Hong Kong Institute of Land Administration 香港土地行政學會

1. Hong Kong Institute of Land Administration 香港土地行政學會

2. Speaker: Ms. Almond LEE Date: 7 Sept. 2010 Hong Kong Institute of Land Administration (HKILA) 香港土地行政學會

3. The Hong Kong Institute of Land Administration (HKILA) was formed on 4 April 1995 and provides academic and professional activities to both members and public.

4. Objectives 1. The main objective of the Institute is to develop and maintain professional standards of land administration in Hong Kong. 2. It aims to contribute to the promotion of good land management/planning, and thereby to the improvement of land use upon which Hong Kong and its community depend.

5. Objectives 3. The Institute is growing consistently and its members constitute a body of professionals in land administration. The expertise of its members will be ultimately made available to the local community and particularly to the young practitioners of land administration who are to be professionals of the future. 4. The Institute plans to publish research papers and journal of technical and academic interest to land administrators in Hong Kong

6. FACTS on Hong Kong • Economy • Hong Kong's economy is characterised by free trade, low taxation and minimum government intervention. It is the world's 11th largest trading economy, with the mainland of China as its most significant trading partner. Hong Kong is also a major service economy, with particularly strong links to mainland China and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. • Currency: Hong Kong dollar • GDP: HK$1,606.2 billion (2009) • GDP per capita: HK$229,329 (2009) • Real GDP growth: -2.7% (2009) • Labour force: 3.70 million (2009)

7. FACTS on Hong Kong • Geography • At the south-eastern tip of China, Hong Kong covers Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories, including 262 outlying islands. Between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula lies Victoria Harbour, one of the world's most renowned deep-water harbours. • Total area: 1 104 square kilometres • Land developed: less than 25% • Country parks and nature reserves: 40%

10. FACTS on Hong Kong • Population • Hong Kong's population was approximately 7.00 million in 2009. People of Chinese descent comprise the vast majority of the population, with foreign nationals comprising 5%. • Population density: 6 480 people per square kilometre • Crude birth rate: 11.7 per 1000 • Percentage of population Chinese descent: 95% • Other significant national groups • Indonesia (147 883 total) • Philippines (140 708 total) • Thailand (28 049 total).

14. Shatin- Central Rail Link

15. EXPRESS RAIL LINK(XRL)

16. Is urban renewal needed inHong Kong?

17. Old Buildings in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon

18. Old buildings in To Kwa Wan District

20. Internal condition of old buildings in To Kwa Wan District

21. Source: Report on the Inspection of Buildings aged 50 or above, Buildings Department, April 2010. The Pressing Problem of Urban Decay in Hong Kong • - There are about 4,000 buildings aged 50 years or above in Hong Kong. • The number will grow by 500 a year over the next decade. • Only 65 buildings per year were redeveloped by the HKSAR Urban Renewal Authority on average. • - It is projected that 1,500 of the 18,000 buildings aged over 30 years across the territory are “markedly dilapidated” in condition. 21 21

22. The Pressing Problem of Urban Decay in Hong Kong • Redevelopments alone will neither be able to meet this urgent and increasing demand for housing need. • Growing discontent towards the land and housing policy, as property in the private sector in Hong Kong is unaffordable to the general public. • Supply of new formed land for urban development is getting more difficult. • Limitations on the availability of land for development of new towns in rural areas.

23. Condition of buildings in Hong Kong Source: Report on the Inspection of Buildings aged 50 or above, Buildings Department, April 2010

24. What had been done?

25. The Current LAS in HKSAR

26. LANDS DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATION CHART

27. Policy Background and Development/Progress of the URS • Initiated by Government of the SAR under two main strategies, viz: “First SustainableDevelopment Strategy” (SDS) in 1999 and the “Hong Kong 2030: Planning Vision and Strategy” (PVS) in 2001.

28. Time Frame of the SDS, HK 2030 PVS & URSR

29. Following public consultation, the Planning & Lands Bureau (PLB) published the Urban Renewal Strategy in November 2001. The Strategy guides the work of the URA.The Development Bureau will be sharing information and gathering public views for the Urban Renewal Strategy Review on how best to create a quality living environment for all Hong Kongers, while maintaining the unique character of our city.http://www.ura.org.hk/html/c300000e1e.html

30. THE 3 URA WISHES FOR URS Reviewhttp://www.ura.org.hk/usrAtt/228000/pub_ahead.pdf To capitalize on the past 20 years of valuable UR experience; [LCD, URA Redevelopment & 4 R] To find a way to achieve a balanced approach to UR ; [urban decay Vs. community aspirations] To stimulate in-depth discussions on future urban regeneration and the new challenges . [by involving the whole community in the conduct of this review.]

