When Cities Listen: How Citizens are Shaping Magok Smart City

As urban populations have rapidly concentrated and expanded, the simultaneous increase in buildings and public amenities has led to a range of complex urban problems, including excessive pollutant emissions, environmental degradation, and rising urban crime.

In this context, the advancement of smart cities is entering a new phase that goes beyond improving citizen convenience services to fostering new industries and securing emerging technologies based on the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This has increased the need for approaches that can respond to evolving urban needs while incorporating emerging technologies.

Since the concentrated development of its industrial and residential districts began in 2007, Seoul’s Magok District has undergone extensive development, transforming an area once regarded as the city’s last large undeveloped area into a major industrial and residential district.

The development has attracted companies and residents to the area, now known as M-Valley. It comprises approximately 1.12 million square meters of industrial and support facilities and 590,000 square meters of residential land developed alongside each other.

To support Magok’s development as a smart city, the Seoul Metropolitan Government began establishing U-City-level infrastructure in the district in 2015 and piloted smart services in stages. This provided the infrastructure and foundation for introducing smart technologies as the district continued to develop.

Magok District, located in Gangseo-gu in southwestern Seoul, experienced growing pressure as population and development increased across the district.

Rapid urbanization exacerbated issues like energy shortages, environmental pollution, and deteriorating pedestrian safety, while existing U-City infrastructure alone showed limited effectiveness in enhancing citizens’ quality of life.

The scale and interconnected nature of these issues made them difficult to address through infrastructure and technology alone. Problems related to transportation (e.g., traffic congestion), environment (e.g., odor), and safety were experienced directly by residents, workers, and visitors, but these everyday concerns were difficult to capture through conventional, government-led urban planning.

To address emerging urban issues such as traffic congestion, odor, and increased complaints resulting from the mixed-use development of Magok, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Business Agency launched the Magok Smart City Living Lab.

The Living Lab is a participatory and open innovation platform that moves beyond the traditional model of experts unilaterally proposing solutions. Instead, it enables citizens to directly identify problems in their real living and working environments and to co-explore and experiment with technological and policy solutions.

Key Stakeholders of the Magok Living Lab

Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Citizen-centered problem identification and co-design 
Residents, workers, and visitors were encouraged to identify urban problems they encounter in daily life. Through various channels—online forums, community workshops, and field visits—opinions were collected, and citizens, experts, and public institutions collaboratively set priorities and designed solutions. This process brought specific, everyday issues often overlooked in traditional urban planning into policy and service development.

Technology-based pilot projects
Smart technologies such as IoT, big data, and mobility services were tested in selected areas under real conditions, with simultaneous evaluation of user satisfaction, operational efficiency, and technical performance. During the pilots, both technical challenges and user experiences were monitored, leading to iterative redesign and scaling of successful services. This selective expansion approach allowed services to be tested and refined before wider expansion.

Multi-layered governance structure
A decision-making system was established involving the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul Business Agency, private companies, civic organizations, and residents. Rather than serving merely as advisors, stakeholders shared concrete responsibilities and roles, adjusting project directions collaboratively through regular meetings and feedback loops. This multi-layered governance mitigated potential conflicts arising from technology adoption and allowed for tailored solutions reflecting local specificity and diverse stakeholder interests.

Data-driven decision-making
A systematic framework was developed to collect and analyze citizens’ input data, technology operation data, and service usage data for use in policy development and service enhancement. Rather than relying on one-time surveys, the project applied an adaptive management approach based on continuous data accumulation and monitoring to verify and refine policy effectiveness.

Operational process of the living lab
The Living Lab followed a process that moved from identifying problems to testing and evaluating potential solutions:

• Agenda setting: Gathering citizen proposals through online platforms and workshops, followed by technical feasibility review by expert groups.
• Design and development: Co-defining service functions, operational methods, and performance indicators with citizen participants.
• Pilot operation: Conducting short-term (three to six months) trials in real urban environments to collect data and feedback.
• Evaluation and redesign: Assessing user satisfaction, technical performance, and cost-effectiveness to determine whether to expand, modify, or terminate services.
• Policy integration: Institutionalizing successful cases by incorporating them into departmental budgets and municipal ordinances.

