Mapping Equitable Availability of Open Space in Hong Kong
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Unopened Space: Mapping Equitable Availability of Open Space in Hong Kong February 2017 Carine Lai About Civic Exchange Civic Exchange is an independent, non-partisan, public policy think-tank established in Hong Kong in 2000. With a vision to shape a liveable and sustainable Hong Kong, Civic Exchange's mission is to advance civic education and engage society to influence public policy through research, dialogue and development of practical and sustainable solutions. Civic Exchange undertakes research in three major areas: air quality, nature conservation and the urban environment, with an overarching framework of promoting wellbeing. For more information about Civic Exchange, visit www.civic-exchange.org. About the Author Carine Lai, who led this research project, joined Civic Exchange in 2004, and has combined her policy work with ongoing study since then. She has worked widely on projects related to wellbeing in Asian cities, walkability, urban design, urban renewal and governance in Hong Kong. She holds a master's degree in urban planning from University College London and a bachelor’s degree in political science and studio art from Tufts University. 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgements………………………......…………..…………………………….……………………..……………4 Executive Summary………………………......………..…………………………….………………………..……………6 Abbreviations……………………......……………..…………………………………….…………..……….………………8 1. Introduction………………………………………………………..……………….…......……………………….……9 1.1 The Benefits of Open Space 1.2 Aims of this Report 1.3 Data Gaps 2. Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines ….………………………...….……………...………11 2.1 Definition of Open Space 2.2 Open Space Standards 2.3 Providers of Open Space 3 Methodology 3.1 Calculating Open Space at the Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) Level…………...……………..17 3.2 Geographical Scope 3.3 Analysis 4. Overall Provision of Open Space in Hong Kong…….…………...………………...………………...…20 4.1 Per Person Countable Open Space Provision by District (2012). 4.2 Geographical Variability within Districts. 4.3 International Comparisons 4.4 Would Raising the Standard 2.5 m2 per Person Lead to Meaningful Improvement? 4.5 Should Regional Open Space Be Included in the Standard? 4.6 Summary of Policy Recommendations 5. What Type of Housing Offers Better Access to Local Open Space?............…………...…….32 5.1 The Role of Housing Authority and Private Open Space 5.2 Local Open Space (LOS) Varies Based on Housing Type 5.3 Policy Implications 5.4 How Should the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) Handle Private Open Space? 5.5 Summary of Policy Recommendations 6. Demographic Analysis of Open Space Provision.……………..............…………...………………..42 6.1 Median Household Income and Multiple Deprivation 6.2 Children 6.3 Elderly People 2 7. Potential for Improvement ….…………………………...………………...….……….…...……………….....51 7.1 What are “O” Zones? 7.2 Future Open Space Potential 7.3 Obstacles to “O” Zone Development 7.4 Policy Implications 7.5 Summary of Policy Recommendations 8. Conclusion and Summary of Policy Recommendations .…………...……………….…………...……57 Appendix 1: Countable Open Space as Defined by the HKPSG (2016) .…………...……………...… 61 Appendix 2: Publicly Available Open Space Data in Hong Kong.………...……………..................…62 Appendix 3: Provisions of Open Space as of 2012, According to the Planning Department.…65 Appendix 4: Existing Per Person Countable Open Space by District (2012).……..……...……….…67 Appendix 5: Methodology for Calculating Countable Open Space at the Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) Scale.………...……………...…………...……………...………...…………...……………...…………...…69 Appendix 6: Methodology for the Compilation of Demographic Data………...……………...………75 Appendix 7: Countable, Local and District Open Space per Person and Selected Demographic Variables in Urban OZP Areas………...………….………...……………...…………...……………...……………...77 Appendix 8: Open Space by Provider in Urban OZP Areas………...……………...………………………..79 Appendix 9: Additional Maps.……...……………...…………...……………...…………...……………...…………87 Appendix 10: Potential Open Space………...……………...…………...………………………...……………...…96 Appendix 11: Future Housing Sites Identified by the Government on “O” Zoned Land………..98 Endnote.…………...………………...………………...…………...……….…………...………………...…………………..99 Note: There are several detailed maps included in this report. To view them in more detail, visit the Civic Exchange website, civic-exchange.org, and click on “Publications.” 