Kowloon East then and now : transformation of the former Title industrial areas Author(s) Cheng, Wei-lee Cheng, W.. (2015). Kowloon East then and now : transformation Citation of the former industrial areas. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. Issued Date 2015 URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/223422 The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works.; This work is licensed under Rights a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. The University of Hong Kong Master of Social Sciences in Media, Culture and Creative Cities Kowloon East Then and Now: SOCI8030 Capstone Project Cheng Wei Lee 2007014854 Abstract The present research focused on studying the transformation of the industrial areas in Kowloon East. Discourse analysis is used to study the negotiation among the values identified in the context of heritage conservation, urban development and architectural production, explaining why there are conflicts between the Government officials and the local community when executing the scheme of “Energizing Kowloon East”. Results indicated that there have been misunderstanding between the two parties in conceptual level and also in execution, Kowloon East’s potential is far beyond a Central Business District (CBD). Thus, proper and effective public engagement is key. This research also gathered some recommendations for improvement on current policy and explored different modes of governance. Hopefully this will give some insights to the Government for further development especially for regenerating industrial heritage sites. i Acknowledgements Upon the completion of this capstone project, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to those who have given me their support and encouragement during the whole research process. First and foremost, I would like my express my sincerest appreciation to Dr. C.H. Ng, my supervisor, for his invaluable inspiration, patience, immense knowledge and positive energy. His guidance assisted me throughout the whole research and writing of this final report. He always brought me back to the right track when I felt lost. I could not have imagined having a better mentor for my capstone project. My sincere thanks also go to my community partner, Hulu Culture, especially Simon, Daniel and Shun for their precious time, their aid in aligning me with the interviewees and provision of information during the study. I am grateful to all my teachers, Dr. Travis Kong, Prof. Tai-Lok Lui, Dr. Shing Au-Yeung, Dr. Tommy Tse and Dr. Gary Wong, for teaching me the theories and knowledge on the sociology aspects of media, culture and creative cities. Without which, it would not be possible for me to conduct this research. Next, I would also like to thank my fellow MCCC classmates for the enlightening discussions and for the many midnights we have been working together before deadlines and all the encouragement, and for the fun we had shared in the last two years. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family, colleagues and friends for their support and encouragement, which fueled me up to overcome all the challenges in doing this research and in my academic life. ii Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ..................................................................................... ii Contents ...................................................................................................... iii Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Literature Review ......................................................................................... 3 Theories .............................................................................................................. 3 On urban regeneration ..................................................................................... 3 On industrial heritage and industrial heritage sites ........................................... 3 More about Kowloon East and its Progress of Urban Regeneration ............. 4 The rise and fall of industrialism in Kowloon East ............................................. 4 The evolving of creative clusters in Kowloon East (1980s-Present) .................. 5 Problems with the current usage of industrial buildings .................................... 6 Energizing Kowloon East ................................................................................. 6 The conflicts between KEKO and the local community ..................................... 9 Methodology ............................................................................................... 11 Research Approach ......................................................................................... 11 Sampling .......................................................................................................... 11 Data Collection Procedures and Analysis...................................................... 12 Findings ...................................................................................................... 13 Under the literal framework ............................................................................. 13 Kowloon East in the discourse of heritage conservation ................................. 14 Kowloon East in the discourse of urban development .................................... 16 Kowloon East in the discourse of architecture production .............................. 17 Beyond the literal framework .......................................................................... 18 Kowloon East in the discourse of mode of governance .................................. 18 Kowloon East in the discourse of policy recommendation .............................. 19 Kowloon East in the discourse of social missions ........................................... 20 iii Analysis ...................................................................................................... 22 In the conceptual level ................................................................................... 22 In execution ................................................................................................... 23 Points to note ................................................................................................. 24 Further Discussions .................................................................................. 25 Policy Recommendations ............................................................................... 25 On laws and regulations ................................................................................. 25 On public engagement ................................................................................... 25 On diversity .................................................................................................... 26 Mode of governance ........................................................................................ 26 No policy is the best policy? ........................................................................... 27 Is there any better policy? .............................................................................. 28 Limitations .................................................................................................. 30 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 31 References.................................................................................................. 33 Appendix .................................................................................................... 35 I: List of public engagement activities ........................................................... 35 II: Selection of media coverage on opposing EKEO ..................................... 36 III: List of targeted units for taking part in this research ............................... 37 IV: Full set of interview questions .................................................................. 38 V: Key quotes from the interviews.................................................................. 39 iv Introduction Kowloon East has been a core industrial area in Hong Kong since 1950s, witnesses the rise and fall of the industrialism of Hong Kong. The opening up of China in the early 1970s caused many factories migrated to the Mainland China for cheaper resources. That called the end of the heydays of manufacturing industry in Hong Kong. Since then, many factories were vacated and some transformed to be storage places. These physical remains and residue of industrialism formed a large area of industrial heritage sites in Kowloon East. In early 2000s, some theatre groups and artists saw their opportunity there. Because of the low rent, that district has gradually become a hub for art and cultural happenings. However there are many grey areas in legal issues concerning the non-manufacturing use of industrial buildings. Therefore, in 2009 and in the policy address of 2011-12, the HKSAR Government proposed new policies for revitalizing old factory buildings and proposed a set of urban regeneration plan on Energizing Kowloon East respectively to help with the situation. However, the above policies seem to have changed the ecology there. Some people said they encouraged gentrification while some people said they stimulated more flow of the people, and some said