People surf the web in sheltered air purifier bus stops, drink iced Americano made by robots, and submit applications via mobile. People enjoy the cool breeze under smart shade canopies, consult with AI chatbots about civil complaints, and look for empty parking spaces on an app. With the help of motion-detection technology, people safely cross the street and even by rivers to prevent accidents in bad weather. A smart city that moves at the speed of the urban hustle and bustle.

We live in Gangnam where the future has become a reality.

A safe city that protects us at anytime
and anywhere like an umbrella

Smart Automatic Shade Canopies

In a time when “smart city” has become the ideal future city, where does Gangnam stand in the timeline of smart cities—the Utopia that we dream of? First, the true character of Smart City Gangnam can be seen most clearly through the city’s response to COVID-19 last year. Through the smart visitors’ log system that the city developed before the government’s introduction of the electronic visitors’ log, Gangnam was able to swiftly conduct contact tracing, taking the lead in disease control and prevention measures against COVID-19. Citizens are able to enjoy reduced waiting time by submitting documents and making payments via mobile, and applications for job hiring (part-time, fixed term) are also made available online. The “Smart Gangnam-gu Office” website was also established to provide a full glance of emergency situations and the present state of COVID-19 for the safety of residents.

Smart safety zones

Smart city plans for Safe Gangnam is also interesting. Five locations were selected from among safety zones (i.e. school/silver/disability zones) for the installation of smart crosswalks to be implemented this year. The smart crosswalk detects the movements of pedestrians when the crosswalk indicates a red light at the waiting zone (detection zone) and offers a voice services, such as “Look both ways before you cross.” Red and green lights will be also turned on along the floor of the waiting line at the crosswalks, which is expected to prevent traffic accidents involving pedestrians.

Smart automatic shade canopies

Gangnam will operate a trial run of the smart automatic shade canopies that open and close automatically in accordance with weather conditions at five locations. The canopies are expected to protect the citizens from heat, cold, and wind, and solar-powered LED lights will be installed to reduce waste of electricity in addition to helping citizens walk safely at night.

Smart blocking system

The distant smart river entrance blocking system will be installed at ten river locations (e.g. Tancheon Stream, Yangjaecheon Stream, Segokcheon Stream) to prevent accidents. The system will be controlled distantly from the district’s River Situation Room where the entrances and exits of rivers will be closed during heavy rainfall, typhoons, or regional torrential rainfall. Other various IT-based facilities are also currently in operation in Gangnam.

Other various IT-based facilities are
also currently in operation in Gangnam.