James von Klemperer, principal of Kohn Pedersen Fox and primary architect of the Songdo IBD master plan, says the project's significance is more than just a pioneering technological feat. "It's the fact that this city is designed as an integrated set of functions that encompass everything in a very small area," he explains to GlobeSt.com.

Songdo IBD's unique composition has been accorded the first sustainable cities award by the Urban Land Institute and the Financial Times at a conference in London. Songdo IBD is a 70-30% joint venture project between Gale International of New York City and Posco Engineering & Construction of South Korea.

Among the aerotropolis' underpinnings is a complex system of water recycling to filter black water like sewage into gray water and underground cisterns to trap storm water run-off, all channeled into irrigation systems and non-potable uses for the 100-million-sf project's commercial buildings and green space. The crown jewel is a 100-acre "central park" with a low-maintenance, self-watering eco-system. "It looks so natural, but it's a highly engineered piece," von Klemperer says.

Von Klemperer adds that the technology has been used in building clusters, but not a development of the magnitude of the Songdo IBD. "This is the largest project in modern history since the emergence of sustainable technology," he says, pointing out that not even Canary Wharf, long considered the premier sustainable design, has a water recycling system like Songdo IBD.

Charles Reid, executive vice president of design and construction for Gale International, credits Korea with creating a public-private partnership that enables the landmark project to be a world-class showcase for sustainable design. The government has provided the technology for the centralized treatment of wastewater and transportation network, which includes a 7.4-mile bridge to Incheon International Airport and fuel-cell buses.

"It's a sustainable city for the 21st century, incorporating all the known technology and opening it up for future technology," Reid says. "It's a work in progress. You don't often get the opportunity to have 100 million sf of building area with a common set of sustainable elements running through them." Songdo IBD also is a pilot project of the USGBC's LEED-Neighborhood Development program. The IBD is touted as the first urban area in the world to "aspire" to LEED-ND certification for the entire city. There are two smaller projects in the LEED-ND program in China.