Journal of the Korean Geographical Society ISSN:1225-6633(Print) 대한지리학회지

The amendments of the Yongin City Urban Planning Ordinance have been reflected how urban sprawl perceived and implemented. Due to its hilly topography of Yongin, the ordinance that defines the limit of slope to be developed has been a key issue in urban development for the past two decades. Through the series of deregulation (2003, 2013, 2015), Yongin could apply separate slope regulations to its three districts in 2013 for the first time in Gyeonggi-do and implement the most relaxed standards allowed by the provincial laws in 2015. This was to strengthen the city’s competitiveness by continuously securing development sites. The city’s desire for quantitative growth in this process stems from the stagnation of urban growth and anxiety caused by the rapid development of surrounding cities. In other words, the city’s desire for quantitative growth through securing development sites led to easing of development regulations represented by slope regulations, and this discourse is well illustrated in the process of amendments of local councils’ ordinances. Along with the desire for urban growth and competition with surrounding cities to support, competition and conflict within the city also served as a major driving force behind the expansion and growth of the city. The development gap between Suji-gu, Giheung-gu, and Cheoin-gu has been the driving force behind Yongin’s deregulation of development over the past decade under the leadership of Cheoin-gu, and has led to the current fragmented regulation of development activities. This study shows that the impact of competition and conflict within cities on urban development plans along with competition between cities should be looked at in terms of urban politics.