Yangcheon-gu 'Smart City Resident Living Lab' Successfully Concluded

Deriving Smart Solutions for Urban Issues Identified and Solved Through Direct Resident Participation

Smart City Resident Living Lab Activity Photos

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) announced that it has successfully completed the ‘Smart City Resident Living Lab’ project, which was conducted four times from August 26 to September 30.

A living lab means a ‘living laboratory’ and is an innovative methodology that solves local problems through mutual cooperation among the public sector, private sector, and citizens.

From the end of August to September, the district held sessions where residents directly communicated and proposed ideas regarding local social issues and the direction of public policies by discovering urban problems and deriving smart solutions.

The first to third living labs involved 40 residents from five local living zones interested in smart cities and six experts, sharing opinions online and offline on ▲development directions for Yangcheon-gu and discovery of local (living zone) issues ▲ideas for solving local problems ▲ways to advance smart city services.

They sought solutions to local problems using smart technology, focusing on areas with high citizen sensitivity such as transportation, safety, environment, crime prevention, and welfare.

In particular, the fourth regional specialized living lab held in-depth discussions on smart city services to be considered for the smart reconstruction of apartments in the Mokdong New Town area.

In the section for gathering opinions on the development direction of Yangcheon-gu, proposals included ▲unique local resident-based cultural projects exclusive to Yangcheon-gu ▲activation of communities utilizing resident resources ▲a smart city that moves in step with people without leaving any marginalized groups behind.

Common issues to be solved across the five local living zones were identified as ▲lack of parking spaces ▲illegal parking ▲resource recycling ▲pedestrian safety ▲accessibility to public transportation (subway), representing typical urban problems.

In particular, illegal parking emphasized issues such as academy shuttle bus parking, and pedestrian safety highlighted safety problems caused by bicycles and shared kickboards.

Looking at each local living zone, Mokdong 1 Living Zone faced a shortage of libraries and cultural content, Sinwol 2 Living Zone had aircraft noise problems, and Sinjeong Living Zone raised safety issues in alleyways during late-night hours as major concerns. Other opinions included digital education for the elderly, efficient use of parks and green spaces, and the daily practice of health information.

As a way to smartly solve the derived urban problems, 23 smart city services (smart parking, smart traffic enforcement, exercise and health self-measurement, etc.) were first selected.

Among these, seven services closely related to residents’ daily lives (smart mobility, smart crosswalks and safe walking paths, smart waste management, etc.) were freely discussed regarding the advancement of functions and the locations for service implementation.

In the final fourth living lab, future-oriented smart city services were selected for the Mokdong New Town apartments after reconstruction.

In the administrative sector, services such as citizen living labs, smart city portals, and urban usage platforms were preferred, allowing access to administrative services online without restrictions of time and space.

In the transportation sector, directions were suggested to solve frequently occurring real-life traffic problems (parking, traffic congestion) through smart parking services and smart traffic light services.

The district plans to concretize the future vision of the smart city, major urban problems, and smart city services derived from this living lab into feasible plans through a comprehensive service roadmap for the short and mid-to-long term in the ‘Yangcheon-gu Smart City Mid-to-Long Term Master Plan.’

Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, said, “The smart city living lab was a great opportunity to deeply consider local community issues together with residents and derive solutions from a new perspective. We will do our best to incorporate the various ideas shared this time into district administration to establish Yangcheon-gu as a leading smart city.”