Asset-based urban poverty alleviation : incorporation of sustainable livelihood strategies in the community development of Hong Kong

Abstract

Poverty is not solely a prominent issue in developing countries but also in economically advanced cities. Viewing in the context of Hong Kong, the high degree of income disparity reflected by Overall Gini Coefficient Index has revealed the poverty situation behind the image of prosperity. Vulnerable groups are untouched by the development process, and living under substandard conditions especially considering the multidisciplinary characteristics of poverty. In order to address the issues of urban poverty, the Chief Executive has acclaimed in the Policy Address 2014 the necessity of poverty alleviation, care for the elderly and support for the disadvantaged.

Yet, community development on poverty alleviation cannot depend on the financial and resource assistance from the Government only. The inbuilt resources, skills and abilities of a community also need to be taken into account. This study has sought to identify a method that can better understand and evaluate community assets towards poverty reduction for vulnerable groups. Thus, after the literature review, it has been found that SLAs could be introduced to understand the subsistent circumstances and priorities of the poor –assets they actually own to make a living and problems that they face in the utilization of assets. Sham Shui Po would be invoked as a case study to conduct SLA due to the rather severe poverty situation, and the multifarious characteristics in the community.

The overall poverty situation in Sham Shui Po has continued to deteriorate due to the increasing poverty rate and widening poverty gap. Three groups have been targeted as priority poverty groups, namely, elderly, new-arrivals and unemployment. The vulnerability context of these impoverished groups in the large landscape of Sham Shui Po has then been analyzed as the trends of increasing urban population especially aging groups, aggravated economic pressures on poverty groups and shocks of disempowerment in economic, social and political aspects. Then based on the mapping of existing human, financial, physical, natural and social capital within the area, a livelihood asset pentagon has been figured out to explain the strengths and vulnerabilities on the mobilization of these five types of capital.

Afterwards, the effectsof livelihood strategiesand policieson the livelihood assets pentagons would be analyzed. Livelihood strategies initiated by poor residents themselves are always considered as negative practices since they are all based on the sacrifice of the accessibility of other kinds of assets. Policies considered in this study include social welfare systems which aim to provide financial and resource assistance, and urban renewal in pursue to speed up the integral development of old urban areas. However, it is argued that the implementation of social welfare systems is not satisfactory enough to bring poverty groups back to a prosperous life, while the process of urban renewal has actually disrupted the social network of poor groups. Based on the analysis above, policy recommendation would be proposed to alleviate the adverse impacts and intensify the favorable impacts of community assets, livelihood strategies and policies on the livelihoods of poverty groups.