Although LR was practiced in these three countries before officially being codified into law, the widespread use of LR was precipitated by specific events in each country’s urban history. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which devastated Tokyo and surrounding cities, as well as the destruction of Japan’s urban areas during World War II were defining moments for LR in Japan. The need to rebuild both public infrastructure and private property after these events made LR the prime redevelopment tool. In Korea, the aftermath of the Korean War and political instability of the 1940s resulted in housing and urban facility shortages. Again, the urban renewal tool of choice was LR. The subsequent rise in urbanization of South Korea after the war is attributed to a great extent to LR policies (Archer 1984). Today, the use of LR in South Korea has decreased considerably due to the rapid increases in land value and infrastructure development costs. Both changes have made LR financially less feasible without a large amount of land contribution from participating owners or substantial government subsidies. Taiwan, China’s use of LR was not used for redevelopment, but to carry out a concerted urbanization process using undeveloped land. The conversion of agricultural land was first used in the development of Kaoshiung in 1958. Today, LR in Taiwan, China is largely used to convert rural land into urban uses. The following laws trace the origins and development of LR in each country’s history.

**Table 3. Laws for Land Readjustment through time**

|**Japan**|**South Korea**|**Taiwan, China**|
|---|---|---|
|•<br>1919 City Planning Law<br>•<br>1946 Special City Planning Act (post-<br>disaster rehabilitation)<br>•<br>1954 Land Readjustment Act<br>|•<br>1936 Urban Land Planning Ordinance<br>•<br>1962 City Planning Law<br>•<br>1966 Land Readjustment Project Act<br>_Administering Government Agency_<br>|•<br>1930-55 Land Law<br>•<br>1954-64 Equalization of Urban<br>Land Rights Law<br>|
|Ministry of Construction<br>_Source: Archer 1984._|Ministry of Construction|Department of Land<br>Administration/Provincial Land Bure|

# _Process and Methodology_

Japan and South Korea share a nearly identical methodology for LR, which comes as no surprise given the events that catalyzed urban development in those two countries. However, Taiwan China’s methodology diverges slightly, which is explained by the fact that LR began as a method of the government to drive a state-driven urbanization strategy.

Projects in Japan and South Korea can be either privately or publically initiated, and executors include 1) individuals, 2) land owner associations, 3) local governments, 4) government agencies and 5) housing and town corporations. Because of the range of executors, Japan is lauded as having one of the most participatory LR processes in the world. From 1954 to 1979, the majority of projects in Japan (by area) were initiated by local governments (42.3%) and landowner associations (29.5%) (Archer 1984: 10). Depending on which group initiates the project, development can appear substantially different. Local governments, for example, use LR to provide infrastructure, whereas landowner associations are typically in it for the profit.

For privately-initiated projects, all landowners/leaseholders must be in agreement, so there are fewer conflicts and less of a need for legal processes. An association is formed once 2/3 of the affected parties are in agreement. The association attempts to build consensus as the project moves forward. The prefectural governor approves the association.

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