3 Acknowledgements Civic Exchange sincerely thanks the Hong Kong public, whose crowdfunded donations of more than HK $300,000 in 2016 made this research project possible. The contributions of 74 individual sponsors allowed “Unopened Space” to be a truly independent initiative, with an unbiased study on how public open space is counted and used in Hong Kong. The grassroots support shown for this project demonstrated how important the issue of “public open space” is, in a very crowded city. The public wish to know how much open space they do get, how much they should get – and whether some groups or areas get more or less than their fair share. Civic Exchange congratulates Carine Lai, the author of this report, for the completion of a groundbreaking study. Ms. Lai spent a year untangling the web of definitions and measures the Hong Kong Government uses to count and monitor public open space. She found data that was not easily accessible, and mapped out public open space by neighbourhood, in a way that was more detailed than what was previously published. Civic Exchange also developed a composite Multiple Deprivation Index, in order to study how underprivileged groups were affected. Most importantly, this report offers concrete public policy recommendations that the Hong Kong Government, urban planners and property developers can consider. This report is just a first step in Civic Exchange’s long-term study of how to make Hong Kong a better, more liveable city for all its residents. Maura Wong Chief Executive Officer Civic Exchange 4 Thank You Civic Exchange would like to thank the many donors who supported this initiative, in particular: Bruce Au, Melissa Brown, Iris Chan, James Chan, Julia Chan Pui Shan, Phyllis Chan, Leslie Chang, Cindy Cheng, Cheng Lok Man, Sealing Cheng, Selina Cheung, Ellen Choy, The Correa Family, Simon Dambe, Michael Edesess, Eilidh, Isabelle Ensarguet, Robert Footman, Fung Yeuk Kin, Lisa Genasci, Gidumal & Sons Ltd., Shanti Govindaraju, Gumgum, Ho Ka Po, Kirsten Ho, Patrick Ho, Shelagh Ho, Ho Wai Chi, Ip Sze Wai, Kristine Johnson, Raymond K., Elaine Lai, Ni Quiaque Lai, Etienne Lamy-Smith, Lee Ka Man, Lui Yick Sze, Keenan Manning, Pamela Mar, Lenlen Mesina, Peter Milliken, Nicki, Sean Niem, Roger Nissim, Clive Noffke, Joanne Oswin, Karen Pong, Benson Poon, Alfred Romann, Sarah, Matthew David Saul, Barbara Shaw, Fiona Sykes, Kelly Tang, Diane To, Kylie Uebergang, Wan Yiu Ming, Ada Wong, Agnes Wong, S. T. Wong, Yanyan Yip and Terence Yuen. Many anonymous donors also contributed generously to this project, with our great thanks. Civic Exchange would also like to thank Hayden Kwan, Town Planner for the Kowloon District Planning Office of the Planning Department; Ian Brownlee, Managing Director of Masterplan; Christina Lo of the University of Hong Kong; Yuen Yee Pong, Town Planner; and Stephen Brown, Noble Group’s Director of Corporate Affairs and Civic Exchange Fellow; for providing invaluable assistance and insights during the course of this research. 5 Executive Summary There is keen interest in open space in Hong Kong, a city with small private homes and some of the world’s most densely populated urban areas. The territory has a unique setup, in that about 40% of the land is preserved as country park, with most of the population of 7 million housed in a built-up area occupying just 25% of the land. Hong Kong also has high tourist and visitor arrival numbers, making for crowded streets. On top of that, the Hong Kong Government policy encourages the private sector to provide a significant amount of Hong Kong's urban recreational open space. That creates a grey area between private and public space. It was in this context that Civic Exchange launched its “Unopened Space” initiative, to study open space in Hong Kong’s urban areas. After a successful crowdfunding event in 2016 and nearly a year’s worth of research, Civic Exchange presents this report, which includes statistics that are broken down, mapped, and compared with demographic data in a way that they had not been before. Our report found that the current Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (HKPSG) standard of 2 m2 of open space per person is far too low. That standard – a space the size of a toilet cubicle – was set 15 years ago. The government’s proposed increase to 2.5 m2 per person, as cited in the 2030+ Planning Vision and Strategy, is also insufficient, in that it barely matches the current situation, which we calculate to be 2.7-2.8 m2 per person depending on the definition used. Civic Exchange recommends a standard of at least 3-3.5 m2. That standard still puts Hong Kong behind major Asian cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore, whose residents get between 5.8 m2 and 7.6 m2. Open space is unevenly distributed across Hong Kong. Civic Exchange broke down open space statistics in Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) areas – or, more simply, the smaller neighbourhoods most Hong Kongers know by name. Our study found that 1.84 million Hong Kongers live in OZPs with less than their promised 2 m2 of open space. Another 2.06 million live in OZPs with less than 2.5 m2. Together, that is more than half the city’s urban