Spatio-Temporal Changes of Housing Features in Response to Urban Renewal Initiatives: The Case of Seoul

Abstract

Over the past two decades, Seoul has been in a transitional period in terms of urban renewal approaches. Housing is a fundamental element of citizens’ lives and the built landscape, thus, it deserves thoughtful scrutiny. As such, this study empirically investigates the dynamics of the spatial and temporal characteristics of housing stock within the context of new urban renewal policies in Seoul. A fine-grained and multifaceted analysis shows that the supply of new apartments has decreased over time, revealing that denser housing redevelopment in the inner city has become more difficult. In addition, an exploratory spatial data analysis indicates that although spatial clustering of old housing units has been reduced, new housing units have become more spatially distributed and outwardly dispersed over time. Since the physical and locational changes of housing stock are closely related to urban renewal initiatives, this study suggests that the city government needs to incorporate the concept of sustainable urban growth management into its housing supply and renewal policies.