The Magok M-Valley Living Lab generated more than 20 service ideas and implemented five IoT based pilot services, while increasing citizen participation and engagement and enhancing public awareness of smart cities.

• 15 resident workshops were organized, including online participation
• Citizen participation increased to 90% from 30%
• App usage reached 70%
• Satisfaction with odor monitoring reached 85%

The Living Lab projects included:

Using citizen experience to improve fire safety
Through workshops with Magok residents, a fire situation recognition system using 3D information city models was developed. Temperature sensors were installed in residents’ homes at Magok M-Valley Apartment, and the system was refined and improved based on users’ experiences and feedback. Residents can use a PC or smartphone to check temperature information at any time to help detect fire situations. Additional open workshops also allowed citizens to propose improvements, including coordination with fire departments, application to school systems, and customized services for different groups of vulnerable populations.

Apartment fire detection app developed, which reflected the citizens' feedback. Photo credit: Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Building an online odor map with citizens
In collaboration with Magok residents and students, odor information from locations throughout the district was collected using a self-developed odor meter and compiled into an online map accessible to the public. The project compared odor information perceived directly by citizens with objectively measured odor data. This made it possible to analyze how odor perceptions varied under different environmental conditions and provided information that could be used in future environmental management, including odor control.

Testing autonomous robot food delivery
The Living Lab also tested autonomous robot delivery within a 1-kilometer radius of robotics headquarters in Magok. The service targeted food delivery businesses and residents and involved observing the robot's journey from the restaurant to the customer. The project repeatedly assessed whether the robot could navigate the local environment, including terrain, pedestrian slopes, curbs, and crosswalks.

Food delivery trial using autonomous robots. Photo credit: Seoul Metropolitan Government.

Developing wayfinding services with visually impaired users
A smart order application was developed through field testing with visually impaired people, who walked the streets and visited participating shops in Magok. The application included navigation functions, voice-guided information on shop locations, entrances, and menus, and biometric payment functions. By involving visually impaired users directly in field testing, the project identified difficulties they faced in finding locations and accessing participating shops and used their experiences in the development of the service.

Exploring electric scooter charging stations
A project explored installing dedicated charging stations for IoT-enabled electric scooters in Magok. Permitting and cost barriers meant the stations could not be installed as planned, prompting the team to consider alternative locations such as cafes and convenience stores. The work continued beyond the project period, with further analysis planned on citizens’ short-distance mobility patterns, including riding environments and travel routes, to inform future research and solutions.
 

Experiences in implementing the Living Lab showed that citizen participation needs strong institutional support. The active leadership of the Seoul Business Agency, which went beyond its traditional role as a funding body to become a proactive implementing partner, contributed to the project’s momentum and coordination capacity.

Several limitations and challenges emerged. Building consensus among diverse stakeholders required more time and coordination than anticipated. Delays in consensus building, incomplete system development, and limited scalability kept some services at the prototype stage. The main causes were the time required for multi-stakeholder coordination and insufficient data governance.

Addressing these limitations requires putting institutional arrangements in place early in the project. Clear rules and responsibilities for data collection, management, and sharing should be agreed from the outset. Dedicated facilitators and mediators should be secured to sustain participation and consultations over an extended period. Departments responsible for long-term operations and budgeting should be involved from the beginning of the project so that successful pilots can be connected to existing administrative and financial systems needed for their continuation as citywide services rather than one-time projects.

I. Yeo. 2019. Launch of Magok Smart City Living Lab Project. KHARN News. 23 July.

J. Park. 2020. Analysis of Citizen-Led Smart City Living Lab Cases. Hope Institute.

Seoul Metropolitan Government. 2025. Creation of the Magok M-Valley Smart City Pilot (Demonstration) Complex.

SL News. 2019. Achievements of 5 'Magok Smart City Living Lab' Projects Unveiled. Gangseo Yangcheon Newspaper. 26 December.