The Asian Phenomenon Part 2

Hong Kong Island- view from “the Peak”.- courtesy Archive DS

HONG KONG: FORGOTTEN CITY

This is the second and concluding part of our post on the Asian urban experience as we understand based on our travels in and study of that part of the world. Our initial post focused on Tokyo. We have focused on these two cities for three reasons. The first is that they are both mature cities that are not the result of recent economic hubris. The second is that one, Tokyo, leads its nation in developing the country’s urban character, and the other, Hong Kong, stands as an example of another age; other cities in that nation are following a very different development paradigm that some argue is unsustainable. The third reason is that they illustrate two urban elements that we believe are critical to cities wishing to adapt to the future: in the case of Tokyo it’s dynamic public space, in the case of Hong Kong it’s housing as a major component of urban form.

It appears that the Chinese government’s strategy over the past 15 years has been to put more emphasis on the development of Beijing and Shanghai as the country’s premier cities. This is probably due to the fact that Hong Kong spent 100 years under British control, only returning to Chinese control in 1997. The government put resources into developing the Puo Dong district with glitzy commercial hi-rises.

From The Design observer.com: By towering over the edifices of foreign-dominated Shanghai, the new development would symbolize the rise of a powerful, independent China.

The government has also spent its resources on moving people to new Special Economic Zones such as the former farming village of Shenzhen, which went from a population of 20,000 to 3 million in just 20 years. The creation of modern cities is a high priority for the government.

Hong Kong, on the other hand, displays the dichotomy of Asian environments: The first world meets the third world. Density has always been an important factor in the development of Chinese cities, but when travels through Hong Kong different areas of dense to hyper-dense experience.

Hong Kong Living Patterns

Hong Kong was settled by the british in1840. As early as 1880 densities of 800 people per acre (2000 people per hectare) were achieved. New communities have been planned at 1000 people per acre (2500 people per hectare).

In Hong Kong 50% of residents live in public housing. Public housing is not “housing of last resort”.

The internal living environments reflect a tradition of needing to accommodate large amounts of people in a small amount of space. The personal space in older Hong Kong flats averaged 2 sq yards/ person. In newer flats this average has been upped to 7 sq yards/person.

So, how do residents use these spaces? They use a number of creative techniques to adapt their living environs including: they practice daily, weekly, and yearly alteration of their spatial usage. This can be seen through what they use their furniture for (eg. sofa for sitting or dining) to how they inhabit the space (using the vertical space for storage, sleeping arrangements).

Housing: The Building Block of Hong Kong Urbanism

Hong Kong public housing has a unique history of rapid replacement. Three times in last 100 years  the housing stock has been replaced because of housing shortages on small buildable area of the island.

There have been, essentially, many eras of public housing in Hong Kong. These eras have produced numerous types of large and small scale housing that have created the fabric and the perception of the city.

Various examples of housing over time from housing over shopfronts to mid and hi rise accommodations.(various states of disrepair)- courtesy Archive DS

This emphasis on the provision of public housing has shaped the urban environment. Because of the constraints of the island, development has been directed upwards. This verticality shapes one’s impression of the city both positively and negatively.

 

Hong Kong in the Future

 

From citywire.net : Hong Kong, architect Jonathan Solomon told the Brookings conferees, is pioneering an amazing new city form that mixes public and private space vertically in an amazing collection of sky-high buildings. Public and private space is arrayed on mixed tiers, from layered shops and offices to dozens of floors of residences. Compactness and quality transit translate into a stunningly low average commute time of 11 minutes. As world population concentrates and spirals upward, the Hong Kong model may resonate across continents.

The Hong Kong development plan “MetroPlan”  (ca. 1997) outlines some key strategies to guide the city into the future. Hong Kong has a vision for itself that will keep it as a special place in China. This vision is fuelled by practicality as well as building on its inherent characteristics.

A. Focusing Land Use Patterns

1. Hong Kong will develop along 2 axis: the first-N/S from central to north Kowloon (mainland Hong Kong), the second-E/W along the shore of Hong Kong Island

2. Predominant land use: housing

3. Enhance Major Employment Centers: south Kowloon and central Wan Chai

4. Encouraging Industrial development in the Aberdeen area

B. Open Space framework of parks, public space, waterfront promenades, landscape buffers

C. Transport framework high capacity, multi-node system w/ high density development at major interchanges

D. Enhancing Environmental attributes

1. Higher quality of life

2. Reduced densities

3. Removal of incompatible uses such as incinerators and heavy industry

4. Waterfront infill strategy (dredging and filling in of the Bay to achieve expansion space)

Source: Hong Kong MetroPlan 1997

Hong Kong Island- view from Kowloon mainland.- courtesy Archive DS

It is through these moves that Hong Kong can set itself apart from the emphasized cities of Beijing and Shang Hai. While those cities have developed around a hyper growth model, Hong Kong continues to chug along based on a long tradition of unique urban responses to the challenge of density.

