Treating the Symptoms - A Critical Review of ... - Civic Exchange

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118Conclusion
It is increasingly clear that the URA’s current model is unsustainable in the long run. Whatwill the URA do in the future, when all the commercially lucrative low-rise blocks havealready been redeveloped? What kinds of densities will be necessary to make commerciallyviable the redevelopment of enormous housing estates like Mei Foo Sun Chuen in thirtyyears’ time? The URA is currently in the middle of a two-year Urban Renewal StrategyReview, a public engagement exercise intended to scope out its future role and direction. Theconsultation drew out people who were dissatisfied with the URA for a bewildering array ofcontradictory reasons. 210 Low-income residents wanted redevelopment to be sped up; middleclassowners of refurbished buildings and environmentalists wanted more rehabilitation andpreservation. Residents in dilapidated properties wished to move away; small business ownerswished to stay. Community activists felt that existing public participation mechanisms wereinadequate, others feared that more consultation would cause further delays. Many ownersfelt that they were being insufficiently compensated and resented compulsory resumption;experts argued that the URA’s compensation policies were too generous.Simply trying to triangulate these differing opinions misses the bigger picture. The politicsof urban renewal are shaped by the underlying institutional context, which puts propertyowners in a situation where their best option is to wait for government redevelopment, whilesimultaneously producing insensitive developments that provoke opposition and slow downthe proceedings. It leaves no-one satisfied.So what is to be done?The first task is to ask ourselves, as a society, whether we should consider urban renewal apublic good like education, health care, and clean water. 211 If so, then we must be preparedto subsidize it. Under the current system the URA is asked to provide all manner of publicbenefits while being required to measure its success in purely economic terms. The socialand environmental effects must be included in the cost-benefit equation. To accomplishthis, the URA Ordinance must be amended so that it is no longer required to be broadlyself-financing. This would enable it to pursue more sensitive design considerations such asbreaking up projects into smaller plots, creating more open space, and developing to a lowerdensity. Since the government derives so much of its income from maintaining high landpremiums, subsidizing urban renewal would recycle the funds back into the community. 212Conversely, if we decide that urban renewal should mainly be the responsibility of theprivate sector, then we need to free up the market. In fact, freeing up the market would stillbe wise even if the public sector were to subsidize urban renewal. There are limits to theresources that the government can commit, and it is unrealistic to expect one governmentagency to redevelop all of Hong Kong’s old districts faster than they can age. Unlike in othercities, where urban dilapidation is usually a localized consequence of disruptive economicrestructuring, in Hong Kong it is a self-perpetuating phenomenon caused by entrenchedmarket distortions.Policy-makers must be aware that urban dilapidation is one of the side effects of HongKong’s heavy dependence on land revenues, and be prepared to tackle land premiumreform. By increasing the supply of land in play, land premium reform might produce theadditional benefit of reducing the impetus to maximize GFA to such an extreme degree.Land premiums could even be used to incentivize greener development by offering discountsfor lower-density buildings or adaptive reuse.Freeing up the market also means encouraging banks to provide more financing for olderproperties. While this will be difficult, there are various measures that could be taken tonudge lenders in the right direction. The URA could expand its preferential loan schemeto cover all refurbished buildings, not just those it has rehabilitated. The Hong KongMortgage Corporation, which already supports the mortgage market, could also be used tosupplement mortgages on privately rehabilitated properties. A certification scheme (floatedby some officials in the aftermath of February 2010’s building collapse in To Kwa Wan) canbe introduced to provide proof that buildings are structurally sound, allowing lenders toassess risk accurately. 213119
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The Local Context:Evolving Communit
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Hong Kong Urban Design ConcernsHong
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12In 1998, the Planning Department
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Part I:14The URA —A Redevelopment
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Version 2:The Urban RenewalAuthorit
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URA Ordinance vs.Urban Renewal Stra
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How The URA WorksThe Cycle ofResump
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PART II:22The PoliticalEconomyof th
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The Institutional ContextNationaliz
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26traditionally given the Lands Dep
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28maximum allowable plot ratio —
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Left: Multi-ownership with inadequa
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Weak building maintenanceregulation
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Lack of FinancingOne significant pr
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Left: Graham Streetrequirement. 137
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Left: Graham Streetthe 1970s to ind
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From the point of view of private d
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The Built EnvironmentPart I discuss
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Left: The K11 shopping mall, hotel,
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Box 4Calculating Plot RatioPlot rat
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50Standardized ArchitectureStandard
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Left: Langham Place, blank facade o
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56Figure-ground diagram of Langham
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58This page: Footbridge network ove
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Left: Wo Tik Street - the only acti
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Public Open Spaces and Pedestrian P
Page 67 and 68: The MertonThe Merton in Kennedy Tow
Page 69 and 70: Left: The widened pavement along Sh
Page 71 and 72: Langham PlaceThere are often paveme
Page 73 and 74: Recreational Public Open SpacesQuan
Page 75: Hanoi Road K11 Open SpaceSize: 1,20
Page 78 and 79: 78Clockwise from left: The ground f
Page 81 and 82: The MertonTotal size (sites A and B
Page 83 and 84: General ObservationsLandscapingGene
Page 85: The URA also announced that it had
Page 88 and 89: Box 6The Counterproductive Pursuito
Page 91 and 92: Opposite, clockwise from top right:
Page 93 and 94: Social ImpactSocially sustainable d
Page 96 and 97: Left: Western Market has become pri
Page 98 and 99: 98This spread from left: This anony
Page 100 and 101: Top: A naturally gentrified street
Page 102 and 103: 102Comprehensive redevelopment disp
Page 104 and 105: 104Luxury shopping at the K11 mall
Page 106 and 107: 106A building rehabilitated by the
Page 108 and 109: According to town planner Ian Brown
Page 110 and 111: 110
Page 112 and 113: 112Wan Chai Market. Built in 1937,
Page 114 and 115: 114
Page 116 and 117: 116
Page 120 and 121: 120
Page 122 and 123: Appendix 1Name of projectAddress/lo
Page 124 and 125: Name of projectAddress/locationArea
Page 126 and 127: 126Endnotes1 HKSAR Planning Departm
Page 128 and 129: 128110 Chan, B. W. (2002), “The h
Page 130: Room 701, Hoseinee House,69 Wyndham
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