Inha University and Michuhol-gu Join Hands to Establish Parking Lot Sharing System

Inha University Blockchain Center Selected for 'Community-Engaged Local Problem Solving Project'

Underground parking lot of a building in Juan 3-dong, Michuhol-gu, planned to be used for establishing a parking lot sharing system.
[Photo by Inha University]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The Blockchain Center at Inha University recently announced on the 3rd that it has been selected for the "Science and Technology Utilization Resident-Engaged Local Problem Solving Project," conducted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and others, and plans to establish a parking lot sharing system focusing on the old downtown area of Michuhol-gu, Incheon, which is experiencing parking difficulties. A project budget of 300 million KRW will be supported until December.

This is the first achievement of the smart city council formed last September by Inha University, Michuhol-gu, and GIBI (Global Incheon Blockchain & ICT Initiative).

The parking lot sharing system is a solution to the parking shortage in the old downtown area, utilizing idle urban spaces instead of public parking lots, which are difficult to secure land for and costly to build.

Parking lots of villas or apartments that are empty during the day will be opened, and at night, idle resources such as nearby churches or government office parking lots will be used according to time slots. It utilizes parking lots of buildings like churches that can accommodate from one or two parking spaces to multiple cars at once. Priority will be given to locations where prior consent from residents has been obtained.

The task of finding empty spaces will be handled not by people but by the parking lot sharing system. Considering the characteristics of each neighborhood, the most suitable scientific technologies such as IoT, blockchain, and integrated control systems will be utilized. After attaching sensors to parking spaces, it is designed to guide residents to parking spaces via a smartphone app.

The introduction of the parking lot sharing system is the first project to build a new village system. Starting with this, the plan is to propose village development methods by sharing information on village resources such as parking lots, creating value from them, and reinvesting that value.

By the end of next month, they will meet residents 5 to 6 times to gather opinions and establish a detailed project plan, and from February next year, they will begin full-scale system construction.

Seo Taebeom, head of the Blockchain Center at Inha University, said, "It is an interesting project in that it seeks solutions by utilizing science and technology to address difficulties residents experience in their daily lives," adding, "Since parking problems are social issues experienced not only in old downtown areas but throughout urban areas, we hope this project will yield results that can benefit our society."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.