Future 'Smart Walking City'... Seoul City to Host 'Walk21' International Walking Conference

International Walking Conference Held from 26th to 28th, Sharing Policy Trends and Know-How

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 23rd that it will hold the ‘Walk21 Seoul International Walking Conference’ from the 26th to the 28th under the slogan ‘Smart Walkable City Seoul’ to examine global trends and prospects in urban walking policies and to introduce Seoul’s excellent walking projects, such as Sejong-daero Sarangsupgil, to domestic and international audiences.

The Walk21 conference is the largest international conference on walking topics, organized by the UK-based walking-related private organization ‘Walk21.’ It gathers walking policy officials from leading cities worldwide, transportation-related institutions, universities, and walking experts to exchange walking policies and best practices, establishing itself as a festival for spreading ‘walking culture.’

Since the first Walk21 conference held in the UK in 2000, it has been hosted in cities such as New York, Munich, Hong Kong, and Rotterdam. The Seoul conference is the 21st edition, originally scheduled for September 23-25, 2020, but postponed to May this year due to the spread of COVID-19 and will be held online.

The theme of this Seoul conference is ‘The Effects of Walking at National and Urban Levels,’ ‘Walkable City Design,’ and ‘The Future of Walkable Cities.’ Abstracts from experts in various fields were received in advance for each theme, and final presentation materials were selected to organize the conference sessions.

Held at the DDP Seoul-On Studio (video studio), this event does not allow on-site participation to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but the entire program can be viewed on the YouTube channel through the conference website.

Meanwhile, as an online citizen participation event, anyone domestically or internationally can film walking-friendly spots around their neighborhood and post them on the Walk21 Seoul conference website. A ‘Photo Contest for Walking-Friendly Streets in Our Neighborhood’ is being held until the 28th, with mobile gifticons awarded by lottery as prizes. More detailed program information, speakers, and conference viewing are available on the website ‘walk21seoul.com.’

Baek Ho, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Urban Transportation Office, said, “This meaningful conference will share Seoul’s excellent cases as a leading city in walking policies with domestic and international cities and allow us to learn a lot from outstanding overseas policy cases and experiences.” He added, “Seoul will continue to strive tirelessly to create a safe and pleasant ‘Smart Walkable City Seoul.’”

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