A strategic framework for transitioning from smart city to AI city in the Incheon free economic zone (IFEZ)

Abstract The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) as a foundational driver of urban systems necessitates a structural evolution beyond conventional smart city paradigms. In this context, the objective of this paper is to examine how the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), South Korea, can be conceptualized and structured as a district-scale AI city model that moves beyond connected smart cities toward AI cities. The study is guided by the assumption that this transition requires not only technological upgrading, but also the coordinated integration of urban AI architecture, governance mechanisms, service deployment, ecosystem formation, and phased implementation. To address this objective, the paper proposes and formalizes the IFEZ AI City Framework as a structured four-pillar architecture for smart-to-AI city transition. Building on IFEZ’s two-decade smart city legacy, the framework integrates an AI City Brain platform, district-specialized vertical AI industry clusters, a responsible AI governance layer aligned with South Korea’s AI Basic Act (2026), and a phased implementation roadmap for 2026–2030. The study further analyzes the institutional, infrastructural, and policy conditions that enable the framework’s implementation, highlighting how IFEZ’s institutional advantages—including regulatory flexibility, differentiated district specializations across Songdo, Yeongjong, and Cheongna, and existing high-performance computing infrastructure—support its role as a testbed for city-scale AI deployment and validation. Positioned within broader global AI city developments, the paper also provides a comparative perspective on smart-to-AI city transition strategies and extracts transferable design principles for urban policymakers and planners seeking to advance AI city strategies in their own contexts. The findings suggest that effective AI city transformation requires coordinated advancement in data infrastructure, governance, industry-specific AI applications, and startup ecosystem development, offering transferable insights for urban policymakers and planners worldwide. At the same time, the proposed framework remains conceptual in nature and requires further validation through expert consultation, stakeholder review, and implementation-based assessment.