Songdo: the world's smartest smart city?

The South Korean city of Songdo is seen as a blueprint for high-tech, environmental future living.

Residents live in digitally enhanced apartments, which are interconnected so neighbours can chat via video. The city aims to become car free and prioritises pedestrians and cyclists with miles of cycle routes.

Songdo has 40% green space, features urban farms and has received accolades for environmental standards in energy, transport, water and trash: there are no dustbin lorries as rubbish is pneumatically sucked out of homes and recycled.

Woodberry Down is an innovative urban regeneration project with breathtaking views over the City of London that is creating 5,500 new homes on the banks of two reservoirs and enhancing an area previously suffering with major social issues. 

The project is building a sustainable community committed to the natural environment, energy conservation and large public spaces with engaging children’s play areas. Community activities range from yoga and cookery classes to an outdoor summer film festival. Shops, a health centre and a school are all part of the development. Waterside parks provide space for runners and one of the reservoirs offers sailing, kayaking and canoeing. The Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve, opened in April 2016 by the London Wildlife Trust and patron Sir David Attenborough, is a protected oasis for wildlife and residents alike.

The Woodberry Down project shows how surveyors and the construction industry can work with local councils, property developers, housing associations and local residents to improve a community and enhance individual lives.

Improving health through fitter cities

"Active" transport systems are being developed around the world to encourage running, walking and cycling: reducing pollution, protecting the environment and improving public health.

In Auckland, New Zealand, the bright pink Te Ara I Whiti cycleway replaced a major freeway and connects with a network of dedicated cycle routes. And each Sunday in the Colombian capital, Bogota, 60 miles of roads are closed to motor vehicles, clearing the streets for up to two million cyclists.