Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

LandScape Information System: A GIS approach to

managing urban development
Kyushik Oh*
Department of Urban Engineering, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-791, South Korea
Received 27 October 1999; received in revised form 27 March 2000; accepted 18 June 2000

Abstract
Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has been known for its original landscape, which has been molded for centuries within
and around the surrounding natural topography. As a result of rapid urbanization and growth beginning in the 1960s, however,
there has been signicant deterioration. New and re-development in the downtown area, which have been characterized as
high-rise and massive in particular, have been and are continuing to be detrimental to the landscape. In recent years, a number
of attempts towards urban landscape management have emerged in the form of legislation and policies. But relevant tools to
support the implementation of such attempts have unfortunately been insufcient, resulting in inefcient, unsystematic, and
inaccurate urban landscape management efforts.
Subsequently, this study developed the LandScape Information System (LSIS) for the purpose of managing urban landscape
information and analyzing visual impacts of proposed development projects. Employing Geographic Information System
(GIS) and computer graphics simulation techniques, LSIS performs such functions as, input and management of graphic and
attribute data, query analysis of attributes related to urban landscape elements, and visual impact (view obstruction) analysis of
development proposals. The database for LSIS was prepared in consideration to the urban information systems (UIS) database
framework of Seoul in order to ensure the maximum data transferability between them.
Through the application of LSIS to a sample visual impact analysis of urban redevelopment projects, it was found that
valuable landscape resources could be damaged by the proposed projects. Moreover, by using LSIS, subsequent mitigation
measures for such impacts could be effectively tested and developed. Therefore, it is believed that in general, LSIS can be used
as the basis for decision-making in resolving urban landscape problems experienced by local governments. In addition, with
the trend toward promoting more information-based societies, LSIS can be instrumental in sharing substantial amounts of data
with those for UIS, developed by central and local governments. This in turn can foster maximum effectiveness and value of
computer-based urban landscape management. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Landscape management; Urban development; Visual impact assessment; GIS

1. Introduction
Unprecedented changes toward promoting information-based societies are occurring ubiquitously, and so
too are the corresponding challenges. Urban landscape
*
Tel.: 82-2-2290-0336; fax: 82-2-2291-4739.
E-mail address: ksoh@hanyang.ac.kr (K. Oh).

0169-2046/01/$20.00 # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

PII: S 0 1 6 9 - 2 0 4 6 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 1 2 7 - X

management today is following a similar path and

faces the same demands, namely, the need for new
paradigms for problem solving, along with corresponding regulations, and policies. Most of the information
for urban landscape is geographically referenced, and
specic geo-spatial locations are attached to the information. The ood of geo-spatial, computer-based,
digital information related to various landscape

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K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

problems in our cities, requires new approaches. Technological advancements in computer-related elds are
providing a variety of new tools and techniques which
allow speedy digital processing of data. Subsequently,
these advancements require greater shifts from the use
of conventional paradigms of problem-solving to more
systematic and automated ones.
In Korean society, urban landscape management
has been recognized as a signicant challenge as well
as dilemma, due to rapid urbanization and quantitative
growth-oriented development strategies booming
since the 1960s. This is especially evident in Seoul,
the nation's densely populated capital; 10.2 million
people residing within roughly 605 km2. Many efforts
have been made in recent years to protect the landscape from further deterioration, including establishing the Urban Landscape Management Plan of Seoul,
demolishing apartment buildings on Mt. Nam in
downtown Seoul to recover the mountain's original
landscape, and designating Landscape Management
Zones in the Mt. Nam area for protection from the
current trend of high-rise and massive development.
Despite such efforts for improving Seoul's overall
landscape quality, a major problem in its landscape
management lies in the lack of specic, established
tools needed for long-term, effective support. The
essential key in implementing effective landscape
management has been the need for systematic processing of diverse and large amounts of geo-spatial data.
Using traditional methods, it has been difcult to
manage landscape information effectively and therefore, substantial results of analyses have been difcult
to render. Such difculties are greater when dealing
with urban landscape problems. For instance, effective
landscape management requires not only obvious
attention to physical elements, both natural and
human-made, but also more complicated consideration
for non-physical aspects underlying the landscape,
such as socio-economic factors. Under these circumstances, this study developed the LandScape Information System (LSIS) for supporting decision-making
activities in the urban landscape management process.
2. Downtown Seoul: landscape conditions and
problems
In Korea, downtown Seoul (Fig. 1) has been the
center for administration, commerce, business, and

Fig. 1. Downtown area of Seoul.

