UN-Habitat selects Suwon City as world's first 'smart inclusive city' reference model

Suwon City's "smart inclusive city" policy has been officially recognized by UN-Habitat, the United Nations agency overseeing global urbanization issues, as a benchmark for cities worldwide. The city's approach, which shifts the paradigm from technology-centric smart cities to people-centered ones, was formally published on the UN-Habitat platform.

A report titled "Smart Inclusive Transition for Suwon's Equitable Urban Future," jointly authored by Suwon City, the Suwon City Research Institute, China's Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), and Seoul National University, underwent UN-Habitat's technical and strategic review. The UN agency evaluated Suwon as the first international practical case study to transition towards a human-centered smart city model.

In a diagnostic assessment based on the UN's Global Urban Monitoring Framework (GUMF) using 53 indicators, Suwon achieved a comprehensive score of 80.0, earning a "very good" rating and quantitatively demonstrating the excellence of its urban policies. The report specifically spotlighted "Saebit House," a resident-participatory housing improvement policy, as a model for "housing for all." The AI-based transportation welfare service "Ttong Bus" (DRT) was cited for resolving public transportation blind spots and realizing mobility equality.

Furthermore, the mobile citizen participation platform "Saebit Talk Talk" received an "excellent" score of 96.3 in digital innovation. Citizen planning groups for urban policy and AI innovation governance were also listed as major achievements. The UN-Habitat's endorsement, based on its network of 193 member states, signifies that Suwon's policies can now serve as official guidelines for urban planners and administrators globally.

Since the report's release at the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku in May, major cities like Barcelona, Spain, and Amman, Jordan, have expressed interest in adopting Suwon's model. A comparative study between Suwon and Liverpool, UK, is set to begin in September, with UN-Habitat's direct participation, to apply Suwon's methodologies in Liverpool.

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This report is highly significant in that Suwon's policies have presented a policy methodology that cities around the world can refer to.