Preplanned City: BGI in Songdo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62161/sauc.v11.6029Keywords:
Blue-Green Infrastructure, Smart Cities, Songdo International City, Urban Development, Biodiversity, Urban GreenspaceAbstract
Over the past few decades, Blue-green infrastructure (BGI) has emerged as one of the cornerstones of sustainable urban development, balancing ecological restoration, climate resilience, and human well-being. Cities across the globe have different policy frameworks, design priorities, and governance structures that shape the implementation of BGI systems. In South Korea, in particular, Songdo’s design highlights how a top-down, master-planned eco-city integrates BGI with smart city technologies and climate adaptation measures. In New York City, decentralized implementation and public–private partnerships have been vital to scaling up BGI. In Singapore, the nation-state illustrates a nationally coordinated approach, positioning BGI as both ecological infrastructure and a critical climate adaptation strategy. Vienna offers a contrasting European model, where BGI is closely related to long-term planning traditions. Together, these diverse governance models highlight how BGI can be tailored to local environmental, social, and political contexts while contributing to global climate resilience and human enjoyment.
Downloads
Global Statistics ℹ️
|
18
Views
|
11
Downloads
|
|
29
Total
|
|
References
About ABC Waters. (n.d.). PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency. https://www.pub.gov.sg/Public/Places-of-Interest/Our-Reservoirs-and-Waterways/ABC-Waters/About
American Planning Association. (2023). National Planning Award Categories & Eligibility. https://www.planning.org/awards/categories/
Atha, D., Alvarez, R., Chaya, K., Catusco, J.-P., & Whitaker, E. (2020). The Spontaneous Vascular Plant Flora of New York’s Central Park. The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, 147(1), 94–116. https://doi.org/10.3159/torrey-d-19-00024
Atha, D., & Boom, B. (2018). STATE OF NEW YORK CITY’S PLANTS 2018. In New York Botanical Garden. New York Botanical Garden. https://www.nybg.org/content/uploads/2018/08/SCI_State-of-the-Citys-Plants-2018-FULL4.pdf?cp_landing_source=www.nybg&utm_source=direct
Ayral, I., & Cha, S. (2024). Songdo: A Case Study of Underutilized Public Spaces. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.18178/ijssh.2024.14.3.1200
Building and Construction Authority (BCA). (2020). Singapore Green Building Masterplan. https://www1.bca.gov.sg
Central Park Conservancy. (2015, November). The Central Park Effect. /https://assets.centralparknyc.org/pdfs/about/The_Central_Park_Effect.pdf
Chong, L., Tan, P. Y., & Tan, C. L. (2021). Urban greening and blue-green infrastructure in Southeast Asia. Journal of Sustainable Cities and Society, 56, 102101.
City of Vienna (n.d.). Vienna Climate Guide
https://www.wien.gv.at/english/environment/klip/program.html
City of Vienna. (2022). Smart climate city Vienna: Strategy and mission statement. Smart City Agency, Urban Innovation Vienna
Clinton, J., Hwang, L., Egan, J., Hannon Sr., M., & Strickland, C. (2022). Economic Benefits of Parks in New York City. https://www.tpl.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/033022_Economic-Benefits-NYC_Final_v2.pdf
Dreyfus Advisors. (2025). The Dirty Truth: How New Yorkers Really Feel about Litter Market Research (pre-campaign wave). Sanitation Foundation. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fd14a8ad4328f0b6168fcaa/t/684ac9b7b51a3934069ee6db/1749731768465/Litter_Research_Report_5.14.2025_VFIN.pdf
Friesenecker, M., Thaler, T., & Clar, C. (2023). Green gentrification and changing planning policies in Vienna? Urban Research & Practice, 17(3), 393–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2023.2228275
Gantner, B., Allex, B., Brandenburg, C., Czachs, C., Damyanovic, D., Reinwald, F., & Preiss, J. (n.d.). Urban Heat Islands Strategy Plan Vienna – Implementing Urban Green Infrastructure to Reduce Negative Effects of Urban Heat Islands. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna & Vienna City Administration.
Garfield, L. (2017, November 17). This South Korean city eliminates the need to drive. World Economic Forum; World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2017/11/south-korea-is-building-a-35-billion-city-designed-to-eliminate-the-need-for-cars/
Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority. (2020). Landscape Design Guidelines for IFEZ (in Korean). Incheon Free Economic Zone, 2025
Isopp, A. (2022, July 15). Die „Schwammstadt“ am Voglmarkt bewährt sich. Unser Währing.at. https://www.unser-waehring.at/die-schwammstadt-am-voglmarkt-bewaehrt-sich/
Jacobs, J. (1969). The economy of cities. Vintage Books.
