ADB's Strategy 2030 identified “Making Cities More Livable” as one of its seven operational priorities and will support cities in developing member countries (DMCs) for developing the right institutions, policies, and enabling environment to become more livable. To help its DMCs build livable cities, ADB is developing the operational plan focusing on three priorities: (i) improved access, quality and reliability of services in urban areas; (ii) strengthened urban planning and financing sustainability of cities; and (iii) improved urban environment, climate-resilient and disaster management of cities.

 

In this context, ADB and Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation (SH Corporation), a leading public enterprise responsible for housing welfare under Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), co-organized a workshop on “Making Cities More Livable—Smart City in Environment, Equity and Economy (3Es)” on 28–31 October 2019 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. SH Corp coordinated the program with other relevant national and local government agencies, which brought together distinguished scholars, key policy makers, practitioners and technology experts.

 

The workshop was designed to learn from the Republic of Korea’s experiences focusing on key success factors, as well as failure cases in the areas of comprehensive urban planning, housing, environment, urban infrastructure (water, sanitation, and transportation), business environment, and startup ecosystem. The participants learned key policy actions and initiatives from some case studies in addressing key

urban issues through site visits as well as interactive discussion sessions. Around 60 participants from national government agencies, and local governments from ADB’s developing member countries joined the program, in addition to ADB staff directly related to ADB’s operations in the urban sector.