cultural activities, with continuing expansion of the

city from the Chosun Dynasty beginning 600 years
ago in the 14th century to the present. The downtown,
which was originally the entire site of nation's capital
during the Dynasty, is surrounded mainly by four
mountains Mt. Bugak (342 m), Mt. Inwang
(338.2 m), Mt. Nam (262 m), and Mt. Nak
(110.9 m). The selection for the capital city at that
time was based primarily upon the functional and
symbolical principles of Korean geomancy or
`Pungsu'. It was believed that the ideal location of
a capital city was one that had a high, rugged mountain
to the north, rolling hills to the east and west, a low hill
to the south, and wide plain through which a river
owed. The downtown area of Seoul t these requirements to the letter. Moreover, animals both imaginary
and real, were often used to symbolically represent the
importance of the surrounding area (Fig. 2).
The surrounding mountains formed the basic frame
of the city, and played a strategic and protective role
during the Chosun Dynasty. Today, the natural landscape of Mt. Nak has deteriorated due to many
unsightly buildings located there. Mt. Bugak, Mt.
Inwang, and Mt. Nam, on the other hand, are
>200 m high and have still maintained favorable landscape qualities. These mountains are not only landmarks of Seoul and posses symbolic and historical
importance, but are also ecologically and environmentally signicant.
Providing and maintaining visual access to favorable landscape resources is important in a highly

K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

81

Fig. 2. The conguration of downtown Seoul sited by principles of

Korean geomancy `Pungsu'.

Fig. 4. Visibility of landscape resources at major viewpoints.

urbanized setting. It can be an effective way of achieving amenity in cases where physical access to natural
areas in the city has become more difcult. In a recent
study, Oh and Lee (2001) investigated the visual value
of natural landscape resources in Seoul, and found that
the value of the visibility of mountains was substantial
enough to be included in housing prices.
Due to urban redevelopment projects (Fig. 3), buildings along main streets in downtown Seoul have been
increasing not only in number, but in height, width,
and overall scale as well. Moreover, a recent amendment to an architectural ordinance in Seoul has eased
Floor-Air Ratio (FAR) drastically. As a result, newly
constructed buildings in redevelopment areas are now

allowed to be 10 stories higher than in the past. By

1998, redevelopment projects in 457 areas were designated in the downtown area. As of now, projects in 170
areas have already been completed or are currently
under construction (The City of Seoul, 1998).
Parcel-based, small-scale development also has
problems, namely the lack of an organic relationship
with the surrounding areas and the difculty in
providing open spaces to the public. Adverse impacts
of current redevelopment projects in the downtown
area, however, are more severe resulting in the following; a decrease in the sense of spaciousness and place,
destruction of the human-scaled landscape, elimination of landmarks, and a reduction in the visual
harmony of the city's original landscape. The trend
of large-scale development will cause a merge of
existing parcels and will eventually bring considerable
changes in the skyline and streetscape of the downtown area. In particular, the number of obstructions to
favorable views of current landscape resources (Fig. 4)
will signicantly increase. Further, landscape deterioration is thus of great concern.
3. The development of LSIS
3.1. The framework of urban landscape information

Fig. 3. Urban redevelopment projects in downtown Seoul (in

1998).

To develop a database for LSIS, the information

related to urban landscape elements and their management activities were categorized as, `land base', `land

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K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

cover', and `landscape management'. The `land base'

category includes elements framing the basic land
form and the physical appearance of the urban landscape which mainly include natural topography, roads,
lot areas, open spaces, and various corresponding
controls and regulations. `Land cover' incorporates
not only trees and vegetation, but also articial elements on the `land base' such as buildings and other
structures, which are the result of a variety of land uses
and development activities; it completes the actual
image of the landscape. Elements in the nal group,
`landscape management', on the other hand, which
include major viewpoints for landscape control, landscape resources, and development limits, are essential
for implementing such activities. In this study, the
concept of visual threshold carrying capacity
(VTCC)1 suggested by Oh (1998) was employed
as an example of development limit for landscape
management.
Considering the formation process of the urban
landscape, landscape elements in turn can be further
classied into those forming the `baseline landscape',
the `skyline and streetscape', and the `landscape
(building) envelope'. First, elements forming `baseline
landscape' contain natural landscape elements such
as topography and geology, and human-made infrastructure such as roads. Second, elements forming
`skyline and streetscape' refer to concrete shapes of
mainly articial elements such as buildings and
various other structures. When a city is observed

1
VTCC can be generally defined as the visual standard by which
the value and significance of landscapes can be maintained. The
term `standard' refers to the limit and basis upon which future
development activities on the landscape can be appropriately
managed. In assessing the value of landscape visibility in urban
settings, the amount of a landscape resource to be seen and the
importance of that portion, need to be evaluated together.
Considering both factors, the quality of landscape visibility can
be categorized as follows: (1) the visible area including the central
part of landscape resource is substantial, (2) the visible area
including the central part of landscape resource is less substantial,
or the visible area is substantial without the central part of
landscape resources, and (3) the landscape resource is not visible,
or its visible area is minimal. The VTCC for visibility needs to be
recognized primarily for landscapes which are equivalent to or
better than the level 1), and consists of horizontal and vertical
frames which form visual corridors toward such landscape
resources (Oh, 1998).

