Land-Use Changes and Land-Use Policies in the Capital Region, South Korea

Land-use policy is one of the main institutional driving forces for landuse change. Land-use change has rapidly increased during the last several decades in Korea even though public policies have attempted to control the unexpected sprawl of urbanization. Urbanization has resulted in the degradation of land. Furthermore, since urban sprawl proceeds rapidly, it requires the development of ever larger rural land, forest and coastal flat, and longer supply lines to satisfy growing city consumption of energy, food, water, materials, and wastes. Korea is already one of the most densely populated countries in the world.