Nowon-gu Builds Smart Safety City Through Drone Autonomous Navigation and IoT Integration

[Seoul District News] Jungnang-gu Launches Seoul's First Autonomous Drone Navigation Project in Jungnangcheon and Bulamsan Areas; Installs 5 Smart Poles with Wireless Network Integration for Safety, Communication Welfare, and District Promotion & Floor Signal Lights, Voice Guidance Aids, Heated Chairs Linked to IoT Services with Integrated Management... Seongbuk-gu Donam 1-dong Community Center New Public Building Groundbreaking on 22nd & Scheduled Completion of 7-Story Building with 1 Basement Floor in 2024... Gwanak-gu Officially Starts 5-Year Plan for Public Parking Lot Construction

Launching a Drone for Fire Monitoring on Bulamsan Mountain

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) is establishing a smart safety system utilizing drone autonomous flight and the Internet of Things.

Using drones in areas difficult for people to access, the system will conduct pre-monitoring of disaster-affected areas and share real-time on-site footage among drones, the integrated control center, and related agencies to respond swiftly to the recent recurring natural disasters.

First, it will pilot the first autonomous drone flight service among Seoul's autonomous districts. The target areas are approximately 8 km along Jungnangcheon Stream and 1.8 km around Bulamsan Mountain. The plan includes designating autonomous drone mission routes and building dedicated infrastructure such as three smart poles serving as drone stations at key points considering the drone flight environment.

Public facilities installed and operated by each department will also be linked with Internet of Things services. A low-power wireless communication network (LoRa) will be expanded to 50 locations to enable remote control and data collection and analysis, integrating management of 131 ground traffic lights, 98 traffic light voice guidance aids, and 320 heated seats within the district. This allows real-time monitoring instead of dispatching personnel to check facility status upon complaints.

Additionally, following big data analysis of urban leisure population showing a sharp increase in foot traffic around Jungnangcheon Stream due to COVID-19, the self-communication network will be expanded. Five smart poles combining wireless communication networks will be installed, integrating public Wi-Fi, smart information boards, and CCTV to enhance safety, communication welfare, and district promotion.

Alongside this, the district has built a self-communication network since 2009, currently connecting over 2,000 CCTVs and more than 1,000 public Wi-Fi units through a total of 300 km of optical fiber cables.

Since last year, a smart city safety network service linking CCTV footage in real-time with emergency numbers 112 and 119 has been established. Smart information boards have been installed at eight locations, smart benches at eleven, and smart shade shelters at six, leading the realization of a smart city.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, said, "With the expansion of wired and wireless communication networks throughout the district, various smart city services utilizing new technologies have become possible. Above all, we plan to focus more on using information and communication technology for urban safety."

Seongbuk-gu (Mayor Lee Seung-ro) held a groundbreaking ceremony on the 22nd for the construction of the Donam 1-dong Community Center public building. About 100 attendees, including local residents filled with high expectations, members of the National Assembly, city and district councilors, and district officials, celebrated the new start of the public building.

The current Donam 1-dong Community Center building, constructed in 1991, is an aging structure over 30 years old, raising safety concerns and somewhat insufficient to meet the rapidly changing demands for public administrative services.

The new Donam 1-dong Community Center public building, scheduled to open in August 2024, will boast a total floor area of 1,944㎡ with one basement floor and seven above-ground floors. The basement will mainly be used for storage and mechanical rooms, while floors 1 through 7 will house civil service offices, resident autonomy offices, lecture rooms, and other spaces dedicated to residents.

It will also feature ten parking spaces, including those for disabled parking, greatly enhancing convenience for residents. Additionally, shared spaces such as an auditorium and a communal kitchen will be created inside, enabling the launch of various new resident autonomy programs that were previously impossible.

At the groundbreaking ceremony on the 22nd, Lee Seung-ro, Mayor of Seongbuk-gu, stated, "The new Donam 1-dong public building, welcoming residents in 2024, is equipped with all elements of resident safety, convenience, and consideration for the vulnerable. It will become a beloved public building in the community and play a significant role in revitalizing the resident community."

Gwanak-gu (Mayor Park Jun-hee) is transforming into a ‘Top Transportation Gwanak’ by creating public parking lots and complex facilities to resolve chronic parking difficulties in residential areas, thereby providing a pleasant and safe parking environment.

The district has established a ‘Five-Year Comprehensive Plan for Public Parking Lot Construction,’ the top priority living infrastructure desired by residents, aiming to increase parking lot availability through new construction, expansion, and public facility enhancement year by year.

A district official said, “Parking issues in residential areas are a citywide problem beyond Gwanak-gu. Conflicts among residents and inconveniences caused by parking problems are recognized as the most urgent issues to be resolved first.”

Under the 8th elected administration, Gwanak-gu has designated ‘public parking lot expansion’ as a key district project and began systematic preparations for the expansion plan in July.

To accurately understand parking conditions in all 21 neighborhoods, each was subdivided into 2-3 zones, and basic indicators such as parking supply rate, illegal parking enforcement cases, and public parking lot availability were surveyed to select nine neighborhoods requiring public parking expansion.

The district plans to add a total of 15 new public parking lots with 1,349 spaces by 2027, aiming to expand at least two public parking lots annually from 2023 onwards, focusing on areas with low parking supply rates to solve chronic parking shortages.

Besides completing ongoing projects like the Nanggok Smart Public Parking Lot and four others, from 2023, the district will promote ‘new public parking lot construction’ projects through land acquisition in areas like Daehak-dong, where public land is scarce. Additionally, parks larger than 1,000㎡ within residential areas will have their underground spaces developed into parking lots to alleviate parking difficulties in densely populated residential zones.

Moreover, where possible, expansions of existing building-type public parking lots will be pursued to increase parking convenience for residents.

The district aims to double the number of building-type public parking lots from 15 to 30 by 2027, increasing parking spaces from 2,262 to 3,611, a 60% rise.

Meanwhile, the district is promoting various parking sharing activation projects that create mutual benefits between the public and private sectors, such as ‘IoT Shared Parking Lots’ using IoT sensors to utilize idle spaces, ‘Happy Together’ where priority resident parking space holders share vacant spots, and ‘Shared Parking’ where one designated vehicle shares a parking space.

A district official said, “We plan to resolve the long-standing parking difficulties of residents through concrete and effective public parking lot creation. We will continue to actively promote resident-centered public parking expansion projects to enhance convenience and guarantee basic quality of life, making Gwanak a ‘Top Transportation’ district.”