First Stop Portland, a project of Portland State’s Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies and College of Urban and Public Affairs, recently hosted leaders from South Korea’s new city, Sejong. The high-level delegation from Sejong, an area of farmland south of Seoul, aims for the city to be one of the greenest in the world.
Noah Siegel, director of international affairs for the city of Portland, said that it’s important to realize how significant it is that the South Korean government sought out Portland over all the other cities in the world.
“In some ways, we’re just a small, middle-sized American city—without an NFL team or a stock market—but in some respects, we’re a superpower in the world,” Siegel said. “So for people to understand the significance of the fact that somebody who is at the assisting cabinet level of South Korea flew out here to sign an agreement with the mayor of Portland is a really big deal.”
FSP led Korean delegates around Portland May 16–18, showing them sustainable infrastructure around the city.
The group hosts 30–40 delegations each year from around the world. Like with the Sejong delegation, FSP guides delegates on tours through the city, going to the South Waterfront, Pearl District and various places on PSU campus like the Bike Hub, Electric Avenue and the Urban Plaza.
FSP Director Nancy Hales said that, besides the tour, the group was also present when Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Kisup Song, chairman of Sejong’s Multifunctional Administrative Construction Agency, signed the memorandum of understanding.
The group provides logistical and planning support for people who want to learn more about Portland’s livability and sustainability, according to its website. “Our program connects visitors from around the world with experts, leaders and innovators in business, politics and research who know Portland’s sustainability story best because they’re the ones writing it,” the website states.
The focus of the Sejong delegation coming to Portland and FSP is to expand Portland’s sustainable practices to countries all around the world.
“Even if we do everything right in Portland, in terms of planning our city and our carbon emissions and the environment, we share this globe with about seven billion other people,” Siegel said. “So even if we do everything right, the glacier on Mount Hood could still melt and the air quality could still decline and all sorts of things. We need to be very engaged with the rest of the world if we want to change things globally.”
Hales said that of the delegations they host, the Sejong delegation was one of the few that don’t involve PSU students. Even though the visit did not directly include or benefit PSU students, Siegel found that it was great for both the city and the university. “For Portland and Portland State, it’s a benefit when the South Koreans are building a brand new capital city to help them learn from the things we’ve learned here in Portland over the last 40 years,” Siegel said.
Creating partnerships with cities like Sejong also brings international opportunities for the university and for local businesses, Siegel said, adding that the cities Portland partners with will send people here to learn, study, participate in programs and meet with business leaders.
These partnerships create opportunities for the university and students who wish to become involved in global projects. It also largely benefits local businesses because they are able to contract green buildings and urban planning.
Sejong plans to become one of the greenest cities in the world and is dedicating half of its land for green space. A press release on the PSU website said that Sejong is meant to relieve overcrowding in Seoul, will hold 36 government agencies and will serve as a center for research, education and high-tech industry.