Strengths and Challenges of Community Participation in an Urban Transport System – a Case Study of the Hong Kong MTRC

Abstract

Abstract: In response to the conference sub-theme “community participation”, this paper proposes to examine the social impact of the community participation efforts undertaken by the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) during the planning and construction of the new West Island Line (WIL). Hong Kong has long been known for a ‘top-down’ governmental structure that has dominated most urban planning processes in the past few decades. In the case of transport or infrastructural projects, the ultimate objective has been to maximize economic and social efficiency. Lately, however, we have witnessed a paradigm shift towards more active public engagement and better communication between stakeholders. In this changing context, this research aims to study and evaluate the significant social and community attributes associated with MTRC’s ‘bottom up’ participatory approach in the planning of the West Island Line. The new WIL, which began construction in 2005 and will be completed in 2014, is a westbound extension of the existing Island Line that will connect old districts like Sai Ying Pun, Shek Tong Tsui and Kennedy Town with Hong Kong’s Central Business District. The WIL project is of particular interest because MTRC has implemented extensive public participation opportunities into its planning process from the very beginning. Though the project is yet to be completed, social and community impacts are already emerging. The research objectives of this paper are threefold: 1) to identify the strengths and challenges of community participation in an urban transport system in Hong Kong; 2) to evaluate how community participation can better integrate infrastructural systems within the urban fabric in order to achieve economic, social and cultural sustainability; and 3) to propose to policy makers and urban planners how a comprehensive public participatory methodology can help improve current infrastructural planning practices in the context of contemporary urbanism. The research aims to produce a set of policy recommendations based on the Hong Kong model that can be adaptable to other urban contexts.