[Opinion] Priorities for Investment in Land, Infrastructure and Transport R&D Must Change

This is a story from my time studying in the United States. On 6th Street in downtown Austin, Texas, there is a famous cultural district. This place is renowned as the home of Black blues music, bustling with crowds gathered from all over. I recall it was during the Halloween season. One late evening, after dining with acquaintances, I was driving home. Shortly after making a right turn at an intersection, a police car with flashing sirens suddenly chased me. When I hurriedly stopped, an officer approached and told me that my car had been driving the wrong way on a one-way street. I was quite surprised by the real-time surveillance administrative system in the U.S.

Twenty years later, in Seoul, South Korea. In Itaewon, the heart of a city proud to be an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) advanced nation, countless lives were lost. The advanced CCTV (closed-circuit television) surveillance system never misses individual traffic violations like speeding or running red lights, yet why was there no system to prevent the tragedy that unfolded over several hours in a narrow alley where a large crowd struggled? It is truly a heartbreaking matter.

On the 5th, after the national mourning period ended, efforts to prevent recurrence and establish countermeasures are in full swing. The cause of this tragedy is judged to be the inadequacy of the urban infrastructure management system and the limitations of emergency situation management relying on manpower. This tragedy should be an opportunity to reexamine the smooth operation of urban disaster management systems from the ground up. The paralysis of urban functions caused by heavy rain near Gangnam Station in Seoul was just a few months ago. Despite repeated large-scale disasters, why does the level of urban infrastructure management show no signs of improvement?

South Korea entered the ranks of developed countries through concentrated investment under the comprehensive national land development plans of the 1970s and 1980s. From now on, it is time to focus on the continuous management of existing infrastructure rather than investing in new SOC (social overhead capital) and other infrastructure. Therefore, the priority of national land and transportation R&D (research and development) investment must change. It should shift from production technology-centered to management technology-centered. The construction industry should also be supported to transform into a creative industry based on advanced convergence technologies suitable for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era.

Also, research in the national land and transportation sector, like other fields, has been managed with core achievements focused on developing original technologies such as patents and papers. Instead, achievements should be managed focusing on applied and utilization technologies that solve social problems. This includes metropolitan disaster management, stable housing supply, satisfying residential environment quality, and securing industrial competitiveness. The existing R&D investment strategy must be reexamined from the ground up, and a strategy to maximize investment effects should be prepared.

The smart city, which received concentrated investment as a national agenda in the previous government, is one of the representative new industry nurturing technologies in the national land and transportation sector. Although a huge budget has been invested in this field, it is questionable whether research outcomes commensurate with that have been produced. Research topics should be discovered and managed focusing on problem-solving rather than original technology.

I hope that a national tragedy like the Itaewon disaster never happens again. The national-level R&D capabilities in the national land and transportation sector to solve social problems are becoming more important than ever. I expect the government to fulfill its role in attempting a shift from growth-centered to management-centered approaches and in creating smart cities suitable for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era. Citizens have the right not to live in a stupid city anymore.

Cha Hee-seong, Professor, Department of Architecture, Ajou University

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