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

12In 1998, the Planning Department recognized that urbandesign was a growing community issue, and commissioneda study “with a view to preparing a set of guidelines topromote public awareness on design considerations, and toprovide a broad framework for urban design assessment.” 28The study was completed and the Urban Design Guidelinesissued in 2003, with the goal “to promote Hong Kong’simage as a world-class city and to enhance the quality of ourbuilt environment”.The Guidelines, which were incorporated into the HongKong Planning Standards and Guidelines, identified themajor urban design issues and provided recommendationson each. These issues were massing and intensity in urbanfringe areas and rural areas, development height profile,waterfront sites, public realm, streetscape, heritage, viewcorridors, stilted structures and ventilation. 29However, the Urban Design Guidelines did not lead tothe passing of any enforceable legislation. The Guidelines,like the rest of the Planning Standards, are administrativeguidelines and not statutory law, which means that theyare not mandatory. Hong Kong Planning Standards andGuidelines make clear that they are not meant to be rigidlyenforced: “As planning standards and guidelines couldaffect the allocation of scarce land and financial resources,they should be applied with a degree of flexibility. Tradeoffsmay be necessary so that the community at large couldbenefit most from the development.” 30 The Urban DesignGuidelines therefore rely on existing laws, regulations, andadministrative mechanisms for implementation. 31The existing framework includes fragmented developmentcontrols exercised via the Town Planning Ordinance, theBuildings Ordinance, the Antiquities and MonumentsOrdinance, and through land lease terms. At least threegovernment departments are responsible for implementingand administering these ordinances and practices. Thedifficulties and inefficiencies of the existing planningframework will be further explored in Part II, but hereit is sufficient to say the Guidelines were written as amanual to guide future planning, but lack a comprehensiveenforcement mechanism.Having looked at the political, social and environmentalcontext in which Hong Kong’s urban design problems andaspirations have evolved, we now turn to the origins andoperation of the URA.