Incheon Metropolitan City, formerly known as Chemulpo, is emblematic of the cultural and economic transformation of the Korean Peninsula and East Asia — a transformation that bears the historical marks of imperialism, colonialization, liberation, and the onslaught of modernization. Songdo International Business District (IBD) — a fully master planned new business district located in Incheon — embraces the complex national history of Korea and its transformation into a modern country, while projecting a new future. The master plan — developed by Gale International and executed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects — integrates sustainability, includes immense urban infrastructure and public investment, and proposes a hybrid urban planning model with principles derived from Western and non-Western contexts.
Case Studies in Urban Development (CSUD) will explore the implications of Songdo IBD on the emerging discourse of new-city development in the Global South.
