SearchSongdo City, Icheon, South Korea is a view of a city of the future. It is designed to be low-carbon, hi-tech and sustainable. The plan is that it will have no air pollution, no traffic congestion and no garbage trucks. It is also the most expensive and the largest private real estate development in the world.
It is under construction on a waterfront on land reclaimed from the Yellow Sea at a cost of over $40 billion. South Korea’s tallest building, the Northeast Asia Trade Tower at 65 floors is on the site.
So why is it a vision of the future? Networked computers are built into houses, streets and offices allowing citizens to video conference with neighbors, take classes remotely and control lighting, air conditioning and heat. There are 16 miles of bike lanes and street sensors regulate traffic flow. All vehicles are electric and there are multiple charging stations.
The designers developed it as a sustainable city with 40% of the area reserved for green space.
Perhaps most innovative of all is a pneumatic waste-disposal system that uses underground pipes that suck garbage from houses and offices to underground processing facilities.
The city is projected to be completed in 2022.
