it is faced with a complex set of issues such as securing a strong economic foundation for the urban dwellers as well as sound living environment amidst unstable socio-economic conditions. Seoul is the only city that achieved sustainable growth in the economic, social, and environmental field despite the lack of resources and funding.

Third, in terms of methodology, western cities seek to understand the interested parties and analyze their needs to build a city together.

However, with the rapid expansion of urban population in which hundreds of thousands of people each year flock to cities each year, it is difficult to categorize the interested parties, and in many cases it is close to impossible to fully determine those working in the informal sector. Instead of spending years on research for planning, it is important to take prompt action to prevent the deterioration of quality of life of the urban dwellers. In contrast, Seoul has realized its urban vision through future-oriented, preemptive urban planning thanks to the devotion of leaders, experts, and public officials.

The 'urbanization' planning strategy to respond to the rapid urbanization needs of today must be different from the 'urban' planning of the western societies. It is important to devise a forward-thinking and preemptive urbanization strategy and promptly implement the plan. An urbanization planning strategy distinct from urban planning will be instrumental for the cities in emerging countries in tackling various issues that arise from rapid urbanization. Also, in the coming years, such strategy will have much implications for other cities around the world seeking to build more sustainable cities.

Seoul stands ready to cooperate with global cities to enhance the quality of life for all the citizens and build an economically prosperous and environmentally sustainable city. Going forward, Seoul city government will give higher priority to projects in partnership with emerging cities undergoing rapid urbanization in order to share Seoul's experiences and know-how.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has been contributing to solving global urban issues by sharing its excellent policies for urban issues.

The SMG has shared its 53 policies with 39 cities in 28 countries. Through systematizing its experience and technology as business models since 2012, a total of 36 projects, accounting for 84% of the total overseas expansion projects, have been exported in the past six years (2012-2017).