Public knowledge based online participation system for ubiquitous-city (U-city)

Abstract

This paper investigated the ways in which a newly developed 'online public participation system' (OPPS) underpins the process of formulating a Ubiquitous City (U-City) master plan in Korea. Although U-City is an innovative and flexible concept for the future city, local governments in Korea are yet to find a way in which the old cities effectively transform to U-Cities. The key idea of the OPPS system is that U-City planning should be carried out through public participation with diverse entities and public knowledge rather than a classic 'top-down' planning process based on a closed system mainly driven by planning experts and decision-makers. The major goal of this study therefore is to show how a theoretical public participation model can be adopted to the OPPS. This study found that the OPPS plays an important role in formulating the U-City's long-term master plan by allowing diverse entities to participate the U-City planning process in anytime and anywhere. Copyright ? 2013 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.