Do 1 Incheon Free Economic Zone: Is It Really Sustainable? Hyun Ji (Michelle) Do CRP 3840: Green CitiesDo 2 Introduction: As the world is shrinking due to the rapid globalization, it has become inevitable for a country to engage actively in international affairs to develop economically, politically, socially, and culturally. While the Republic of Korea (ROK), the South Korea, has shown its influential role in the international economy during the 1960s through labor intensive manufactured exports, the trend has changed today where an advanced information and communication technologies have become the main factors of competitive advantage. Thus, to meet such global demand, the ROK government has determined to build free economic zone in the city of Incheon, located on the northwest coast of the ROK peninsula (Figure 1). Figure 1 Source: “Case Study: Songdo International Business District.” Web. 20 Nov. 2009. < http://galekr.mydelphic.com/Uploads/FileManager/Gale/Press%20Kit/Songdo%20IBD%20Case%20study%202-25-09.pdf> Although Northeast Asia contains three of the largest economies in the world-Japan, China, and ROK- international businesses were mainly transacted through Southern Asia nearDo 3 Hong Kong and Singapore for a long time. As ROK is located in the midway between Japan and China, it can function as the most efficient economic hub for the three countries as well as other Asian countries. Moreover, among other ROK cities, Incheon is the best location for the free economic zone for several reasons: Other than the fact that Incheon is only 40 miles away from the capital city, Seoul, ROK’s biggest and the busiest airport, the Incheon International Airport, is located there. The airport has a population flow of 100 thousand/day and has convenient nonstop flights all the way to Europe and North America. Also, 20% of the world’s total population, 2 billion, lives within 3hrs/30min flight from Incheon (“The New”). While there are many topics to discuss regarding IFEZ, this paper will be the case study of evaluating rather IFEZ is truly sustainable or not. Most of the research was done through Korean news papers, scholarly journals, and thesis reports on the web; I was unable to conduct interviews with IFEZ development stakeholders as they did not respond to my e-mails nor pick up their phones. Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ): the New Songdo City: The construction of IFEZ is receiving a great amount of attention from all over world not simply because it is the first designated Free Economic Zone in the Northeast Asia but also it is the first sustainable city in the world designed to be an international business district. The total area of IFEZ is approximately 51,644 acres, 1/3 of the area of Seoul or Singapore, and it is divided into three different zones with distinct functions- the New Songdo City, Youngjong Aeropolis, and Cheongna Leisure City (Figure 2). The construction of IFEZ began in 2003 and it is expected to be completed in 2020 (“Overview”). Among the three designated zones, the New Songdo city or Songdo International Business District (SIBD) is the main focus of the development as it is the global business centerDo 4 of the IFEZ where majority of the foreign investments will be taking place. SIBD is a US $25 billion master-planned development, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, on 1,500 acres of reclaimed land along Incheon’s waterfront (Whitman et al. 3). Its development is invested by both Gale International and Korea’s POSCO E&C. While the site has opened partially for businesses in august 2009, it is expected to be completed in the year 2014; when finished, the city will accommodate 65,000 residents. Recently, by the opening of 6 mile Incheon Grand Bridge, it now only takes 10 minute drive to the Incheon International Airport, located in Yeongjong Aeropolis, from SIBD (“Why Songdo”). When fully developed, including multiple skyscraper office buildings, SIBD will have various infrastructures, such as fine hotels, international schools, hospitals, museums, cultural center, Northeast Asian Trade Tower (NEATT), Central Park, a luxury retail mall, Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea, and so on, to attract multinational and domestic corporations (Whitman et al. 3). Figure 2 Source: “Overview.” IFEZ. Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, 2008. Web. 13 Nov. 2009.<http://eng.ifez.go.kr/menu02/overview.asp>Do 5 Furthermore, SIBD will be a sustainable city by addressing the following three criteria in its design: 1) Extensive amount of green spaces: SIBD will have 515 acres of landscaping and open spaces, equal to 34% of the total land area of the development (Whitman et al. 5). The Central Park in SIBD which was completed in 2005 meets the highest expectations for a global city park as it includes many eco-friendly features. The seawater canal in the Central Park, unlike typical canals, utilizes seawater to minimize the damage to the ecosystem by storing water from the West Sea during high tide, using tidal energy. Also, the water is purified through a double filter without use of chemicals. Moreover, there is a rain-saving facility in the park to reduce water consumption and the parking lots are located underground to minimize carbon emissions (H. Kim). 2) Pedestrian friendly: SIBD is designed to promote local residents and visitors to move around car-free. Several alternative public transportations will be available including a subway, which will connect all the way to Seoul, water taxis, and buses. Also, the Central Park will have nature trails to promote walking and bicycling. Overall, the entire SIBD will be built under the concept of “successful commercial neighborhoods organically grow in areas with a relatively small scale and which are located in proximity to dense residential districts” which is expected to discourage car uses (Whitman et al. 5). 3) Sustainable building design: the main goal of SIBD construction is to have all the buildings in SIBD, 350 of them, certified by the Korean Green Building Rating System and the LEED. Moreover, the SIBD development team has participated in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGB) LEED for Neighborhood Development (ND) pilot program “to ensure that, from a macro level, there is appropriate integration between project site, infrastructure development, and actual building construction” (Whitman et al. 7). Regarding the three criteria, in order to quantify