Songdo Prioritizes 'Transportation,' Original Urban Center Focuses on 'Culture'... Yeonsu District of Incheon Implements Data-Driven Tailored Policies

Yeonsu District, Incheon, is pursuing region-specific, tailored policies for Songdo International City and the original urban center, based on data analysis.

On August 6, the district announced that it had identified policy needs by region through a comprehensive analysis of survey responses from 2,607 residents, population changes, trends in civil complaints, living infrastructure, and public opinion (including news and social networking services). Based on these findings, the district will establish policy priorities by region and determine the main directions for key projects during the 9th popularly elected administration.

The analysis showed that for the new urban area of Songdo International City, the highest policy demand was for "transportation, walkability, and mobility environment." This was followed by demand for "culture, sports, and leisure," and then "education, youth, and childcare." Notably, the transportation sector ranked first in almost all dong (neighborhoods) and age groups within Songdo.

Residents of the original urban center responded that policies related to "culture, sports, and leisure" were most necessary, followed by "welfare, health, and care," and "economy, jobs, and commercial districts." The demand for cultural policies ranked high in both Songdo and the original urban center, making this sector the only one consistently prioritized across both regions.

Policy demands also varied by neighborhood (dong). Okryeon-dong, Seonhak-dong, and Yeonsu-dong prioritized "economy, jobs, and commercial districts," while Cheonghak-dong placed the highest demand on "welfare, health, and care." Dongchun-dong and Songdo 1-dong selected "culture, sports, and leisure" as their top priority, whereas Songdo 2 through 5-dong identified "transportation, walkability, and mobility environment" as most important.

Policy demand survey data by district. Provided by Yeonsu-gu, Incheon.

Through district-wide analysis, seven major characteristics were identified, including population polarization, entry into an aging society, concentration of civil complaints in the transportation sector, and disparities in basic infrastructure between the original urban center and the new city.

As of December of last year, the registered population of the district was 409,437, an increase of 5.1% over five years. During the same period, the population of Songdo 4-dong grew by 114.7%, while Yeonsu 1-dong, part of the original urban center, decreased by 16.9%. The average age also showed a significant gap: 46.2 years in the original urban center, and 37.1 years in Songdo International City.

Between July 2022 and March of this year, a total of 245,640 civil complaints were received, with the transportation sector accounting for 75.3% of the total. By type, illegal parking complaints were the most frequent, followed by complaints related to crosswalks. The district also considers civil complaints about electric vehicle charging zones as an issue requiring future response.

By neighborhood, Songdo 3-dong recorded the highest number of civil complaints, while Yeonsu 1-dong had the highest number of complaints per 1,000 residents.

The district plans to use the results of this analysis for next year's project planning and budget allocation. The district will review projects that reflect the policy needs of each region, and the analysis data will be used as basic materials when preparing new initiatives.

Yeonsu District Chief Lee Jaeho stated, "The greatest achievement is that we have objectively identified the policies desired by our residents," adding, "We will implement policies tailored to each region's characteristics to achieve outcomes that residents can truly feel."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.