Jeon, H. R. (2021). How South Korea’s Incheon Smart City Makes Forgotten Inequalities Visible | Columbia | Journal of International Affairs. Jia.sipa.columbia.edu. https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/content/how-south-koreas-incheon-smart-city-makes-forgotten-inequalities-visible
Jung, J. (2024). Songdo City: Blueprint or Black Sheep? https://chartercitiesinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Songdo_Paper_Final.pdf
Khomenko, S., Nieuwenhuijsen, M., Ambròs, A., Wegener, S., & Mueller, N. (2020). Is a liveable city a healthy city? Health impacts of urban and transport planning in Vienna, Austria. Environmental Research, 183, 109238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109238
Koh, Y. F., Loc, H. H., & Park, E. (2022). Towards a “City in Nature”: Evaluating the Cultural Ecosystem Services Approach Using Online Public Participation GIS to Support Urban Green Space Management. Sustainability, 14(3), 1499. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031499
KPF (2021). Songdo IBD Central Park. https://www.kpf.com/news/bloomberg-songdo-smart-city
KPF. (n.d.). New Songdo City. KPF. https://www.kpf.com/project/new-songdo-city
KPF Songdo City-TM/R Design. (2023, October 19). TM/R Design. https://tmr.design/songdo/
Krajick, K. (2023, January 5). New York City’s Greenery Absorbs a Surprising Amount of Its Carbon Emissions. State of the Planet. https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2023/01/05/new-york-citys-greenery-absorbs-a-surprising-amount-of-its-carbon-emissions/
Mailloux, B. J., McGillis, C., Terryanne Maenza-Gmelch, Culligan, P. J., He, M. Z., Kaspi, G., Miley, M., Komita-Moussa, E., Sanchez, T. R., Steiger, E., Zhao, H., & Cook, E. M. (2024). Large-scale determinants of street tree growth rates across an urban environment. PLoS ONE, 19(7), e0304447–e0304447. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0304447
McCosh, C. (2024, January 16). Dollars and Sense: Economic Benefits of Community Green Spaces. Trust for Public Land. https://www.tpl.org/blog/dollars-and-sense-economic-benefits-of-community-green-spaces
Ministry of Construction and Transportation & Korea Land Corporation. (2000)
Manual for environmentally-friendly land development [환경친화적 택지개발 편람]
Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. (2021). Singapore Green Plan 2030. https://www.greenplan.gov.sg
Mocca, E., Friesenecker, M., & Kazepov, Y. (2020). Greening Vienna: The multi-level interplay of urban environmental policy–making. Sustainability, 12(4), 1577. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041577
Moran, D., Kanemoto, K., Jiborn, M., Wood, R., Többen, J., & Seto, K. C. (2018). Carbon footprints of 13,000 cities. Environmental Research Letters, 13(6), 064041. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aac72a
National Parks Board (NParks). (2019). City in a Garden: Singapore’s Green Urbanism. Singapore Government Publications.
National Recreation and Park Association. (n.d.). THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LOCAL PARKS. https://www.nrpa.org/contentassets/f568e0ca499743a08148e3593c860fc5/2022economicimpactreport.pdf
New York Senate. (2025, August 1). Environmental Conservation. NY State Senate; The New York State Senate. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/ENV
NYC DEP (2023). NYC Green Infrastructure Program. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dep/downloads/pdf/water/stormwater/green-infrastructure/gi-annual-report-2023.pdf
Park, C. (2019). Tomorrow Water. Tomorrow Water. https://www.tomorrowwater.com/reference-songdo-central-park
PUB (2022). Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters Programme. https://www.pub.gov.sg/abcwaters
PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency. (2020). ABC Waters Programme Annual Report.
Public Utilities Board (PUB). (2020). ABC Waters Programme Guidelines.
Public Utilities Board (PUB). (2023). Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Roadmap.
