Planning for accessible and socially inclusive public open space in private developments in Hong Kong

Abstract

Hong Kong, being known as Asia’s World City and an international metropolis, possesses topography and sub-tropical climate that supports the habitat of a wide range of flora, fauna and wildlife. Many are surprised to realize that 70% of Hong Kong’s total land area is countryside and mountains, in which 40% of them is officially protected as country parks, marine parks, areas of special scientific interest, etc. under the Country Parks and Marine Parks Ordinance (Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, 2012). Much emphasis and protection have been put in these natural open spaces; however, urban open spaces, especially those within private developments, seem to be of a lesser concern to the public. Recently, there are raising discussion and concerns over the shortfall of open space in urban areas, especially in older districts. As the population of Hong Kong increases exponentially, the existing provision of public facilities cannot cope with the rising demand. Some new public spaces are created to address the increasing demand, yet their quality is questionable.

The provision of public open space in private developments (POSPD) became a controversial issue in 2008, when reporters discovered the misuse of the public open spaces in Times Square and Metro Harbour View. The developer of Times Square made use of the public open space to generate revenue by renting it out for exhibitions and events. As for Metro Harbour View, its podium garden was never opened for public use after the development was completed. Also, as these public spaces are being operated and managed by private companies, privatization and commodification of public open space are emerging phenomenon in some spaces. Thus, the general public started to express concerns over the provision of POSPD.

In this dissertation, understanding of various key concepts and their interrelationships will be illustrated in the literature review. This together forms the theoretical framework for this dissertation. Elements that constitute a successful public open space will be identified. Privately-owned public space in New York City will be used as a detailed overseas case study to draw insights and best practices in order to enlighten the current practice in Hong Kong. The current policy and practice of provision of POSPD in Hong Kong will be reviewed. Problems and key issues in the existing POSPD will be illustrated by two detailed case studies. Questionnaire surveys, site visits, field observations and interviews will be done as data collection methods.

The goal of this dissertation is to analyze whether the recently published guidelines on the design and management of POSPD is comprehensive enough to address the existing problems and key issues. Recommendations will be given to improve the guidelines if there are some missing elements and to illustrate the appropriate design and operating approaches to guide future planning, design and management of POSPD in new developments and public open space in planning projects.