Incheon contains Songdo International Business District, a master-planned smart-city development built on reclaimed land.
Songdo International Business District is located in Incheon, South Korea, on land reclaimed from the Yellow Sea. It was planned as a high-tech international business and residential district, with offices, apartments, schools, hotels, retail, convention facilities, and extensive public spaces.
The development is known for integrating information technology and infrastructure into urban planning. Its design includes broad streets, centralized waste collection in parts of the district, and proximity to Incheon International Airport. Central Park, modeled partly on urban park traditions, became one of Songdo’s most recognizable public spaces.
Songdo is often described as a smart city, but that label does not mean every urban problem was solved by technology. Like other large master-planned developments, it has faced questions about occupancy, community life, development timing, and the balance between planned infrastructure and organic urban growth.