Power negotiation in planning: the transit-oriented development of Tseung Kwan O

Abstract

In the past, the planning process had been top down with a restrictive level of public participation. The decision-making power has been concentrated within the administration. The public has been tolerable at pre-1997. People in Hong Kong are no longer living at the “borrowed time” and “borrowed space” that Hughes (1976) described under the colonial rule after the return to motherland. They have developed a sense of belonging, show genuine concern on development of Hong Kong and increasing demands for participation in the policymaking process, hence the planning mechanism. The community has become more vocal in the planning process. Tseung Kwan O (TKO) is a third generation and the seventh new town in Hong Kong. Since the Executive Council’s designation to develop into new town in 1982, it has undergone very rapid development. Transport networks in news towns have been planned to serve by railway. Railway is the backbone of Hong Kong’s transport system and it has a strong impact on urban development. In Hong Kong, urban development has followed the transit-oriented approach. There are institutional settings and policies in public and private sectors that support transit-oriented development (TOD). Drastic spatial changes occurred in the surrounding area of MTR stations after the operation in 2002. Taking advantage of the enhanced accessibility brought about by the railway line, high density developments are located close to the MTR stations at Po Lam, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O and Tiu Keng Leng, each forming a district centre with its own retail and supporting facilities. The study scope would be based on the institutional settings and policies in public and private sectors that support TOD. In a society that composed of a heterogeneous group of people with different interests, the stakeholder composed a power structure in the planning process of the TKO new town, negotiation among the power exists. The resultant urban pattern is an outcome of the power negotiation. This study aimed to examine how different stakeholders participated in the negotiation of planning process in the latest generation of new town using the case of TKO as illustration. The level of public participation in the planning process of Tseung Kwan O has been increasing. As the community has become more vocal in the planning process, efforts can be seen in reaching out to different stakeholders regarding the further development of Tseung Kwan O with a view to jointly planned with the community.