Inclusive and Transparent City Development: Networking Event to Share Seoul’s Policies and Best Practices

With the new Sustainable Development Goals and the forthcoming New Urban Agenda, the global society is now seeking innovative and effective ways to promote inclusive cities. Seoul is at the forefront of this endeavor. At this networking event, Seoul will present its “Inclusive City Policy” and share innovative practices focusing on three themes: 1) public housing; 2) urban regeneration, and 3) transparent and effective public construction management. Co-hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre, and the Seoul Housing Corporation, the event will provide an opportunity to share ideas and policies. 1) Seoul plans to expand its public rental housing from 6.3% to 10% by 2020, through the “80,000 Rental House Supply Plan.” Providing appropriate housing for citizens is becoming more complex today due to societal changes such as the rise in one or two person households, low birthrate and high housing costs. Seoul is diversifying affordable public rental housing to meet its citizens’ demands, providing, for example, safe housing for women and co-housing with shared child care. 2) With the “2025 Seoul Urban Regeneration Plan,” Seoul is implementing regeneration policies to create a people-focused city. Seoul, particularly in old downtown areas, promotes tailored approaches to support the inclusive growth and recovery of local communities, to empower the civic organizations driving regeneration efforts, and to nurture the culture and tourism industries. 3) Seoul’s Clean Construction System (CCS) has increased the efficiency, accountability and transparency of Seoul’s public construction management, through full digitalization of its business process and real-time disclosure of information on its construction projects. With CCS, Seoul has reduced the workload of its project managers and disclosed information on 2,600 public construction projects, covering 14 types of information. In partnership with UNDP, Seoul shared this system in December 2015 with more than 70 participants from 20 countries, and now provides follow-up advisory and technical support to Ukraine, Jordan, Uganda, Vietnam, and Thailand. Through this networking event, Seoul will promote various channels for policy sharing, and seek to build a network for continued engagement with its participants.