Public buildings in Hong Kong: A short account of evolution since the 1960s

Xue, Charlie Q. L.; Hui, Ka Chuen; Zang, Peng

doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2012.09.005

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…One public house estate, on average, has 3975 housing flats and 60,000 m 2 site area, accommodating 10,832 residents [ 31 ]. Public housing estates generally consist of multiple 30- to 40-story residential towers and surrounding public spaces built for physical and leisure activities, often including basketball courts, playgrounds, and elderly fitness centers [ 32 , 33 ] ( Figure 1 ). The housing estate is the also smallest census unit in Hong Kong.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association of Built Environment and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Using a Citywide Public Housing Scheme to Reduce Residential Self-Selection Bias

Lü

Chen

Yang

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Previous studies have documented numerous health benefits of conducting regular physical activity among older adults. The built environment is believed to be a key factor that can hinder or facilitate daily physical activity, such as walking and exercising. However, most empirical studies focusing on environment-physical activity associations exhibited residential self-selection bias with cross-sectional research design, engendering doubts about the impact of built environment on physical activity. To reduce this bias, we assessed physical activity behaviors of 720 Hong Kong older adults (≥65 years) residing in 24 public housing estates. The Hong Kong public housing scheme currently provides affordable rental flats for 2.1 million people or approximate 30% of total population. The applicants were allocated to one of 179 housing estates largely by family size and flat availability. Built environment characteristics were measured following the ‘5Ds’ principle: (street network) design, (land-use) diversity, density, distance to transit, and destination accessibility. Multilevel mixed models were used to explore the associations between the built environment and the different domains of physical activity (transportation walking, recreational walking, and recreational moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) while controlling for potential estate-level socioeconomic and individual confounders. We found that transportation walking was positively associated with the number of bus stops and the presence of Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations. Recreational MVPA was positively related to the number of recreational facilities. However, land-use mix was negatively related to transportation walking, recreational walking, and recreational MVPA. The findings of this study support a threshold effect in the environment-physical activity associations. Furthermore, large-scale public housing schemes involving random or semi-random residence assignment in many cities may provide opportunities to explore built environments and physical activity behavior, with the potential to overcome residential self-selection bias.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association of Built Environment and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Using a Citywide Public Housing Scheme to Reduce Residential Self-Selection Bias

Lü

Chen

Yang

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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“…The first written arts policy that outlined the blueprint for the development of the arts was published only in 1996. Nevertheless, a booming cultural infrastructure was prominent in the 1980s and 1990s due to various social and political reasons, such as to 'soothe the society' after political upheavals in the late 1960s (Xue, 2013), to complete self-sufficient new towns, to create a 'sense of belonging' (Xue, 2019), to 'improve the image of Hong Kong' before the handover (Ooi, 1995), and more. This led to the construction of most town halls and theatres in older new towns.…”

Section: History Of Hong Kong Cultural Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interestingly, all groups commented on the lack of a local wet market. These markets in Hong Kong are often incorporated as part of municipal services buildings, and supply, besides a market, sports facilities, a library, a theatre, and other public functions (Xue, 2013). They are not only important for grocery shopping, but they also form part of the wider daily life of residents.…”

Section: Situation Of Tung Chungmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who wins and who loses in the production of cultural iconic architecture?

Goudsmit¹

2021

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Recent studies on the role of architecture within urban restructuring processes have become dominated by narratives on neoliberal urban entrepreneurialism, which consider urban development projects as key instruments of growth-oriented regimes and urban elites. In this paper, I want to focus on the role that cultural iconic architecture can play within a community to shape a collective identity and institute an urban imaginary. This study illustrates current cultural developments in Hong Kong, where most of the cultural budget has been spent on the global megaproject of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD). In contrast, the new development areas, particularly the later generations of new towns, lack almost any form of cultural infrastructure. This contrasts with the governments' claims for creating self-contained communities. The provision of cultural buildings, when embedded in social and cultural life, can be an essential mechanism to shape a collective urban character and institute an urban imaginary. This study uses the framework of Kaika (2011) on urban imaginaries as an analytical structure to interpret the production of aesthetic symbols, based on Castoriadis' (1987) account of the imaginary institution of society. The importance of such civic infrastructure has been largely overlooked in the evaluation of existing new towns and the plans for future urban extensions. This, too, should be considered as a right to the city.

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“…Creating wetlands in urban environments can not only mitigate the effects of climate change but can also reverse the damage that has been caused directly by urbanisation. For example, Hong Kong's Wetland Park was one of the world's earliest conservation and museum initiatives, aiming to conserve the wetlands from rapid urbanisation (Xue et al 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Driving Factors that Influence the Design, Function, and Use of Urban Wetlands in the United Kingdom

Andrews

Russo

2022

Wetlands

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This paper aimed to investigate the driving factors for the creation of urban wetlands and their functions and uses. A mixed methods approach was used, comprising an online survey for the general public and structured interviews with four urban wetland ‘experts’. Quantitative data was obtained from the survey, and cross tabulation was used to analyse relationships between variables. Thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data from the interviews. It was found that one of the urban wetlands was created for flood control and to create an amenity space, whilst the driving factors for the other three urban wetlands were associated with biodiversity and habitat creation, which was also perceived as the most important function of an urban wetland from the survey participants. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis: ‘wildlife conservation interest’; ‘landscape character development’; and ‘urban wetland as an amenity space’. The survey found that participants perceived climate resiliency as an important function of wetlands, despite this not being a driving factor for the four wetlands in the interviews. Survey participants would be willing to invest time in visiting a non-local wetland landscape to encounter nature and contribute to their quality of life and wellbeing. The results of this research may be useful to inform the planning, design and management of urban wetlands as they evolve towards being a multi-use spaces. More education and awareness are needed about the benefits of these landscapes to wildlife, the environment and local communities. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13157-022-01610-1.

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Public buildings in Hong Kong: A short account of evolution since the 1960s

Cited by 7 publications

References 3 publications

The Association of Built Environment and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Using a Citywide Public Housing Scheme to Reduce Residential Self-Selection Bias

The Association of Built Environment and Physical Activity in Older Adults: Using a Citywide Public Housing Scheme to Reduce Residential Self-Selection Bias

Who wins and who loses in the production of cultural iconic architecture?

Exploring the Driving Factors that Influence the Design, Function, and Use of Urban Wetlands in the United Kingdom

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