Evaluating the effectiveness of public participation process for the planning of public housing developments by rezoning in Hong Kong

Abstract

In Hong Kong, the government has adopted a multi-pronged measure for sustaining the development capacity to address the ambitious public housing target stipulated under the Long Term Housing Strategy. Rezoning, is one of the significant mechanisms under statutory procedure to expedite the housing land supply by converting the government land to residential use. In order to gain legitimacy of development plans and avoid unpredictable planning delays, public participation is encouraged for planning of public housing developments in Hong Kong. Given the scarcity of the objective evaluations and challenges of current participatory mechanisms, the overall aim of this study is to conduct an exploratory assessment on the effectiveness of the community-oriented participation process through reviewing two rezoned public housing proposals in Tuen Mun Central. The above evaluation involved cases embedded with multiple urban conflicts related to heritage conservation, demolition of social welfare unit and disrupting the lives of affected residents. An evaluation framework including four main criteria was established to assess the participatory process and outcome. To conduct a comprehensive analysis, a qualitative research method was adopted to draw insights from six key stakeholders and documentary data. Findings reveal that the prevailing public participation process remains at the level of informing and consultation as a tokenism of participation which the citizens have no assurance of changing the status quo. The conventional participation model limits the involvement of citizens working as partnership to framing and influencing the decision-making process. This study explores the constraints of attaining authentic participation and provides insights for planners to enhance the public participation process to overcome the barriers practically and move towards a more effective participatory approach in the future.