from a distance, the outline of human-made, architectural elements often reveals the skyline against the
natural topography. If the city is observed more
closely, the detailed atmosphere of the streetscape
which includes shapes, colors, textures of building
facades, signs, and trees can be viewed. Third, `landscape (building) envelope' is the invisible, threedimensional contour of maximum allowable space
for a building or structure in relation to landscape
management strategies, as well as pre-established
architectural and planning controls. In Seoul, allowable or permitted building spaces are calculated
mainly by lot coverage and FAR determined by
zoning, building spacing and height, and setback
controls. If the area becomes more densely developed, the formation of the landscape will be heavily
affected by such controls. For an effective understanding of landscape structure and its elements, it is
therefore essential to consider not only visual
aspects, but institutional ones as well, including
regulations, policies, plans, and proposals. The information related to urban landscape elements and their
management activities can be organized with the
framework as shown in Table 1.
3.2. Database for LSIS
The database for LSIS was prepared in consideration to the urban information systems (UIS) database
framework of the City of Seoul (the city has been in
the process establishing its UIS database following the
standard mapping scheme suggested by the National
Geographic Information System (NGIS) project in
Korea). This ensures the maximum data transferability
between different, local databases, while minimizing
unnecessary duplication and redundancy in data
acquisition, processing, and management, which
may otherwise result in substantial extra costs. Most
of the basic information in LSIS encompassing
topography, roads, buildings and structures, zoning,
land ownership, etc. can be acquired from the UIS
database.
Information not collected from the UIS database,
such as development proposals, and elements in the
category of `landscape management' including, viewpoints for landscape control, landscape resources, and
development limits for landscape management, has to
be acquired from other individual sources. This results

Table 1
Information related to urban landscape elements and their management
Landscape elements

Landscape types
Baseline landscape

Land cover/related
developments

Topography and geology

Roads
Lot areas
Architectural and urban
planning controls

Topography and geology

Roads and sidewalks

Trees and vegetation

Road facilities

Overpasses, overhead bridges,

streetlights, signal lights,
electric poles
Single or detached houses
(low-rise), apartments (high-rise),
office buildings, factory buildings,
temporary buildings, other
structures
Development proposals

Proposed developments
Landscape management

Lot boundaries
Zoning, lot coverage, FAR,
building spacing and height,
setback, other architectural
and planning controls

Trees and vegetation

Buildings and structures

Viewpoints for landscape control

Landscape resources
Development limits

Landscape (building) envelope

K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

Land base/land form

Skyline and streetscape

Viewpoints (3-D coordinates)

Landscape resources
Development limits/thresholds (VTCC)

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K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

Fig. 5. Data integration and preprocessing for LSIS.

in the integration of multiple data formats. The data

acquisition and preprocessing process is shown in
Fig. 5.
3.3. Main functions of LSIS
The main functions designed for LSIS are shown in
Fig. 6. AutoCAD Map was used as the basis for LSIS,
running in a personal computing environment. The
functions were programmed with AutoLISP programming language.
Fig. 7 shows existing roads and buildings of an area
downtown which can be retrieved using a mouse, by
clicking the `File Open' mode. Fig. 8 demonstrates
the use of the `Input/Edit' mode which shows the input
of a new viewpoint and its attribute data such as the
viewpoint's identication, the landscape resource
name, the le name of the landscape image, the

landscape resource coordinates, and the viewpoint

coordinates.
The `Identify/Query' function consists of `attribute
identication', `landscape image identication', and
`attribute query'. `Attribute identication' extracts
attribute information of a spatial object in each data
layer; `image identication' retrieves and displays the
current landscape image recorded at the viewpoint for
control (Fig. 9); and `attribute query' identies areas
or objects according to the designated condition(s) by
the user. Fig. 10 is an example of inquiring about the
location of buildings 15 stories or higher within the
user-dened window.
The `Analysis' function mainly includes `viewshed
analysis' and `visual impact analysis'. The `visual
impact analysis' function performs the analysis of
the degree of view obstruction caused by development
projects (Fig. 11).

K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

85

Fig. 6. Main functions of LSIS.

