Institutional Shifts in Urban Park Management Policies: A Policy Arrangement Approach to Apartment Construction in Korean Parks

Changsong Oh and Sangwook Park ()
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Changsong Oh: Landscape Architecture Major, Sunchon National University, 255, Junang-ro, Suncheon-si 57922, Jeollanam-do (Seokhyeon-Dong), Republic of Korea
Sangwook Park: Department of Landscape Architecture, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-28

Abstract: This study investigates the institutional dynamics behind the phenomenon of apartment construction within urban parks in South Korea, using the Policy Arrangement Approach (PAA) as an analytical framework. By comparing two landmark policies—the Citizens Apartments Construction Project (CACP69) of 1969 and the Private Park Special Project (PPSP09) initiated in 2009—it will reveal how park erosion has been legitimized through shifting governance structures, legal mechanisms, and discursive strategies. CACP69 emerged under authoritarian rule to address housing shortages, leveraging public authority to repurpose park land. In contrast, PPSP09 reflects neoliberal tendencies, incentivizing private capital to develop unexecuted park sites amid looming sunset clauses. Both cases illustrate how the long-term neglect of park creation and ambiguous legal definitions have enabled the commodification of public green spaces. The study argues that park management policies in Korea have been shaped by a property-rights-oriented logic, sidelining community participation and ecological integrity. These findings offer critical insights into the intersection of urban planning, environmental governance, and the privatization of public space.

Keywords: long-term uncreated parks; privatization; public and private conflict; housing development; park management; urban park erosion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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