Songdo IBD (International Business District): experimental prototype for the city of tomorrow?

Napong Tao Rugkhapan and Martin J. Murray

International Planning Studies, 2019, vol. 24, issue 3-4, 272-292

Abstract: Hailed as a cutting-edge, ‘smart city’, Songdo IBD (International Business District) is considered by its promoters to be the most ambitious master-planned project since Brasília. Built entirely from scratch on reclaimed land, this city-building project includes a high-rise central business district, an assortment of upscale residential housing, and luxury tourist venues. Our case study approach allows us to avoid deductive theorizing that forces us, on a priori grounds, to either celebrate Songdo as an exemplary expression of ‘smart urbanism’ or dismiss it as fraudulent masquerade. Looking at the design motifs, planning principles, and discourses behind Songdo enables us to critically assess the dynamics leading to the production of the spatially disjointed, socially disconnected metropolises that have blossomed at the start of the twenty-first century. While sharing many features with other similar projects, Songdo IBD is distinct in its commitment to forging what its boosters see as a near-technological utopia.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1080/13563475.2019.1650725

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