KRIHS-WeGO Co-host Habitat III Networking Event

Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) on Oct. 18 co-hosted a networking event on smart city strategies with the World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments (WeGO) on the sidelines of Habitat III in Quito, Ecuador. The event featured Korea, the U.S. and Latin American countries sharing their experiences in smart city strategies and exploring future development directions.

The event began with a congratulatory speech from Jin Hyun-hwan, chief of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s (MOLIT) Urban Policy Bureau, followed by the opening speech by KRIHS President Kim Dongju and greetings from WeGO Secretary-General Nam Young-sook. Presentations were then made on the main concepts and significance of smart cities, as well as those on related strategies from a number of countries. Gary Fowlie, head of the International Telecommunication Union's liaison office to the United Nations, gave the keynote address, in which he discussed the relation and issues of the smart city and information revolutions to urban sustainability and acceptance today.

Next was KRIHS Senior Research Fellow Lee Sanggeon, who discussed the results and remaining tasks of Korea’s smart city policy. Victor Vergara, lead urban specialist for the World Bank, then gave a presentation on the significant and results of Latin America’s smart city strategies, and finally, Debra Lam, chief innovation and performance officer for the U.S. city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, introduced the main content and results of her municipal government’s smart city strategies.

In the ensuing discussion forum, Bernadia Tjandradewi, Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments Asia Pacific, MOLIT manager Kim Ki-dae and Ming Zhang, urban practice manager for the World Bank Group, covered the significance of smart city strategies, the variety of applications by country and the direction of development. Questions from the audience after the forum panelists spoke made the event more lively.

The event was attended by around 100 government officials, researchers and civic group members from all over the world, and served as a venue for insightful discussion on and sharing of the variety of smart city campaigns worldwide and international cooperation plans.

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