Siemensstadt in Berlin, Germany, was a unique neighborhood where industrial heritage converged and a groundbreaking global experiment where a corporation built its own city. In the late 19th century, electrical company Siemens realized that the new technology of electricity would only be accepted by citizens not through explanation but through everyday experience. To prove the value of its technology, Siemens built an entire neighborhood—Siemensstadt.
In this community of 1,370 households and approximately 4,000 residents, the age of electricity began. People started their days with home appliances, commuted by electric tram, and worked in buildings equipped with power systems and elevators. At night, they enjoyed new urban culture on streets illuminated by electric streetlights. This experimental neighborhood, where every aspect of daily life operated on Siemens technology, built trust in the company and became the launching pad for Siemens to become a global enterprise.
This small neighborhood changed the course of German industry. Germany, which had lagged behind in the Industrial Revolution, developed competitiveness in the electrical industry through this experiment and grew into an electrical powerhouse, capturing half of the world's electrical market by 1913. In this process, Berlin established itself as the center of the electrical industry. Siemensstadt proved that a neighborhood—a living space—could become an innovation platform for validating and spreading new technology, becoming the prototype for today's innovation clusters and smart cities.
A century later, Siemens, now leading Industry 4.0, is pursuing "Siemensstadt 2.0"—the neighborhood of the future. This strategic project involves investing 4.5 billion euros in preparation for the digital transition, energy transition, and the artificial intelligence era. The company plans to build an open innovation ecosystem where large corporations, startups, and universities collaborate in a shared space, and create a carbon-neutral future neighborhood that optimizes energy and urban operations in real time. Siemens is once again leaping forward as a company that presents future ways of living, not just products.
Tech companies are building neighborhoods for the same reason. Toyota's Woven City, Google Village, and Apple Park all recognize that technology's value is determined not just by products but through people's lived experiences. These companies are creating future neighborhoods where people can experience technology permeating their lives. They understand precisely that the company that first implements the technology people choose in their daily lives will gain leadership in new markets.
Cities are now being built not only by construction companies but also by cutting-edge tech corporations. Korea stands before the same question. We have world-class technology companies—Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) in mobility, Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) in devices, Naver (035420.KS) and Kakao (035720.KS) in platforms—yet we still lack a future neighborhood where people can directly experience and validate advanced technology and outstanding products. Without life-based experimental spaces, technology cannot expand its market, industry loses its growth momentum, and ultimately, leadership in future industries becomes difficult to achieve.
What we need now is not more new cities. It is a neighborhood innovation model that allows small, fast experimentation and expansion. This is also a field where Korea can excel. To complete this innovation, corporations must step forward as tech companies that connect technology to daily life, and the government must act as a partner that flexibly redesigns institutions and regulations. The lesson from the neighborhood Siemens built 100 years ago and is building again now is clear: when a small neighborhood becomes a stage for innovation, technology is validated in daily life, and that experience determines the future of companies and nations. Now it is our turn to build the neighborhood of the future.
