2022 Spring Issue - 28

developments
Leveraging Underused
Sites to Bring More
Green Space to
Hong Kong
Adding more open and green
spaces to one of the world's most
densely populated cities is a huge
task, but it has not deterred ULI
Hong Kong from creating a framework
for new pocket parks and
engaging in practical work to activate
underused spaces.
Hong Kong has a surprising
amount of green space due to its
hilly landscape. However, the lack
of buildable land means there is
little open space in its urban areas.
The city has 29.1 square feet (2.7
square meters) of open park space
per person, less than half that of
Tokyo and only one-third that of
Singapore. In some Hong Kong
districts, people have less than one
square meter (10.8 sq ft) of open
space nearby.
Last year, ULI Hong Kong, with
financial support from the Bank
of America Charitable Foundation,
embarked on an ambitious project
to offer suggestions on how to
activate these spaces. The project
team set out to create a toolkit that
would enable creation of new small
parks on unused land and activation
of underused public open
space. These parks could provide
community gathering space, areas
for play, and a chance to add extra
greenery and sustainability to the
urban fabric.
Similar projects have been carried
out in other cities. Creation of
a pocket park can involve something
as simple as adding planters
and benches to triangles of open
space by a road junction or as
ambitious as creating a skateboarding
park beneath an overpass.
The Hong Kong project was
undertaken through ULI's technical
assistance panels, but the panelists
hope it will come to have a life of
its own as landowners, community
groups, and the government build
on the work carried out. The panel
late last year produced a report,
Activating Underutilized Urban
Open Spaces for Sustainability in
Hong Kong, offering case studies of
selected sites.
" The aim is not just to produce a
study, but to have an actual impact
in the community, " says panel chair
Margaret Brooke, chief executive
officer of Hong Kong-based adviser
Professional Property Services.
" So, the first year was about mapping
and engagement, and the
second year-this year-is about
activation. "
The first task of the project team
Much of Hong Kong's green space is not
easily accessible from the downtown area.
was to find example sites. With
the aid of ULI Young Leaders and
students from two Hong Kong
universities, an initial count of 900
possible sites across the city was
whittled down to a more manageable
10 in the north of Hong Kong
Island. Some sites are in government
hands and others privately
owned, although the freehold of
all land is owned by Hong Kong's
government.
28
URBAN LAND
SPRING 2022
" The cost of transforming
these sites varies enormously,
but it can actually be very
low. . . . Larger sites involve
far greater sums and higher
upkeep costs. "
-PANEL CHAIR MARGARET
BROOKE, CEO OF
PROFESSIONAL PROPERTY
SERVICES
Workshops involving community
groups and ULI members were
held to examine the spaces, and
the panel worked with those participants
and a range of experts
to offer suggestions for how the
spaces might be made useful and
sustainable.
The process was very satisfying
for those involved, says panel
member Eli Konvitz, director of
urban development and design,
Southeast Asia, at Atkins.
" The majority of my work is on
urbanization projects outside of
Hong Kong, predominantly across
Southeast Asia, " Konvitz says.
" Being in Hong Kong for the last
two years may have been a frustrating
experience for many people
who are used to traveling on a
regular basis, but it has given me
an opportunity to engage with this
city more and see how much is
quietly happening here. The wide
range of community support for
this initiative-from developers and
landowners to NGOs [nongovernmental
organizations] and academics,
as well as designers-has been
particularly encouraging. "
SHUTTERSTOCK
2022 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2022 Spring Issue
