Estimation of the Values of Wooden Materials in Urban Regeneration: The Case of Seoullo in Korea

The importance of wooden buildings has been highlighted in recent years due to the energy-efficient and carbon storage effect of wood. This study investigates the willingness to pay for one-time tax payments of the citizens currently living in Seoul when Seoullo uses wood as a material for covering the surface of the facilities. The study examines the economic feasibility of Seoullo, which is a part of the government urban regeneration project that built a park on the desolate bridge in 2017. The result indicates that Seoul citizens who participated in the survey feel a greater preference for wood material rather than existing concrete used in Seoullo despite the tax burden. As a result, it is found that the respondents with children under the age of 8, respondents who are aware of the urban regeneration project, and respondents with respiratory disease have a lower marginal willingness to pay than those in the opposite groups. Moreover, the result shows that the respondents who consider farming or returning to rural areas, respondents in need of city improvement, respondents who chose wood as a preferred building material, and respondents with the experience of visiting Seoullo have a greater marginal willingness to pay for the wooden material than those in the opposite groups.