KRIHS, Findeter of Colombia Host Joint Workshop

The Global Development Partnership Center (GDPC) of Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS) on Oct. 21 (Fri.) hosted a joint workshop with the Bogota, Colombia-based Financial Institution for Development (Findeter) on the urban, housing, transportation and smart city policies of both Korea and Colombia and main operations.

The workshop started with a welcoming speech from Findeter President Luis Fernando Arboleda, in which he expressed hope that the event would provide an opportunity to promote closer cooperation in building cities for residents. In response, KRIHS President Kim Dongju stressed the long-standing friendly ties between Korea and Colombia and said he expects a synergy effect from combining his think tank’s planning and policy consultation experience with Findeter’s financial capacity.

In the first session, KRIHS Research Fellow Park Sehoon gave an explanation of Korea’s urban and housing development policies, and shared the gains and losses from new town development and joint reconstruction projects. KRIHS Assistant Research Fellow Park Misun then gave a presentation on the changes in Korea’s housing policy process by era and the ensuing degree of improvement in the residential environment, as well as remaining tasks and issues. Afterwards Ana Maria Cifuentes, general housing sector manager for Findeter, explained her organization’s role among Colombia’s housing-related institutions and the results of four programs for supporting each income class as well as remaining challenges. 

The second session featured a presentation by GDPC Director Chung Ilho on the results of Korea’s construction of transportation infrastructure and support system for infrastructure planning and funding supply plans. Next was KRIHS Researcher Lee Sanggun covered the smart city concept and case studies of four Korean cities, then spoke on the issues of privacy protection, plans for major players and funding sources, and fees for sustainable management.

On the Colombian side, Findeter Director Juan Manuel Robledo, discussed development of pedestrian paths and green zones by his country’s major cities, TOD development operations and formulation of transportation master plans.

In the concluding discussion session on cooperation method, partcipants stressed Findeter’s need for cooperation with KRIHS to expand the capacity of institutions and expressed hope for the expansion of closer cooperation in a variety of sectors such as workshops, capacity-building programs, technical cooperation and consulting through video conferencing. The workshop was attended by six members of a visiting KRIHS delegation and around 30 Findeter staff.