O Se-hoon Visits 3 No's (無) 'Masdar City': "A Scientifically Verified System"

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Masdar City, located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is a 'carbon-neutral smart city' under development with the goal of building a city free of carbon emissions, waste, and cars. It is also a mega development project in the UAE, investing up to 30 trillion KRW over a total area of 7 km² to reduce oil dependency and foster future industries. Construction, which began in 2008, is scheduled to be completed by 2030, and when visiting the site on the 10th (local time), most areas were still under construction. The area around the Siemens building, located about five minutes by car further inside from the project entrance, has already been completed, allowing a glimpse of Masdar City's future appearance.

Exterior view of the Knowledge Center located within Masdar City.
[Photo by Seoul City]

That afternoon, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the site. Seoul City, which proposed 'creating walkable daily life zones' as one of the seven major goals in its top-level urban plan, the '2040 Seoul Basic Urban Plan,' aims to concretize this goal. Since Masdar City also targets a compact city where major facilities such as work, education, and culture are accessible within 15 minutes by walking and public transportation, focusing on 'work (직), residence (주), and leisure (락),' the visit aimed to find urban design elements worth referencing.

At the site, Mayor Oh was guided by Ahmed Bagoum, CEO of Masdar, and Steve Severance, Director of Masdar's Growth Division, to inspect the project. CEO Ahmed explained the eco-friendly scientific design of buildings within Masdar City to Mayor Oh, who carefully checked even the inconveniences citizens might face depending on solar power generation and the use of electric vehicles. Mayor Oh stated, "It is a scientifically verified system in many ways," and added, "We must acknowledge what deserves recognition."

In particular, Mayor Oh showed great interest in the smart facilities applied throughout Masdar City. He directly mentioned the AI (Artificial Intelligence) center set up on site and asked questions about architectural designs capable of controlling the heat island effect. He also discussed with CEO Ahmed the possibility of attracting Seoul-based AI healthcare companies to the R&D center in Masdar City.

On the 10th (local time), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon inspects Masdar City.
[Photo by Seoul City]

Seoul City, taking Mayor Oh’s visit to Masdar City as an opportunity, introduced the 'Attractiveness Space Index' to transform Seoul into a 'work-reside-leisure (직주락) city' where people work, enjoy, and live. This index indicates how desirable a living space is by measuring the integration of work, residence, and leisure within walking distance in each local living zone. The 'Attractiveness Space Index' consists of six categories: ▲jobs ▲transportation ▲living convenience ▲public/medical services ▲leisure ▲care/learning, and it is scored for each of the 116 local living zones based on how well urban services are supplied to citizens in each category.

Seoul City plans to use the 'Attractiveness Space Index' to systematically diagnose the city and apply it to policy projects such as spatial redevelopment. Since it can identify both lacking facilities and regional strengths, it is expected to enable the discovery of so-called 'region-customized spatial projects' that enhance attractiveness while compensating for weaknesses.

For example, if the analysis of the 'Attractiveness Space Index' for Living Zone A reveals a lack of leisure and care/learning functions, public projects or private development contributions can supply cultural and sports complexes, waterfront hubs, daycare centers, etc., creating a balanced space with all functions. Through spatial projects tailored to the region, it will be possible to create spaces where work, residence, and leisure harmoniously coexist, as proposed in spatial redevelopment.

Additionally, a pilot project to supply facilities identified as lacking through the 'Attractiveness Space Index' analysis in connection with ongoing projects will be launched within this year. The pilot project will verify and supplement the 'Attractiveness Space Index' and will be used as a guideline for urban service supply when implementing public and private projects in the future. A Seoul City official said, "It will also be used to measure the performance of various spatial policy projects such as waterfront emotional cities and spatial redevelopment," adding, "We expect that citizens will be able to easily grasp the achievements and success rates of projects at a glance through quantitative figures."

Interior view of Masdar City.
Photo by Seoul City

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