Opening of International Conference “The Future of National Urban Policy” 

About: The future of national urban policy

Date: December 14-15, 2015

At: Songdo Convensia in Incheon

Jointly hosted by the UN-Habitat, the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS), and the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) and jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the Incheon Metropolitan City, the international conference “The Future of National Urban Policy” was held for two days from December 14 to 15. This conference was held to seek ways to develop urban policies for global countries, and one of the three hosts was the UN-Habitat, which is an affiliated organization of the United Nations to prevent the slums of large cities and to improve residential environment. About 160 people from 32 countries, including Korea, participated in the conference and engaged in presentations and discussions in various topics. 

Vice Minister Kim Kyunghwan of MOLIT, Vice Mayor Jun Sungsoo of the Incheon Metropolitan City, President Kim Dongju of KRIHS, and President Lee Taisik of KICT delivered greetings and congratulatory remarks. Executive Director Joan Clos of the UN-Habitat also sent a congratulatory message and Coordinator Rafael Tuts of the UN-Habitat delivered the words of appreciation. 

Under the leadership of the UN-Habitat, national urban policies were introduced and various countries’ development experience and cases were shared on December 14. Under the leadership of KRIHS and KICT, smart and green cities were introduced and discussed on the next day. An exhibition about innovative city policies was held together with the conference. After the event, overseas urban policy professionals visited useful sites to take a look at smart cities in Korea.