[Square] Directions and Challenges of Urban Development in the Post-Corona Era

Sanghee Choi, Research Fellow, Smart City Research Division, LH Land and Housing Institute

Since the emergence of COVID-19, everyday scenes have changed with mask-wearing, non-face-to-face consumption, and remote work. The decreased demand for shared spaces has led to vacancies in cultural, performance, and commercial spaces and a downturn in related industries, while the increase in remote work has driven growth in the home office and interior markets. The preference for detached houses, which reduce face-to-face contact and allow the use of outdoor spaces, shows that COVID-19 has become a factor for new ways of using and transforming urban spaces. Although cities, as densely populated spaces where people gather, are inevitably vulnerable during the spread of the virus, ironically, they also have concentrated medical, welfare, and administrative services, making them suitable for efficiently diagnosing and responding to problems in emergencies.

As solutions to urban problems in the post-COVID era, technological aspects include drone delivery for transporting supplies to infected areas, logistics facility supply using autonomous vehicles, emergency medical systems utilizing smart city technologies, and the introduction and establishment of systems for single-person transportation. From another perspective, solutions emphasize sustainability by minimizing environmental damage through low-density development, green space-centered layouts, and resource circulation.

Furthermore, while COVID-19 is not an essential transformation process of human civilization like the Industrial Revolution, informatization, or globalization, it is expected to be a significant force influencing the ongoing IT revolution, including artificial intelligence and virtual reality. In fact, in urban development, there is growing persuasion that we must manage medium- to long-term threats caused by climate change, such as fine dust and heatwaves, while preparing for new crises after COVID-19.

Then, what should we prepare, create, and manage to respond to greater threats that endanger our cities in the post-COVID era?

First, the sustainability of local communities must be strengthened, and systems enabling citizen participation should be established. Through this COVID-19 crisis, we have experienced how important voluntary citizen participation and the community’s monitoring function were in effectively controlling the spread. Planning procedures should be established to form a sense of solidarity where voluntary participation and active problem-solving replace a community centered on surveillance and checks. Living labs, where communities can solve urban problems and evaluate and feedback on technologies and policies, could be an alternative.

Also, beyond form, design, and landscape, urban management and post-construction operation systems must be considered importantly in planning. Ways to predict changes in urban culture and maintain or improve them through planning and design should also be contemplated.

Second, it is necessary to reconsider whether the ‘neighborhood unit’-centered spatial structure and scale, which have been taken for granted in urban development, are suitable for new crises. In a recent post-COVID architectural competition held by Seoul City, ideas that safely enjoy parks as public spaces in environments isolated from outdoor life were selected as winners. The concept of medical-welfare neighborhood units for building emergency systems during COVID-19 spread can also be considered.

Finally, responding to new crises ultimately comes down to the cost and time of urban construction and management. There is also a perspective that views excessive investment in unpredictable threats as unnecessary. While existing urban development aimed for low cost and high efficiency, new crisis-responsive cities must develop standards and appropriate technologies where zero energy and resource circulation are not special features but basic requirements. Additionally, to induce voluntary citizen action in crisis response, incentives for participation should be provided as local currency, and new sharing economy systems should be incorporated into plans from the outset.

Some columnists name the post-COVID era as AC (After Corona), but in crisis-responsive cities, it is necessary to realize and practice the importance of the fundamental proposition of community-centered and sustainable development, another AC (ahead community).

Choi Sanghee, Research Fellow, Smart City Research Division, LH Land and Housing Institute

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