The Effects of Greenbelt Policies on Land Development: Evidence from the Deregulation of the Greenbelt in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

Abstract

Greenbelt policies are important urban containment policies. On the one hand, they can effectively control the disorderly growth of a city; on the other hand, they can cause other social problems because of their strict control over land development. This paper uses data from 2000 and 2010 and the difference-in-differences (DID) method to evaluate the effects of greenbelt deregulation policies on urban land development in the Seoul metropolitan area (SMA) through a quasi-natural experiment. The results show that first, the deregulation of the greenbelt has significantly furthered urban land development that was not caused by economic development or other factors. Second, the greenbelt deregulation had no significant effects on urban land development in the city centers, but has furthered urban land development near the boundary of Seoul City and greenbelt boundaries. Third, in terms of the effects on land development, the greenbelt deregulation has resulted in regional heterogeneity. Specifically, the greenbelt deregulation has had a significant impact on the urban land development in the southern section of the Han River, whereas the effects of the greenbelt deregulation in the northern area of the Han River are not as obvious.

The Effects of Releasing Greenbelt Restrictions on Land Development in the Case of Medium-Sized Cities in Korea

“…Recently, some research has focused on the effects of partially relaxing the GB restriction on land development in the case of the Seoul metropolitan area [35,36]. The latter study [36] found that the GB deregulation had significant effects on urban land development near the boundary of the city of Seoul and the GB boundary.…”

“…Recently, some research has focused on the effects of partially relaxing the GB restriction on land development in the case of the Seoul metropolitan area [35,36]. The latter study [36] found that the GB deregulation had significant effects on urban land development near the boundary of the city of Seoul and the GB boundary. Similarly, Han [35] also found that the GB relaxation served to guide new development to the inner areas of the GB while slowing down the rates of development beyond the GB.…”

“…These studies commonly conclude that land development is more active since the GB release compared with before in the case of partial deregulation of the GB at the edge of the city. This finding must be true because the deregulation was required by high development pressure and was implemented to make land development possible [36,37].…”

“…To estimate policy effects, Han et al [36] employed the linear probability model of the DID method, while Han [35] utilised the ordinary least squares model of the DID method. We used a logistic regression model rather than a linear probability model because the dependent variable of On the basis of the spatial expansion of actual urban areas, we focus on the changes in previous GB areas.…”

“…The slope was derived from the 30 m digital elevation maps of the National Geographical Information Institute for the study area. However, we did not include the slope variable in the model partly because its effect on urban development may not be significant as construction technology improves [16,36], and partly because its effect was already reflected when steep slope lands, along with elevation variable, were classified as non-developable lands.…”