Ramirez, K. S., Leff, J. W., Barberán, A., Bates, S. T., Betley, J., Crowther, T. W., Kelly, E. F., Oldfield, E. E., Shaw, E. A., Steenbock, C., Bradford, M. A., Wall, D. H., & Fierer, N. (2014). Biogeographic patterns in below-ground diversity in New York City’s Central Park are similar to those observed globally. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281(1795). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1988
Reinwald, F., et al. (2021). Multi-level toolset for steering urban green infrastructure to support the development of climate-proofed cities (case studies in Vienna). Sustainability, 13(21), 12111.
Ring, Z., Damyanovic, D., & Reinwald, F. (2021). Green and open space factor Vienna: A steering and evaluation tool for urban green infrastructure. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 62, 127131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127131
Rowe, P., & Hee, L. (2019). A City in Blue and Green. https://isomer-user-content.by.gov.sg/50/00280a74-fd1c-428c-9843-4d6b395a9f45/a-city-in-blue-and-green-the-singapore-story.pdf
Salliou, N., Arborino, T., Joan Iverson Nassauer, Salmeron, D., Philipp Urech, Vollmer, D., & Grêt-Regamey, A. (2023). Science-design loop for the design of resilient urban landscapes. Socio-Environmental Systems Modelling, 5, 18543–18543. https://doi.org/10.18174/sesmo.18543
Schwammstadt. (n.d.). https://www.iba-wien.at/en/projekte/projekt-detail/project/schwammstadt-sponge-city
Shin, H., & Park, S. (2020). Smart cities and the illusion of innovation: The case of Songdo. Urban Studies, 57(4), 705–722.
swales-diagram. (n.d.). Nature Recovery Network. https://nature-recovery-network.org/photos/692/in/17/
Tan, P. Y., & Jim, C. Y. (2018). Urban ecology in Asian cities: Design for resilience. Urban Planning and Development Review, 4(1), 45–62.
Tan, P. Y., & Jim, C. Y. (2019). Economic valuation of ecosystem services in Singapore’s urban green-blue networks. Environmental Research Letters, 14(8), 084003.
Tan, P. Y., Lee, T. H., & Yeo, S. H. (2021). Integrating ecological design into urban infrastructure: Singapore's case. Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, 23(3), 354–368.
Tan, W. Y., Lee, T. H., & Yeo, S. H. (2020). Designing nature into the city: Value-based planning approaches in Singapore. Journal of Urban Ethics and Design, 12(2), 65–78.
The Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters Programme: Water As An Environmental Asset. (n.d.). https://isomer-user-content.by.gov.sg/50/7a481fd0-e545-417e-a14b-e414efee6694/rb172978-mnd-abc-water.pdf
TIME. (2022, September 20). What a ‘Sponge City’ Designed to Withstand Extreme Flooding
Tomorrow Water (2022). Songdo Wastewater Reuse Plant. Retrieved from https://www.tomorrowwater.com/reference-songdo-central-park
UN-Habitat (2021). Vienna City Profile.
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) & National Parks Board (NParks). (2021). Integrating Nature into Urban Planning in Singapore. Government of Singapore.
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) & NParks. (2021). Integrating Nature into Urban Planning in Singapore. Singapore Urban Redevelopment Series.
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). (2019). Master Plan 2019: Planning for a Sustainable and Liveable City. https://www.ura.gov.sg
Wei, D., Reinmann, A., Schiferl, L. D., & Commane, R. (2022). High-resolution modeling of vegetation reveals large summertime biogenic CO2 fluxes in New York City. Environmental Research Letters, 17(12), 124031. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aca68f
Žuvela-Aloise, M., Koch, R., Buchholz, S., & Früh, B. (2016). Modelling the potential of green and blue infrastructure to reduce urban heat load in the city of Vienna. Climatic Change, 135(3–4), 425–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-016-1596-2
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Authors retain copyright and transfer to the journal the right of first publication and publishing rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Those authors who publish in this journal accept the following terms:
-
Authors retain copyright.
-
Authors transfer to the journal the right of first publication. The journal also owns the publishing rights.
-
All published contents are governed by an Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Access the informative version and legal text of the license. By virtue of this, third parties are allowed to use what is published as long as they mention the authorship of the work and the first publication in this journal. If you transform the material, you may not distribute the modified work. -
Authors may make other independent and additional contractual arrangements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in this journal (e.g., inclusion in an institutional repository or publication in a book) as long as they clearly indicate that the work was first published in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and recommended to publish their work on the Internet (for example on institutional and personal websites), following the publication of, and referencing the journal, as this could lead to constructive exchanges and a more extensive and quick circulation of published works (see The Effect of Open Access).
