Expanding Global Footprint in the US, Switzerland, Singapore, Germany, and the Netherlands
Nowon District Mayor Oh Seung-rok is attracting attention as he expands his global reach not only to the United States and Switzerland but also to Singapore, Germany, the Netherlands, and more.
It is difficult to create an independent city if it is close to the center of Seoul. However, Nowon District is located on the outskirts of Seoul, providing conditions to create a uniquely independent city.
It is interpreted that he is making full use of these regional conditions to benchmark overseas in order to create a “livable self-sufficient city.”
Since taking office as the mayor of Nowon District in the 7th local election, Mayor Oh has made efforts to establish the district as a cultural and green city, achieving some results.
This is because the residents of Nowon have built a foundation to sufficiently enjoy culture and arts within the region.
Mayor Oh has been expanding his overseas activities since the 8th local election.
In March last year, Mayor Oh visited the United States and met with overseas scholars to gather good ideas for creating a bio-cluster including Seoul National University Hospital at the Chang-dong Vehicle Depot.
This year, he has been visiting European cities such as the Netherlands. On the 2nd, at 10 a.m. local time, Mayor Oh visited the Dutch city of Deijk en Baark and attended a policy discussion on urban carbon neutrality models through energy transition.
The discussion was an opportunity to share the vision of Deijk en Baark, a green society planned city, regarding its energy self-sufficiency policy. It was held with the attendance of Nowon District Mayor Oh Seung-rok, the Carbon Neutrality Promotion Team, Deijk en Baark Mayor Mr. Maarten Poorter, Deputy Mayor in charge of Transportation and Spatial Planning Mr. Nils Langedijk, and Deputy Mayor responsible for Energy Transition and Sustainability Mr. Ren? Schoenmaker.
Deijk en Baark is known as the “Village of the Sun” as the world’s largest solar-powered residential complex. From the early stages of urban planning, the city planned to supply energy through solar power, with 95% of houses installing solar panels on walls and roofs. The solar panels on the houses come in various shapes designed to harmonize with the house appearance and city aesthetics, improving energy efficiency by more than 30% compared to typical houses.
The city’s transportation spatial planning also showcases an excellent example of low-carbon policy. The road structure is pedestrian and bicycle-centered, with private cars prohibited from entering the central roads. Additionally, public convenience facilities are accessible on foot from anywhere within the complex.
The district plans to benchmark Deijk en Baark’s pedestrian and bicycle-centered transportation policies, carbon-neutral urban planning, and energy self-sufficiency cases as exemplary sustainable city models and incorporate them into Nowon’s carbon-neutral city creation policies.
Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “Through the visit to Deijk en Baark, the City of the Sun, I was able to learn about a green society where everyone lives together harmoniously. We will actively strive to become a low-carbon future city and carbon-neutral Nowon where people live together.”
Prior to this, Mayor Oh donated 200 Korean books to the Stuttgart City Library in Germany. The Stuttgart Library is one of CNN’s “Seven Most Beautiful Libraries in the World.” Designed by Korean architect Lee Eun-young, it has become a popular tourist destination for Korean visitors and serves as a community hub.
The district has embarked on benchmarking advanced cases in Germany and the Netherlands to proactively respond to climate change and explore ways to create “Nowon, a healing city where nature, people, and books harmonize.” On January 30 (local time), Mayor Oh visited the Stuttgart City Library, creating an opportunity for cultural exchange and mutual cooperation in reading culture.
The district held a donation ceremony for 200 specially selected popular Korean books from Nowon District Libraries to be placed in the library’s “Korean Books” corner. These included “I Do Not Say Goodbye” by author Han Kang, winner of the 2023 French M?dicis Prize, and “Summer is Coming” by author Lee Su-ji, winner of the 2022 Danish Andersen Award.
Especially in time for the upcoming Lunar New Year, they gifted “Seolbim,” a Korean cultural picture book by author Bae Hyun-joo, along with dolls dressed in traditional hanbok costumes, curating a corner of the library to introduce Korea’s Lunar New Year holiday.
On February 1 at 2 p.m. local time, Mayor Oh signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for carbon neutrality policy cooperation at Utrecht City Hall in the Netherlands.
The MOU was held with the attendance of Nowon District Mayor Oh Seung-rok and the Carbon Neutrality Promotion Team, officials from Utrecht City Hall’s spatial planning department, and Utrecht Deputy Mayor Lot van Hooijdonk to build consensus for enhancing cooperation in the field of carbon neutrality.
The MOU includes discovering and sharing excellent carbon neutrality policies, supporting exchanges of policy trends, and exchanging professional personnel and material resources for implementing carbon neutrality policies.
Utrecht is the fourth largest city in the Netherlands, with about 360,000 residents. It is well known for its bicycle-friendly policies, having been selected as the World Bicycle-Friendly City in 2022, and is striving to establish a transportation system that produces no carbon dioxide emissions.
It is also one of the 100 cities selected by the European Commission for “Climate Neutral and Smart City Transition,” actively responding to climate crises including carbon neutrality.
Nowon District expects that the agreement and benchmarking of sustainable policies such as Utrecht’s public transportation-centered policies will provide a good opportunity to incorporate these into Nowon’s carbon-neutral city creation policies. Mayor Oh said, “Starting with the carbon neutrality policy cooperation agreement with Utrecht, we will actively work with Nowon residents to make Nowon a global model for urban carbon neutrality.”
In November, Mayor Oh visited Singapore to study its uniquely designed architecture, large-scale high-density mixed-use developments, and garden city policies.
Mayor Oh exchanged views on Singapore’s public housing policies and urban planning through briefings by local experts, Professor Lee Kwan-ok from the National University of Singapore’s Department of Real Estate and urban planner Lee Ji-hye.
He also inspected Singapore’s first carbon-zero building, the National University of Singapore’s School of Design and Environment building. He received explanations about sustainable design features such as natural ventilation systems, solar power generation, rainwater recycling facilities, and the participatory building management system where users provide feedback, engaging in in-depth discussions.
He toured “SkyVille,” one of Singapore’s first public housing estates, rebuilt in 2015 into a new space combining community-centered design and greenery. Starting as basic accommodation, public housing has evolved into a more comfortable and environmentally friendly living space centered on well-designed communities, providing valuable insights for Nowon’s upcoming urban regeneration and reconstruction projects.
He then visited the National Parks Board (NParks), the department responsible for Singapore’s park and green space policies that realize the garden city concept, and personally toured Ang Mo Kio Park and the Park Connector, a network of parks connected along waterways. He also visited major policy sites such as Gardens by the Bay, the world’s largest column-free greenhouse garden, and Marina One, a high-density mixed-use development complex.
As a result of Mayor Oh’s overseas benchmarking, Nowon District achieved the opening of the miniature diorama exhibition hall “Nowon Train Village Swiss Pavilion” within Hwarangdae Railroad Park.
The Nowon Train Village Swiss Pavilion is a miniature exhibition hall that faithfully reproduces the villages and trains of Switzerland, a world-renowned tourist destination. It features a 4.4-meter-tall model of the Matterhorn in the Alps, 17 train models scaled down to 1/87 of actual size, and exhibitions incorporating familiar stories for children such as Heidi and the Lucerne Carnival, offering a rich visual experience that captivates visitors.
As of October, the cumulative number of visitors was confirmed to be about 97,000, including 37,000 local residents (38%) and 60,000 visitors from other cities and districts (62%). The district plans to hold commemorative events, special train exhibitions, and experience programs to thank visitors for their enthusiastic support and attract more visitors.
Attention is focused on how far Mayor Oh Seung-rok’s efforts to create a culturally self-sufficient city will go.
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