To What Extent Can the Green Belts Prevent Urban Sprawl?—A Comparative Study of Frankfurt am Main, London and Seoul

Xiaoping Xie, Hanna Kang, Martin Behnisch, Martin Baildon and Tobias Krüger
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Xiaoping Xie: Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, 01217 Dresden, Germany
Hanna Kang: Dresden Leibniz Graduate School, Technical University of Dresden, 01217 Dresden, Germany
Martin Behnisch: Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, 01217 Dresden, Germany
Martin Baildon: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
Tobias Krüger: Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, 01217 Dresden, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: A salient issue facing contemporary urban development in many countries is that the physical areas of major cities are growing at a faster rate than their populations. The popularity of the green belt concept among advocates is that it can effectively counter urban sprawl while safeguarding the countryside from urban development. This paper is intended to measure the efficacy of the green belt in preventing urban sprawl through an international comparative study in three cities of different sizes, and which have experienced different urban growth pressures, namely Frankfurt am Main (Germany), London (UK), and Seoul (South Korea). The study adopts the urban sprawl measurement methodological framework defined by Jaeger et al. to process GHSL data in order to examine the urban sprawl index in the three case study cities. This quantitative evidence-based comparative study demonstrates that the designation of green belts has failed to prevent urban sprawl both within urban centers and at a wider regional level.

Keywords: green belt; urban sprawl; weighted urban proliferation; percentage of built-up area; dispersion of settlements; urban permeation units; land uptake per person (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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