31. URBAN REGENERATION a process of land redevelopment in areas of previous moderate to high density urban land use in developed economies, urban regeneration projects revitalize the city center, implement initiatives to improve the quality of the environment and promote “a return to the city” in emerging economies qualitative initiatives must be aligned with quantitative requirements event-led urban regeneration is “opportunistic”, since public and private investors are looking for available land and opportunities for the big project

32. The URA’s 4 R Strategy

33. A district-based approach in preserving and revitalising the old Wan Chai area

34. A completed URA Redevelopment project atYau Ma Tei, Kowloon

35. Urban Renewal Authority Development Scheme Plans Urban Renewal Authority Development Scheme Plans Urban Renewal Authority Development Scheme Plans

36. Did they do a good job?

37. Tenement Building collapse in Ma Tau Wai Road on 29.1.2010, killing 4 people

38. URA Redevelopment Project in Lee Dong Street (“Wedding Card Street” ), Wan Chai aroused great discontent among the shop owners

39. The winning film(in Berlin Film Festival) “Echoes of the Rainbow” led to all 12 pre-World War II old buildings in Central, which were about to be redeveloped, narrowly escaped the fate of demolition.

40. Drawbacks of the Prevailing URS • Pace of renewal is slow (Tenement Building collapse in Ma Tau Wai Road on 29.1.2009) • Dramatic U-turn to the course of heritage preservation concerning an active redevelopment project in Wing Lee Street, Central, Hong Kong after the overseas success of an award winning film ‘Echoes of the Rainbow’

41. Drawbacks of the Prevailing URS • The role of URA: A number of old buildings in the heart of the city have been transformed into mega commercial buildings. Huge profits were pocketed by URA and private developers; and URA alone made a net profit of HK$2 billion from eight completed projects in the past five years. • People start to query that the low compensation rate was intentionally set to make profitable development for the private developers, and doubt the role of URA.

42. Drawbacks of the Prevailing URS • People affected by URA Project have put up strong resistance, leading to slow and difficult progress in land acquisition. It generates conflict and disrupts social harmony at the cost of society. It even contravenes the fundamental vision of urban renewal: To improve quality of life (i.e. every displaced or future residents of the urban renewal area should have a better life than before in all social, economic and environmental aspects).

43. Drawbacks of the Prevailing URS • The past URS was evidence of poor governance for the HK Government as witnessed from the failure of the Land Development Corporation (LDC), predecessor of URA, to complete the committed project sites before 1999 as scheduled.

44. A holistic URS with comprehensive planning is necessary to replace ad-hoc sporadic redevelopment • The undesirable disputes and distrustinevitably delayed the implementation of renewal projects, but could have been prevented had in-depth assessment survey and public consultation been introduced at an early stage to assess and take account of the general feeling of the owners, inhabitants and the public. The waste of manpower and public resources might also have been avoided.

45. Any solution?

46. Good governance in land administration and land management institutions is essential for sustainable development (including urban renewal) both in terms of operational longevity, equitable stakeholder participation and benefits, and consistency in law and policy implementation

47. In conjunction with good governance, the mindset of Urban Renewal should be changed as well. • The concept of Urban Regeneration and Smart Growth should be introduced.

48. HKILA’s suggestions to URS Review: • (1)To adopt a Regional Approach in place of the existing District-based Approach to ensure sustainability of the URS; • (2) To establish a website and integrated geographical information system to ensure the equity of access and transparency; • (3) To provide workable options with greater flexibility in the compensation and re-housing policy for clearance of flats or shops to expedite the delivery of required land;

49. HKILA’s suggestions to URS Review: • (4) To organize local committees and community services teams to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of the bottom-up hierarchy; and • (5) To re-define thescope of the “Social Impact Assessment” and to reengineer the “Social Services Teams” in order to achieve the sustainability goal of the bottom-up hierarchy.

50. Some More?