Seoul Is Lifting Its Greenbelt Restrictions For the First Time in 12 Years

Seoul is lifting its greenbelt restrictions for the first time in 12 years. The greenbelt is a designated zone where development is restricted to preserve the city‘s natural environment. The South Korean government plans to lift greenbelt restrictions in the Seoul Gangnam area and other parts of the metropolitan area, with plans to supply 80,000 new homes. Additionally, a special law to promote redevelopment and reconstruction will be introduced, accelerating ongoing redevelopment projects and aiming to supply a total of 217,000 homes ahead of schedule. This move is intended to address the recent surge in housing prices in Seoul and the metropolitan area.

As a result, a total of 427,000 homes are expected to be supplied in the metropolitan area over the next six years. However, there are concerns that this could excessively damage Seoul’s limited green spaces and exacerbate the ‘urban heat island’ effect, where areas with limited greenery and high amounts of asphalt and concrete become significantly warmer than their surroundings. The development restriction zones were established from 1971 to 1977 in eight phases to prevent uncontrolled urban sprawl and maintain an environmentally sustainable land use. The greenbelt area in Seoul is 149.09 square kilometers, about a quarter of the city‘s total area. The government plans to announce the specific areas to be lifted in November after conducting an environmental impact assessment by the Ministry of Environment.

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