[Square] Urban High-Density Development, Issues Must Be Discussed Together

Eunhyung Lee, Senior Researcher at Korea Institute of Construction Policy

Eunhyung Lee, Senior Researcher at the Korea Construction Policy Institute

Recently, the real estate market has become a hot topic amid the government's policy to increase housing supply in the Seoul metropolitan area, leading to a turbulent situation. However, increasing housing supply in already established cities like Seoul is very challenging because finding land to build houses is difficult. Perhaps for this reason, voices advocating high-density development are gaining strength. The argument is simple: increasing housing supply through high-density development of old urban areas such as reconstruction and redevelopment will solve the problem.

In principle, it is correct to increase supply in urban centers where demand is sufficient. Although terms like compact city differ in expression, they share the same context. However, there is a tendency to overlook other inevitable issues that arise when developing existing urban areas at high density. If a large number of old urban area developments are promoted in a short period without prior discussion, it could become another problem.

First, there can be infringement on sunlight rights or views of nearby residential areas. One example is a lawsuit filed by residents of detached houses against a reconstruction association in March in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi Province, where a high-rise reconstruction apartment was built to the south of a detached housing area. In the New Stay project by Incheon Urban Corporation, the court accepted a provisional injunction to stop construction filed by nearby apartments citing infringement of sunlight rights, resulting in a reduction in the number of units and lowering the number of floors on some levels.

Problems also arise when residential facilities are added to commercial areas. It is not uncommon for new buildings to be constructed right next to existing officetels or mixed-use residential buildings. While residential areas have building height restrictions under the Building Act to secure sunlight and other factors, commercial areas apply a minimum setback distance of 50 cm from the land boundary line according to civil law. Therefore, even if an officetel building is constructed in front of the living room of an existing apartment, current laws do not provide a way to prevent it.

More serious are infrastructure issues, especially traffic problems. It is easy to understand by imagining what would happen if a large number of apartments were newly built in old urban areas where the existing road network was developed for low density.

Currently, when a 1,000-unit apartment complex appears, 1,000 cars follow, and the resident population increases accordingly. Therefore, if redevelopment and reconstruction concentrate in old urban areas like northern Seoul, the only option to address traffic problems is to expand and improve the efficiency of public transportation. Moreover, urban landscape and a pleasant living environment inevitably conflict with high-density development.

Ultimately, it is necessary to avoid hastily proposing unconditional high-density development as a solution solely because housing supply in major areas like Seoul is insufficient. Although often overlooked in textbook approaches, various variables such as the interests of existing residents exist in reality. The sole justification for high-density development should never be simply to increase housing supply. Even if high-density supply is unavoidable, more time should be taken, and serious social discussions on how to resolve the resulting side effects must be conducted together.