This thesis examines residential relocation process within the Seoul Metropolitan Region (SMR) in the Republic of Korea at both a macro and micro level. The thesis makes theoretical and methodological contributions to residential mobility, housing vacancy chains and location choice behaviour in urban geography. The empirical study specifically focused on the relationship between housing opportunity and residential relocation process in the SMR during the 1990s. In developing countries, large scale suburban land and housing development on the fringe of metropolitan areas is seen as an important issue in the process of rapid urbanization and capital accumulation. This is particularly true of Korea where the population of the capital city, Seoul (SCC) has declined since the introduction of massive scale of new suburban housing developments in the 1990s. This is the first time the SCC’s population has decreased in Korean modern history. However there is still debate about the impact of government proposed suburban new housing construction initiatives on residential relocation within the SMR. In addition there remain uncertainties concerning the impact of large suburban housing development on residential relocation behaviour. To date little evaluation of outcomes of the policies has been undertaken, a deficiency which this research seeks to address. Like other capital cities in the developing world, Seoul (SCC) has undergone significant urban expansion throughout its contemporary history, fuelled by the movement of refugees from North Korea in the period immediately following the end of the Korean War (1953) and by significant rural-to-urban, and later by intra urban movement. The SCC, in particular grew significantly, with the metropolitan area of Seoul soon expanding beyond its borders in a process akin to suburbanisation. The rapid urban growth in the Seoul Metropolitan Region (SMR) was accompanied by a series of urban problems including housing shortages, a decline in housing and urban quality, and the concentration of population in large cities, especially in the SCC. To counter these problems the national government in the Republic of Korea initiated a series of policies. Most prominently among these was a massive scale new housing development program initiated in 1988, aimed at developing large scale new satellite cites in Kyonggi, with the objective of decentralising the SCC’s population and thus alleviating an urban housing shortage. This research focuses on two main issues charactering contemporary housing and land development policies in the SMR. The first relates to government efforts to redirect migration from the capital city, Seoul, to the outlying jurisdictions of Kyonggi and Inchon in an attempt to diffuse the concentration of population in the SCC and to alleviate housing shortages. The second issue concerns the determinants of residential mobility and residential location choice behaviour in the SMR. Mirroring the two issues, two approaches have been used to address these issues: a macro level study of residential relocation and a micro behavioural analysis. At macro level the research attempts to measure the impact of new housing developments on easing urban housing markets in the SMR during the 1990s, notwithstanding the continuous population movement from other regions in the Republic of Korea. The macro investigation addresses the questions: • What are the changes in spatial mobility patterns occurring in the SMR since the introduction of government’s suburban residential developments? • Are the size of housing vacancy chains different by spatial mobility patterns among the three regional housing markets in the SMR? Multi-regional vacancy chain models are used to examine whether vacant housing opportunity spills over into neighbouring regions in the SMR, particularly the city of Seoul. The models focus mainly on the structural determinants of household mobility, such as local new housing construction, household formation, household mobility rate and demolition rate, and their role in creating and absorbing vacant housing opportunities in the three jurisdictions comprising the SMR: Seoul (SCC), Kyonggi and Inchon. The vacancy chain analysis uses a Markov chain model and Leontief input-output model to assess the impact of these structural differentials on household mobility in the multiregional system of the SMR. This macro study provides a structural framework for the subsequent micro behavioural approach to residential mobility occurring in the SMR. The micro behavioural approach investigates the following questions: • What are the socio demographic profiles of people who relocate within the SMR?’ • What are the housing transitions that occur after moving to regions of the SCC in the SMR? • What are the reasons households give for moving within the SMR? This micro approach focuses on the behavioural aspects of residential mobility decision process as influenced by age, marital status, employment status, education level, duration of residence, dwelling size and tenure status. Apart from the mover’s socio demographic profile, the study further investigates longitudinal housing transitions before and after a move by their origin and destination within the SMR, particularly those movers who relocated to suburban rings (Kyonggi/Inchon). However the reasons for movers to choose a particular location vary and they are socio demographically diverse. The research also discusses these behavioural reasons for moving within the SMR.

