Political economy and urban planning: a comparative study of Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan

Abstract

This study compares urban planning mechanisms that operate within Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. The political economy of Hong Kong is in a state of flux. While the power of the government and the corporate interests remain largely intact, they are challenged by pro-China interests and a democratizing civil society. The land use planning system reflects this power contest. In face of both strong resistance from the development industry and China's eagerness to perpetuate a market-led society in post-1997 Hong Kong, the outcome of the power contest remains uncertain. The state-centred political economy of Singapore has bred a top–down land use planning system centrally controlled by the government. Not only has the government dominated the plan making process, the legislation has entrusted the public sector to scrutinize and guide private development through a discretionary development control system. The government is able to mobilize resources to implement plans with the tacit consent of a regulated and meritocracy-based society. In contrast, Taiwan's multi-layered government structure and its complicated relationships with business interests (`gold-power' alliance) within a cultural milieu with scant respect for rules and regulations, have produced a complex and yet loosely coordinated land use planning system. The Urban Planning Law emphasizes plan making and implementation by the public sector at the district level, but local authorities lack resources to implement plans. The regulatory development control system, to a large extent, is abused by the community and land use zoning is not taken seriously in general. As plan amendments can be made behind closed doors, the `gold-power' alliance has tried to rezone land for speculative purposes. The impact of the recent democratization process on the society's legal attitudes and the roles of planning in urban governance in Taiwan remains to be seen.