City-Level Decoupling-Case Studies

CITY-LEVEL DECOUPLING: URBAN RESOURCE FLOWS AND THE GOVERNANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSITIONS

• To save on fresh water, sea water is pumped to a treatment plant to be processed in accordance with government standards to fill the city’s canals and water ways.

• Green buffer areas alongside sea walls have been designated as non-developable green spaces to act as flood prevention measures capable of withstanding the anticipated impact of a 100- year storm surge.

Quality of life

• Coupled with high-density buildings, a world-class transit system, and extensive neighborhood amenities, the provision of green space is a fundamental pillar of the 'quality of life' concept that sets Songdo IBD apart from other developments. The confluence of complementary urban design strategies works in tandem to create a community and a city that consumes less water and energy. • Songdo IBD’s leadership in sustainable development has key quality-of-life attributes for both corporations and residents. Songdo will be the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified district in Korea, and the largest project outside North America to be included in the LEED ND (Neighborhood Development) Pilot Program. In the implementation of the project, New Songdo City introduced several new concepts that proved difficult to implement due to political and regulatory jurisdictions of the local and national governments in Korea, and the conflicts with authorities that resulted. The foreign developers faced difficulties in introducing new concepts to Korean officials and the Korean real estate industry, and market acceptance of new design strategies and systems has been slowed by the need for end users to understand, accept and be able to operate these innovations. Songdo’s location presented challenges in obtaining LEED materials. Green products, such as low-flow plumbing fixtures, green refrigerants, and recycled, rapidly renewable, and low volatile organic compund materials, are rare in the Korean market, and the area lacks natural resources for other conventional building materials. Nonetheless, the Songdo IBD project has created demand for sustainable materials in Korea that will hopefully lead to the local development of these products with positive benefits for future projects. Songdo combines the principles of transit oriented development and new urbanism with the traditional Korean 'Dong' or neighborhood. Although the location had an influence on determining placement of neighborhoods, the underlying principles and the application of benchmarking tools (e.g. LEED and carbon footprinting) allow for the design to be replicated with some customization to cater to the different lifestyles and cultures of other contexts. The applicability of this model is, however, limited as Songdo contains no social housing for low-income groups and is not planned to meet the needs of the poor or address social inequalities.

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