This thesis examines residential relocation process within the Seoul Metropolitan Region (SMR) in the Republic of Korea at both a macro and micro level. The thesis makes theoretical and methodological contributions to residential mobility, housing vacancy chains and location choice behaviour in urban geography. The empirical study specifically focused on the relationship between housing opportunity and residential relocation process in the SMR during the 1990s. In developing countries, large scale suburban land and housing development on the fringe of metropolitan areas is seen as an important issue in the process of rapid urbanization and capital accumulation. This is particularly true of Korea where the population of the capital city, Seoul (SCC) has declined since the introduction of massive scale of new suburban housing developments in the 1990s. This is the first time the SCC’s population has decreased in Korean modern history. However there is still debate about the impact of government proposed suburban new housing construction initiatives on residential relocation within the SMR. In addition there remain uncertainties concerning the impact of large suburban housing development on residential relocation behaviour. To date little evaluation of outcomes of the policies has been undertaken, a deficiency which this research seeks to address. Like other capital cities in the developing world, Seoul (SCC) has undergone significant urban expansion throughout its contemporary history, fuelled by the movement of refugees from North Korea in the period immediately following the end of the Korean War (1953) and by significant rural-to-urban, and later by intra urban movement. The SCC, in particular grew significantly, with the metropolitan area of Seoul soon expanding beyond its borders in a process akin to suburbanisation. The rapid urban growth in the Seoul Metropolitan Region (SMR) was accompanied by a series of urban problems including housing shortages, a decline in housing and urban quality, and the concentration of population in large cities, especially in the SCC. To counter these problems the national government in the Republic of Korea initiated a series of policies. Most prominently among these was a massive scale new housing development program initiated in 1988, aimed at developing large scale new satellite cites in Kyonggi, with the objective of decentralising the SCC’s population and thus alleviating an urban housing shortage. This research focuses on two main issues charactering contemporary housing and land development policies in the SMR. The first relates to government efforts to redirect migration from the capital city, Seoul, to the outlying jurisdictions of Kyonggi and Inchon in an attempt to diffuse the concentration of population in the SCC and to alleviate housing shortages. The second issue concerns the determinants of residential mobility and residential location choice behaviour in the SMR. Mirroring the two issues, two approaches have been used to address these issues: a macro level study of residential relocation and a micro behavioural analysis. At macro level the research attempts to measure the impact of new housing developments on easing urban housing markets in the SMR during the 1990s, notwithstanding the continuous population movement from other regions in the Republic of Korea. The macro investigation addresses the questions: • What are the changes in spatial mobility patterns occurring in the SMR since the introduction of government’s suburban residential developments? • Are the size of housing vacancy chains different by spatial mobility patterns among the three regional housing markets in the SMR? Multi-regional vacancy chain models are used to examine whether vacant housing opportunity spills over into neighbouring regions in the SMR, particularly the city of Seoul. The models focus mainly on the structural determinants of household mobility, such as local new housing construction, household formation, household mobility rate and demolition rate, and their role in creating and absorbing vacant housing opportunities in the three jurisdictions comprising the SMR: Seoul (SCC), Kyonggi and Inchon. The vacancy chain analysis uses a Markov chain model and Leontief input-output model to assess the impact of these structural differentials on household mobility in the multiregional system of the SMR. This macro study provides a structural framework for the subsequent micro behavioural approach to residential mobility occurring in the SMR. The micro behavioural approach investigates the following questions: • What are the socio demographic profiles of people who relocate within the SMR?’ • What are the housing transitions that occur after moving to regions of the SCC in the SMR? • What are the reasons households give for moving within the SMR? This micro approach focuses on the behavioural aspects of residential mobility decision process as influenced by age, marital status, employment status, education level, duration of residence, dwelling size and tenure status. Apart from the mover’s socio demographic profile, the study further investigates longitudinal housing transitions before and after a move by their origin and destination within the SMR, particularly those movers who relocated to suburban rings (Kyonggi/Inchon). However the reasons for movers to choose a particular location vary and they are socio demographically diverse. The research also discusses these behavioural reasons for moving within the SMR.