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

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 9; no. 7; p. 1259
• Main Authors: Han, Haoying, Huang, Chen, Ahn, Kun-Hyuck, Shu, Xianfan, Lin, Liyun, Qiu, Derong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 18.07.2017
• Subjects: Attorneys; Containment; Deregulation; Economic development; Land development; Metropolitan areas; Regional development; Rivers; Social conditions; Sustainability; Urban areas
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su9071259

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.