The Seoul city government will improve its standards to allow for some development while maintaining the ecological conservation value of land designated as grade 1 biotope.
On the 20th, the Seoul city government announced that it has updated and confirmed the '2025 Urban Ecological Status Map' after five years and will officially announce it on the 21st.
The Urban Ecological Status Map contains what is known as a biotope map, which spatially represents the ecological characteristics of land. A biotope refers to an ecological space where specific biological communities can reside. Land is evaluated for its naturalness, biodiversity, and ecological value, resulting in grades from 1 to 5. Grade 1 biotope is generally restricted from development.
In this revision of the Urban Ecological Status Map, the Seoul city government also improved the criteria for grade 1 biotope designation. The standards were adjusted to reflect the realities of land use while maintaining the ecological conservation value of land designated as grade 1 biotope.
It was decided that private land where buildings are constructed, and which does not include urban planning facilities, parcels classified as 'roads' that are actually in use, areas within urban development project zones where urban planning has been previously established, and areas less than 100 square meters that overlap with grade 1 biotope land will be excluded from grade 1 biotope land.
This regulatory improvement is expected to give a boost to the redevelopment projects of some reconstruction complexes. According to these criteria, the designation of grade 1 biotope on some land within the Banpo Mido 1st Apartment in Seocho District and the Olympic Village Apartment in Songpa District will be lifted.
The Seoul city government expects that the reduction of restrictions in the processes of construction and property rights will increase the utilization of land.