The determinants of redeveloping sites in a city: the Taipei experience

In a city where land is scarce, this city cannot continue growing to accommodate increasing households or firms without re-use of developed sites. Even if this city is not growing, land uses might still need to be changed to adapt to new economic and social environments. To say the least, buildings need to be replaced at the time when they reach the end of their economic life. Taipei, similar to all high-density cities, has to cope with its rapid growth and economic transformation through the teardown and erection of buildings. Naturally, how a city grows largely depends on the way old buildings are replaced by new ones. This paper sets out to investigate the underlying factors that determine the replacement of buildings. The data sets analyzed include the official records of permits to demolish and to erect a building, together with the tax roll of buildings. This building-related information allows us to trace the trajectory of urban growth over time and across locations. Buildings are viewed as not only an economic asset but also brick and mortar. It is expected that three categories of determinants are at play; they are trend of housing price over time, local amenity level (public services, access to transport nodes) and building age. The macro, .locational and physical factors together determine the way how buildings are succeeded and consequently how a city grows.