Redevelopment or rehabilitation? : the impact of urban renewal projects on neighbouring properties

Abstract

This article primarily investigates the impact of urban renewal projects on the value of residential properties within communities, focusing on whether there is a significant difference between redevelopment-based and rehabilitation-based urban renewal projects. The study selects cases from Hong Kong Island East, where the external environments of both types of projects are similar. Transaction data of buildings within a 300-meter radius of these projects were collected and analyzed using a hedonic pricing model. The findings reveal a notable difference in the impact on surrounding property prices between the two types of projects. Redevelopment projects were found to have a more positive influence on the community, whereas rehabilitation projects, in certain instances, negatively affected property prices within their vicinity. This suggests that building rehabilitation cannot replace redevelopment in urban renewal efforts. The second focus of this article is the policy differences between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, a representative city in mainland China, regarding these two forms of urban renewal projects. By comparing the aspects of implementation bodies, content of renewal, and implementation processes, it was concluded that urban renewal projects in China currently lack adequate public opinion surveys. This indicates a potential area for improvement in future urban renewal endeavors. The article concludes with recommendations for how China's urban micro-regeneration initiatives can be improved. It also points out that the article can make progress in sample selection and model construction in the future.