Gwangju City Takes First Step in 'Dae·Ja·Bo City' Project

Sharing Vision and Goals at the First Dedicated Team Meeting

Gwangju City held the 'Da·Ja·Bo City Gwangju' project TF meeting on the 5th at the city hall small conference room, chaired by Deputy Mayor Ko Gwang-wan, with about 20 participants including related department heads, district offices, and agency officials.
[Photo by Gwangju City]

The project to create a ‘Dae·Ja·Bo (public transportation·bicycle·pedestrian-centered) city Gwangju’ has taken its first step.

Gwangju City announced on the 6th that it formed a dedicated task force (TF) for the successful promotion of the ‘Dae·Ja·Bo City Gwangju’ project and held its first meeting at the city hall’s small conference room on the 5th. The meeting, chaired by Deputy Mayor Ko Gwang-wan, was attended by about 20 people including related department heads, district and agency officials, who shared the vision and goals of the ‘Dae·Ja·Bo City Gwangju’ and discussed promotion strategies.

Jeong Seok, policy advisor and professor at the University of Seoul, presented a special lecture proposing a vision for building a citizen-centered transportation system and moving toward a pedestrian-centered city.

The Gwangju Strategic Promotion Team introduced the basic concept of the Dae·Ja·Bo city and citizen consensus projects, explaining various measures for setting policy directions and encouraging citizen participation. Since the transition to a Dae·Ja·Bo transportation system requires forming a citizen consensus, they plan to actively promote the ‘Citizen Consensus Policy Implementation Plan 3+1,’ which adds connection to demonstration, communication, and participation, including ▲creating demonstration spaces ▲public discussion ▲citizens’ own planning and practice ▲people-centered traffic flow.

To this end, on the 9th, the city will hold a citizen deliberation and joint implementation agreement ceremony for the citizen-created ‘Dae·Ja·Bo City Gwangju’ at the first-floor Citizen Hall of City Hall. At the ceremony, about 100 citizen action group members will draft a ‘Citizen Proposal’ and ‘Gwangju Citizens’ Pledge’ through the deliberation process and declare joint implementation.

In addition, in November, the city will conduct the ‘Dae·Ja·Bo Commute Challenge,’ encouraging commuting using public transportation, bicycles, and walking. Key figures and public officials of Gwangju will lead the challenge to encourage citizen participation. The challenge will proceed in a relay format, starting with Mayor Kang Ki-jung, with key figures posting certification photos on social networking services (SNS).

Also, the Integrated Airport Transportation Bureau presented concrete plans for transportation innovation. Through the ‘Urban Railway Line 2 Pureun-gil’ project, they plan to promote a major shift to a pedestrian-centered transportation system.

The Gwangju Institute announced the basic research plan for the ‘Dae·Ja·Bo City Gwangju,’ presenting a long-term direction. Along with this, Seo-gu Office introduced the ‘Pungam-dong Communication Theme Street’ as a successful car-free street case and discussed the possibility of expanding car-free streets in the future.

At the meeting, each institution shared specific cooperation measures and emphasized the importance of establishing a systematic cooperation system for the implementation of the Dae·Ja·Bo city.

Deputy Mayor Ko Gwang-wan said, “The ‘Dae·Ja·Bo City Gwangju’ project will be an important turning point not only for improving the transportation system but also for citizen participation and sustainable urban development,” adding, “Through this meeting, we will strengthen cooperation among institutions and do our best to ensure that the transition to a Dae·Ja·Bo city is successfully realized together with the citizens.”