In the early 1980s, there was a great deal of idle capital in Taiwan and much foreign capital also flowed in. When the government raised the idea of limiting population density, the whole city (especially the "Eastern District") went into a frenzy of building, with everyone trying to build to the maximum floor space.
高層建築如雨後春筍出現，期望藉此創造更多商業空間，賺取更多利潤，「忠孝東路變成兩堵圍牆，沒有一個喘息的地方」，實踐學院講師李清志說。整個都市土地的使用以土地炒作為「志向」。