Action for conservation! : community action for the protection of pound lane at Tai Ping Shan, Hong Kong

Abstract

In 2011, the Highways Department agreed to an escalator scheme on Pound Lane, a one-way escalator system along the current pedestrian linkage between Sheung Wan and the Mid-Levels. The Government claimed that this project will not only provide relief for the local elderly population, but also encourage pedestrian access to the hillside areas, hence reducing heavy traffic demands in the Mid-Levels.

The proposal aroused much public resistance, particularly from a group of people who wants to preserve the distinctiveness of Pound Lane and the Tai Ping Shan district. The opponents of the escalator scheme showed strong attachment to the peaceful, low-key ambience of Pound Lane and its community. Pound Lane Concern Group was formed to promote public awareness and improve understanding of the significance of Pound Lane.

The main question is why people see an apparently non-descript pedestrian pathway that is lacking historic and aesthetic qualities as a valued heritage place, and consider it an important element for the neighbourhood. The answers to this question form the investigation basis for this dissertation.

The contextual focus of this research is Pound Lane, a pedestrian stepped pathway located in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, stretching North and South to link Hollywood Road in Sheung Wan and Bonham Road in the Mid-Levels. It is also located in the historical district of Tai Ping Shan, which is recognized as one of the oldest Chinese settlements in Hong Kong.

The scope of this study is the Pound Lane Escalator Project, or more specifically, the contest against the Project, which by doing so, it serves to understand why the Pound Lane, seemingly a mere pedestrian pathway, is deemed by the public as worthy of protection as a heritage place.