Ubiquitous urban infrastructure: Infrastructure planning and development in Korea

Abstract

The fast growing ubiquitous infrastructure technologies are capable of improving current urban management and infrastructure planning and development capabilities. These technological advancement urban infrastructure developments in the Republic of Korea have recently shifted from an old paradigm of conventional infrastructure to a new paradigm of intelligent infrastructure provision. This new paradigm, so called ubiquitous infrastructure, is a combination of urban infrastructures, information and communication technologies and digital networks. Ubiquitous infrastructure refers to an urban infrastructure system where any citizen can access any infrastructure and services via any electronic devices regardless of time and location. This paper introduces this new paradigm and new schemes for urban infrastructure planning and development in the Republic of Korea and discusses the potential positive effects of ubiquitous infrastructure on Korean cities to achieve sustainable urban development.