AsouthKoreancitydesignedforthefuturetakesonalifeofitsown
A) Gettingaroundacityisonething -- andthenthere'sthematterofgettingfromonecitytoanother. Onevisionoftheperfectcityofthefuture: aplacethatofferseasyaccesstoairtravel.In 2011, aUniversityofNorthCarolinabusinessprofessornamedJohnKasardapublishedabookcalledAerotropolis: TheWayWe'llLiveNext. Kasardasaysfuturecitiesshouldbebuiltintentionallyaroundornearairports. Theidea, ashehasputit, istoofferbusinesses "rapid, long-distanceconnectivityonamassivescale."
B) "The 18thcenturyreallywasawaterbornecentury, the 19thcenturyarailcentury, the 20thcenturyahighway, car, truckcentury -- andthe 21stcenturywillincreasinglybeanaviationcentury, astheglobebecomesincreasinglyconnectedbyair," Kasardasays.Songdo, acitybuiltfromscratchinSouthKorea, isoneofKasarda'sprimeexamples. Ithasexistedforjustafewyears."Fromtheget-go, itwasdesignedonthebasisofconnectivityandcompetitiveness," saysKasada. "ThegovernmentbuiltthebridgedirectlyfromtheairporttotheSongdoInternationalBusinessDistrict. Andthesurfaceinfrastructurewasbuiltintandemwiththenewairport."
C) Songdoisastone'sthrowfromSouthKorea'sIncheonAirport, itsmaininternationalhub. Butittakesalotmorethananearbyairporttobeacityofthefuture. Justbuildingaplaceasan "internationalbusinessdistrict" doesn'tmeanitwillbecomeone. ParkYeonSooconceivedthiscityofthefuturebackin 1986. HeconsidersSongdohisbaby. "Iamavisionary," hesays.Thirtyyearsafterheimaginedthecity, Park'sbabyiscloseto 70 percentbuilt, with 36,000 peoplelivinginthebusinessdistrictand 90,000 residentsingreaterSongdo. It'saboutanhouroutsideSeoul, builtonreclaimedtidalflatsalongtheYellowSea. There'saCoastGuardbuildingandatalltradetower, aswellasapark, golfcourseanduniversity.
D) Chancesareyou'veactuallyseenthisplace. SongdoappearsinthemostfamousmusicvideoevertocomeoutofSouthKorea."GangnamStyle" referstothefashionableGangnamdistrictinSeoul. ButsomeofthevideowasfilmedinSongdo."Idon'tknowifyouremember, therewasasceneinasubwaystation. ThatwasnotGangnam. ThatwasactuallySongdo," saysJungWonSon, aprofessorofurbandevelopmentatLondon'sBartlettSchoolofPlanning. "Partofthereasontoshootthereisthatit'snewandnice."
E) Thecitywassupposedtobeahubforglobalcompanies, withemployeesfromallovertheworld. Butthat'snothowithasturnedout.Songdo'sreputationisasafuturisticghosttown. Buttherealityismorecomplicated.Abridgewithbig, light-blueloopsleadsintothebusinessdistrict. Inthecenterofthemainroad, there'salonglineofflagsoftheworld. Onthecorner, there'saStarbucksanda 7-Eleven -- alloftheinternationalbrandsthatyouseeallovertheworldnowadays.
F) Thecityisnotempty. Therearemotherspushingstrollers, oldwomenwithwalkers -- eveninthemiddleoftheday, whenit's 90 degreesout. ByunYoung-JinchairstheSongdorealestateassociationandstartedsellingpropertyherewhenthefirstphaseofthecityopenedin 2005. Hesaysdemandhasboomedinthepastcoupleofyears.MostofhisclientsareKorean. Infact, thedevelopersays, 99 percentofthehomesherearesoldtoKoreans. Youngfamiliesmoveherebecausetheschoolsaregreat.Andthat'stheproblem: SongdohasbecomeapopularKoreancity -- morepopularasaresidentialareathanabusinessone. It'snotyetthefuturisticinternationalbusinesshubthatplannersimagined. "It'sagreatplacetolive. Andit'sbecomingagreatplacetowork," saysScottSummers, thevicepresidentofGaleInternational, thedeveloperofthecity. Thefloor-to-ceilingwindowsofhiscompany'sofficesoverlookSongdoCentralPark, withacanalfullofkayaksandpaddleboats. Shimmeringglasstowerslinethecanal’sedge.
G) "What'shappenedis, becausewefocusedoncreatingthatqualityoflifefirst, whichenabledtheresidentstolivehere, whathasprobablymissedthemarkisforcompaniestolocatehere," hesays. "Thereneedstobestrongeconomicincentives."Thecityisstillunfinished, anditfeelsabitlikeathemepark. Itdoesn'tfeelallthatfuturistic. There'sahigh-techundergroundtrashdisposalsystem. Buildingsareenvironmentallyfriendly. Everybody'stelevisionsetisconnectedtoasystemthatstreamspersonalizedlanguageorexerciseclasses.
H) ButStarTrekthisisnot. Andtosomeoftheresidents, Songdofeelshollow."I'm, like, inprisonforweekdays. That'swhatwecallitintheworkplace," saysawomaninher 20s. Shedoesn'twanttousehernameforfearofbeingfiredfromherjob. ShegoesbacktoSeouleveryweekend. "IsayI'mprison-breakingonFridaynights."Butshehastomaketheprisonbreakinherowncar. There'snohigh-speedtrainconnectingSongdotoSeoul, justover 20 milesaway.
I) ThemanwhofirstimaginedSongdofeelsfrustrated, too. ParksayshebuiltSouthKoreaaluxuryvehicle, "likeMercedesorBMW. It'sagoodcarnow. Butwe'rewaitingforagooddrivertoaccelerate."Buttherearelotsofothergoodcarsoutthere, too. Theworldisdottedwithfuturistic, high-techcitiestryingtoattractthebiggestinternationalcompanies.
J) Songdo'sbackerscontendthatit'sstillearly, andbusinessspaceisfillingup -- about 70 percentoffinishedofficesarenowoccupied.BrentRyan, whoteachesurbandesignatMIT, saysSongdoprovesauniversalprinciple. "Therehavebeenalotofutopiancitiesinhistory. Andthereasonwedon'tknowaboutalotofthemisthatalotofthemhavevanishedentirely."Inotherwords, whenitcomestocities -- oranythingelse -- itishardtopredictthefuture.
36. Songdo'spopularityliesmoreinitsqualityoflifethanitsbusinessattraction.
37. ThemanwhoconceivedSongdofeelsdisappointedbecauseithasfallenshortofhisexpectations.
38. AsceneinapopularSouthKoreanmusicvideowasshotinSongdo.
39. Songdostilllacksthefinancialstimulusforbusinessestosetupshopthere.
40. Airplaneswillincreasinglybecomethechiefmeansoftransportation, accordingtoaprofessor.
41. Songdohasendedupdiferentfromthecityitwassupposedtobe.
42. SomeofthepeoplewhoworkinSongdocomplainaboutboredomintheworkplace.
43. Abusinessprofessorsaysthatafuturecityshouldhaveeasyaccesstointernationaltransportation.
44. Accordingtoanurbandesignprofessor, itisdifficultforcitydesignerstoforescewhatwillhappeninthefuture.
45. ParkYeonSoo, whoenvisionedSongdo, feelsaparentalconnctionwiththecity.