Urban Heritage and its Socioeconomic Impacts in Seoul, South Korea: An Empirical Study Using Residential Environmental Satisfaction and Housing Price as Indicators

Abstract

Background and objective: Recent research has highlighted the need for urban heritage conservation due to rapid urbanisation, especially in Asian cities; however, few studies have investigated the socioeconomic impacts of heritage assets in urban contexts. This study examined urban heritage sites in Seoul Metropolitan City from the perspective of residents' environmental satisfaction and housing prices.Methods: A spatial regression model was developed to examine the associations between urban heritage sites and their corresponding protected areas as the independent variables (nationally assigned cultural heritage, city-assigned cultural heritage, nationally registered cultural heritage, nationally assigned cultural heritage protected area, and city-assigned cultural heritage protected area) and residential environmental satisfaction and housing prices as the dependent variables. The model investigated how urban heritage sites influence housing prices through the mediating effect of residential environmental satisfaction.Results: The results confirmed the impact of urban heritage sites on housing prices and the mediating effect of residential environmental satisfaction. Moreover, depending on their urban heritage classifications, noticeable differences were evident in the impact of urban heritage sites.Conclusion: These findings provide an intellectual foundation for public policies, offering insights into how they might achieve an optimum balance between private and public interests in matters of heritage conservation.

Influence of Cultural Landscapes on Visitors’ Behavior in the Context of COVID-19 Social Distancing Policies: A Case Study of Open Public Spaces Inside Gyeongbok Palace

“…This study builds on previous environmental psychology and heritage studies (Alcindor et al, 2021;Lowenthal, 2015;Sung and Brooks, 2022) that show that natural outdoor environments and cultural heritage can positively affect visitors' mental health, well-being, and appreciation of a site, ultimately influencing their visiting patterns and sense of place attachment (Sung and Brooks, 2022).…”

“…Notably, South Korean temple stay programs became famous, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, as places of healing and relaxation (Newsis, 2021). In addition, Sung and Brooks (2022) offered empirical evidence supporting this claim. Their study discovered that national heritage sites in Seoul influenced social environmental satisfaction indices (Sung and Brooks, 2022).…”

“…In addition, Sung and Brooks (2022) offered empirical evidence supporting this claim. Their study discovered that national heritage sites in Seoul influenced social environmental satisfaction indices (Sung and Brooks, 2022). This suggests that residents of Seoul may have a preference for living in close proximity to these sites, such as the Gyeongbok Palace, and frequently visit them.…”

“…For example, South Korean cities are implementing policies to improve their residents' quality of life by providing free access to urban cultural heritage sites, allowing more people to enjoy these sites and improve their mental health (Lee, 2008). As a result, scholars are increasingly studying the impact of natural outdoor environments on the quality of life in a cultural heritage setting (Alcindor et al, 2021;Lowenthal, 2015;Sung and Brooks, 2022).…”