In the visual impact analysis process, the

viewshed for the proposed development project is
analyzed initially. Fig. 12 is an example of the result
of a viewshed analysis whereby shaded areas indicate where the proposed development is visible. If
one or more viewpoints for landscape control are
located within the viewshed, 3-D perspectives of the
development project are constructed from each
viewpoint. Each perspective is then superimposed
on a related `bit-mapped' image of the existing

landscape, and the result is displayed on the computer screen for the appraisal of visual impact.
Although this type of visual simulation technique
results in abstract landscape images, it is fairly
simple to implement and conveys essential information for analyzing actual landscape problems and
generating solutions. It is also effective in terms of
preparation cost.
Fig. 13 is the result of view obstruction analysis.
Through a series of feedback processes, mitigation

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K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

Fig. 7. `Open' mode of a le.

Fig. 9. `Display' mode of an existing landscape image (with

development limit).

Fig. 8. `Input/Edit' of landscape information.

Fig. 10. `Query analysis' mode of attribute data (hatched areas).

measures for negative impacts can be investigated.

Consequently, the process can aid decision makers
render their approval or rejection of the proposed
development on the urban landscape.

3.4. The application of LSIS: visual impact analysis

Using the visual impact analysis function in
LSIS, actual redevelopment projects proposed in the

Fig. 11. The process of visual impact analysis within LSIS.

K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

87

Fig. 12. `Viewshed analysis' of a proposed development.

Fig. 13. `View obstruction analysis' mode.

downtown were analyzed. The development projects

included four buildings proposed in the area between
City Hall and Mt. Nam where the trafc of both

vehicles and pedestrians are very heavy during the

day. Their development scales include averages of lot
coverage 40%, FAR 670%, and building height

Fig. 14. Visual impact analysis of proposed development.

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K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

Fig. 15. A mitigated development scheme (with building setback and upper portion indented).

18 oors. The existing condition and simulations of

the proposed development are shown in Fig. 14.2
The analysis revealed that the landscape resource
(Mt. Nam) would be obstructed considerably by the
redevelopment projects. In order to avoid such a
negative visual impact and to preserve the visual
integrity, relevant mitigation measures should be prepared according to the development type. In formulating mitigation measures, regulations for lot coverage,
FAR, building spacing and height, setback from the
street line and the sky exposure plane, and building
shape are generally considered. Fig. 15 is an example
of a mitigated scheme for the development proposal.
4. Conclusion
Efforts towards urban landscape management in
Korea have a relatively short history, but have shown
considerable progress in terms of awareness, concern,
and promotion of more data-based technology. As
urban landscape management continues to rely more
and more upon information technology, it is crucial
that modern methods and techniques develop in order
to effectively resolve emerging problems which are
becoming more complicated. Therefore, for successful advancement of urban landscape management,
emphasis should be placed on developing tools which
produce higher qualities of information, both new and
practical to its users.
2

Bold dotted lines represent development limits for landscape

management. Solid lines represent existing buildings and proposed
developments.

When dealing with urban landscape information,

the importance of systematic integration of data from
multiple sources should be recognized, for the utility
in both collecting and processing such information.
For example, in this study maximum data transferability from UIS was conducted, and subsequent
efforts for data management were facilitated. The
LSIS in this study was developed with the aim of
being a signicant tool which can meaningfully contribute to practical and efcient urban landscape
management of local governments.
The contributions of LSIS are as follows:
First, using LSIS, a comprehensive landscape analysis can be implemented by integrating various landscape data in a systematic manner. The application of
computer techniques such as GIS and computer graphics simulations to the urban landscape analysis and
management process, in the form of a decision-support system, can help to simplify complicated visual
analyses. This in turn can allow for quick and accurate
appraisals of impacts of proposed development projects.
Second, impacts on the landscape by development
projects can be predicted interactively, and comparisons with simulations of `before' and `after' can be
made visually, fostering the production of more sound
resolutions.
Third, long-term changes in the landscape can be
constantly monitored through updating landscape data
regularly, and valuable but vulnerable landscape
resources can be effectively managed by conducting
landscape analyses and appraisals in advance. In fact,
substantial portions of the database of LSIS can be
regularly maintained by other independent sources

K. Oh / Landscape and Urban Planning 54 (2001) 7989

due to data sharing, and thereby improving the efciency of data management.
Fourth, examinations can be rendered on visual
aspects in the urban landscape, as well as for legal
relevancy of development proposals, such as issues
relating to architectural and planning regulations.
In addition, further integration of other information
not discussed in this study, relating to social, economic, and demographic aspects, used in conjunction
with LSIS, can help to provide professionals with a
more thorough understanding on how to successfully

89

cope with increasingly complicated urban landscape

management problems.
References
The City of Seoul, 1998. Urban Redevelopment Projects of
Downtown Seoul. The City of Seoul.
Oh, K., 1998. Visual threshold carrying capacity (VTCC) in urban
landscape management: a case study of Seoul, Korea. Landscape Urban Plann. 39, 283294.
Oh, K., Lee, W., 2001. Estimating the value of landscape visibility
in apartment housing prices. J. Arch. Plann. Res., in press.