全球变化知识资源中心

This paper analyzes Seoul, South Korea a city developed around three centers in the past half a century with an eye on its urban heat island (UHI). It specifically looks into how the city's eight city-wide master plans established between 1966 and 2014 have shaped the city so as to transform the spatial distribution of its UHI. Master planning of Seoul has been regulating growth of its traditional center, the central business district, while promoting growth of its two newer centers, Yeongdeungpo and Gangnam business districts. Plan effects include more new buildings, cars, roads, population, and employment in the two new centers. As a result, Seoul's UHI spatially transformed over time as its traditional center became cooler while the newer two warmed up. This study makes a case for the role of master plans in shaping a city's thermal environment in the age of climate change.