Hong Kong, along with New York and Toronto, are cities that fascinate us because of the way they are dealing with unique requirements by using density and emphasizing the vertical. These are not solutions for every city, but they are instructive for true urbanists who want to study the options and effects of this type of approach. In a future post we will turn our eye towards the unique aspects of New York and its role as a vertical city.

Strict policies for Hong Kong public transit riders.- courtesy Archive DS

City Building and the Multi-Disciplinary Strategy

Working with the IWB to identify Innovative Strategies for Cities
A couple of weeks ago, one of my Archive DS partners, Dorian Moore and I participated as studio advisors for a large multi-team charrette at the Institute Without Boundaries (IWB), located at Toronto’s George Brown College. The IWD defines itself as follows – “The Institute Without Boundaries is a studio that works towards collaborative design action and seeks to achieve social, ecological and economic innovation”.

The Asian Phenomenon- Part 1

One of the things that we consistently stress is the need to travel and study varied urban conditions. We believe by studying these conditions that we can inform our projects and extend our experience and specialization beyond our own work. Being able to take an objective look at anonymous works around the global provides us the opportunity to critically analyze these places and transform our analysis into useful lessons.

Parking = Walkability – How Parking Strategies Influence Pedestrian-Oriented Places

Parking Planning for Pedestrian Activity

Many communities are realizing the need to make their downtowns, districts and neighborhoods more pedestrian-friendly.  As they work to achieve this, it is important to recognize the numerous ways that municipalities can direct their infrastructure improvements and developments to dramatically increase the reality of this sought after characteristic.  One key issue is how parking is appropriately incorporated into an urban district and if it is done in an efficient manner and one that assists to enhance the built environment.  It may be difficult to admit that parking automobiles can have such an important role in creating a better quality urban place, but the fact is that car placement in a city requires a carefully thought out strategy. Municipalities have the opportunity to define the quantity of required spaces and where to locate them.  These decisions can have a great impact of the quality of a people-oriented place and can increase walkability or be detrimental to it. 

More Books for the Urban-Minded

Part of being a true urbanist involves reading up on current and classic thinking in urban development and planning. As part of what we like to do in this space is to provide guidance for those interested in furthering their understanding of urban issues. To that end we are presenting a few more books (two new offerings and two classics) to look at as you increase your understanding of the urban environment.

2013- The Post-Industrial City Arises

Detroit- Campus Martius- photo courtesy of Ann Delisi’s Essentials

This year we want to continue to bring you insights on urban conditions that we believe need to be highlighted. In addition, we will intersperse updates on some interesting and innovative initiatives we are involved in and projects we are working on. This year is setting up to be one where we believe key initiatives in some of our post-industrial urban areas will begin to transform these cities and help them reach their full potential.

The Seasons in the City – Winter

Cities are organic, they are always changing, evolving, growing, contracting and generally moving toward another place from the present.  One of the drivers of change, at least for short periods, is the season of a year.  Cities, where the four seasons are evident and pronounced, can take on a variety of visual and active changes that alter the way people feel and live in their particular urban environment.   A healthy city is one where assets are fully utilized and offer an enhanced quality of life for its inhabitants – every month of the year.

Boots on the Ground: Seeing Detroit as the “City of Opportunity”

There has been a lot written about Detroit lately. Some of it has been overly negative, some of it overly positive. Projects such as Detroit Works seek to rethink the land use patterns of the entire city while organizations such as D-Hive strive to connect energetic young entrepreneurs determined to make a difference in the city. This is the second in a series of posts exposing you to our understanding of the city from the inside (the first post here). Through these posts we hope to bring to you a critical look at the history, current conditions, future potential, and legacy of the post-industrial city.

Buildings and Places for Human Beings

There has been extensive dialogue about the way that the built environment has been created since the end of the Second World War in 1945.   That was a seminal point in global history, where cities of the world started to build and rebuild themselves after severe disruption and destruction resulting in a fifteen-year chasm and a jolting double hit of the Great Depression followed by World War II.  There was a clear change in emphasis from 1929 to 1946, where the focus of building cities, towns and villages moved away from being structured around people and the way environments had been built for centuries.  A new emphasis was toward the development of a different world where accommodating technological advancements, and mass production was to be the driver of decision making.  Fundamentally, this move eventually leads to deemphasizing the needs of the user (people) within the built environment toward tools (Automobiles).

Blank walls of a retail building – Pedestrian scale is not considered

The Psychology of Public Space: THE STREET

People enjoy when the pavement is given over to pedestrians. A simple way to make the street a public space.

The study of urban spaces has a long established history. Urban cultural critic, Louis Mumford studied spaces as they related to the function of urban life. Renowned urban researcher William Whyte studied the way the design of spaces affected human behavior. Whyte’s approach harkened back to the days of the environmental design movement, typified by the late 60s/ early 70s teachings at such schools as the University of California Berkley and the University of Michigan.