From Elevated Freeway to Urban Greenway: Land Value Impacts of the CGC Project in Seoul, Korea

Abstract

In 2003—04, the Cheong Gye Cheon elevated freeway in Seoul, Korea, was torn down and replaced by an urban stream and linear park. This bold initiative aimed to enhance the quality of central-city living by replacing a mobility asset that was also a nuisance with an attractive urban amenity. This research analyses the impacts of the freeway-to-greenway conversion on commercial and residential property values using multilevel hedonic price models. Specifically, for non-residential uses, it was found that there were land value premiums for parcels within 500 metres of the corridor for both the former freeway and the present-day urban greenway. However, premiums were notably higher for parcels within the 500-metre walkshed of the urban greenway entrance points than the freeway on-ramps. It is concluded that Seoul’s unique freeway disinvestment/greenway investment conferred net benefits to both residential and non-residential land markets.

Decision Making on Allocating Urban Green Spaces Based upon Spatially-Varying Relationships between Urban Green Spaces and Urban Compaction Degree

“…In fact, having UGS nearby typically extends the living space and offers a connection with nature; it can also be strategically important because it provides a cooling effect and further maintains a high quality of life [11,17,19,37,42]. In addition, UGS not only has directly impacts on physical activity but also on raising the surrounding land value for the improvement of living environment [16,23].…”

“…In fact, urban green spaces (UGS) maximize the quality of life in highly-urbanized areas, offering environmental benefits (such as improvements to the soil, water, air, and ecosystem), psychological and physical benefits (such as stress release and improved aesthetics), and economic and social benefits (such as the integration of and interaction between various ages, races, and residents) [11][12][13]. Due to the unique benefits that these qualities confer, UGS allocation is now considered a significant contributing factor to urban livability for both residents [13][14][15] and governments [16]. Having UGS nearby provides a convenient leisure space and an extended living space for residents dwelling in skyscrapers surrounded by artificial environments and limited natural space [17][18][19].…”

Community Severance: Where Is It Found and at What Cost?

“…Kang and Cervero (2009) used hedonic models to estimate the effects on land values of a project in Seoul to demolish a motorway and replace it with a stream and a park. Lee and Sohn (2014) estimated the benefits of projects in the same city to build tunnels to replace elevated and at-grade railways.…”

Delivering a Multi-Functional and Resilient Urban Forest

“…In recent years a multitude of large-scale urban tree planting campaigns have been initiated in cities around the world (e.g., the New York City Million Trees program, the UK Big Tree Plant, and Global ReLeaf), and support for urban greening can be found at both local and national levels of government [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Whilst the financial [8] and natural resource [9] costs may be considerable, such planting programmes typically claim that a wide range of sustainability benefits will be delivered; including, but not limited to: building energy savings, improved air quality, carbon capture, increased biodiversity, improved water quality, and direct improvement of human health and wellbeing [7,9,10].…”