Amid accelerating competition between countries to foster next-generation industries, conversion of urban spaces is emerging as a national task.

Cities can be seen as motivating environments that satisfy the physiological needs of members of the society, such as housing and jobs, as well as the needs for stability, social activities, and self-actualization. In addition, they play spatial roles in the innovation ecosystem that promote the development of S&T, such as modern industrialization, globalization, and intelligence. Accordingly, the importance of innovation clusters is being further emphasized, and Korea has also been making efforts to secure them through policy support since the 2000s. The forum served as an opportunity to explore various directions toward knowledge-based high-tech industries and future cities and to discuss what preparations we should make.

KISTEP held the 161st KISTEP Wednesday Forum on August 16 at KOFST under the theme of "Evolution into future cities: search for innovative spaces and high-tech cities."

△ Byung-Seon Jeong the President of KISTEP

In the opening remarks, President Byung-Seon Jeong said, "As knowledge-intensive high-tech industries are expected to develop significantly, we must respond closely to these developments, and the appearance of cities must also change to solve pending issues such as climate change and population decline." He emphasized that it is necessary to find ways to develop desirable future cities through policies and innovative spatial design.

△ Sangkyu Cho, Senior Research Fellow at Architecture & Urban Research Institute (AURI)

Dr. Sangkyu Cho gave a presentation on innovation space design plan and support strategy for creating successful knowledge-intensive high-tech cities. He explained the background of the innovation cluster, saying that many countries are trying to secure leadership in the next industrial era, and that the main interest of developed countries is to create a virtuous cycle in which technology promotes urban growth and technological innovation accelerates in cities.

Dr. Cho said, "In Korea, the disappearance of local cities is accelerating despite the government's efforts, and major developed countries are also facing similar concerns." He also explained efforts to create knowledge-based high-tech cities through the following examples: ▲Central and local governments' innovation cluster creation policies ▲Concentrating resources to build innovation ecosystem in USA (Boston-Cambridge Innovation Districts, Smart Columbus Project, Kendall Square, Cambridge Innovation Center), UK (London's Smarter London Together, Manchester Smart City Project), and Europe (Austria's Aspern Smart City, Finland’s Helsinki Kalasatama Smart City) ▲Mobility innovation ▲Creating an innovation ecosystem of universities and companies ▲Providing flexible and open innovation spaces.

Lastly, he suggested the following and emphasized the need to prepare for the transition to future high-tech cities: ▲Creating a residential environment desired by innovative talents ▲Seeking flexibility in universities and research institutes ▲Efforts to upgrade existing urban spaces (balanced development, urban regeneration, smart city creation, etc.) ▲Creating an industrial ecosystem ▲Improving the efficiency of financial investment projects.

In the panel discussion presided over by Seung-su Jun (Director General of the Office of National R&D Coordination, KISTEP), participants including Bumjoon Kang (Professor at the Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Seoul National University) and Jiyong Ahn (Director of Space Research Center, LG Business Research) had an in-depth discussion.

△ Seung-su Jun, Bumjoon Kang, Jiyong Ahn, and Sangkyu Cho

Mr. Jiyong Ahn stressed that future cities require a new, decentralized approach strategy, and we must consider other types of future cities rather than focusing on clusters. "A new paradigm will emerge from the point of movement and connection of logistics and energy. Accordingly, it is necessary to think about regulations, the need for alternatives, and new urban strategies that will bring about changes in the lifestyles of companies, governments, and people while revising existing strategies."

Dr. Bumjoon Kang said, "The development of element, transportation, and energy technology has reached a point of convergence, and there is growing interest on urban spaces, where convergence takes place. The value of face time will increase further, and unless innovation to replace it occurs, urbanization will accelerate further." He suggested that although it would be difficult to easily improve current urban trends, what we should strive for is to challenge urban experiments in experimental cities through scenarios based on how alternative innovations in face-to-face communication will occur.

In the topic discussion that followed, active discussions between panelists took place on detailed topics: ▲Understanding of future cities and the role of S&T ▲Characteristics of a sustainable innovation support space ▲Korea's approach directions.