My planning internship in Paris

I had some good news this week. French Institute in Seoul told me that I would work in the Institute of Urban Planning of Ile-de-France (IAU IDF) in this fall. It is a government institution which is specialized in the study of urban planning of Paris and its surrounding area (Ile-de-France). I wanted to do an internship there when I was a student in Paris years ago. However, I couldn't dream of working there at that time with my insufficient experience. This year I originally wanted to work in the City Hall of Paris but the IAU must be a better alternative than the original.

I will work for three months from Oct 1, 2010 and be given two main missions. According to my wishes, the first mission is about analyzing Local Planning Documents (Plan Local d'Urbanisme) of various communes in Ile-de-France including those of Paris. I am greatly interested in how urban planning is established and executed at local level in France. From the French practice, I would like to propose decentralization of urban planning system in South Korea whose planning system is very centralized.

The second mission is about my country. The IAU currently studies Science Cities. They try to benchmark reknowned Science Cities in the world. They finished their work on Europe in 2009. This year it's the turn of Asia: Singapore and Seoul. I'm both excited at Seoul's nomination and the possibility of my contribution in the study.

The turn of events confirms somehow my decision of studying in Seoul rather than continuing it in Paris. However you are international or cosmopolitan, you can't detach yourself from your root and you should understand your root first.