Recently, the increase of impervious area has been pointed out as a major cause of climate change and biotop area deterioration]. Therefore, quantitative indicators for environmental housing design and planning have been needed especially to control the impervious area. The Biotop Area Ratio(BAR) as the mostly applied environmental planning control instrument in Korea verifying the possibility of utilizing has been used effectively in various aspects. However, the fact that the space types are based on two dimension and ecological functions of spaces are simplified has shown the limitations of this planning instrument in the use as planning and evaluation indicator. In this study, classification criteria and the weighting of the space types in similar indicators Biotopflaechenfaktor (BFF, Berlin), Seattle Green Factor (SGF, Seattle), and Green Area Factor (GAF, Malmo) were analyzed. These indicators are similar in the sense that they apply weights to calculate the area and express a percentage of land area. The findings are as follows: The basic method that can estimate the vegetation volume is proposed to overcome the limitation of the BAR. It also was proven that the introduction of three-dimensional volume rate of biotops area was possible. Finally, the framework of space type classification criteria is proposed through linkages with relevant laws and regulations. With the improvement of the space types, the BAR is expected to be reasonable indicator in outdoor space evaluation in housing project.
