published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

According to the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) preservation project launched in 2009, the vibrant Flower Market in Mong Kok, a long-time industry production, wholesale and retail hub, is going to be remade into a heritage consumption area. The economic network of an entire industry is drastically re-commodified into consumable heritage space, with disregard to the socio-economic necessity of the Flower Market as a place for quotidian culture and economy, and flower cultivation as a significant part of agriculture in Hong Kong. Although the preservation project launched by the URA is still in land acquisition process by the time this dissertation is completed, gentrification around the Flower Market has already started. Business environment in the market is increasingly difficult because of this kind of urban renewal in the name of cultural preservation, without real regard for quotidian tradition, culture and way of life. Government policy and previous scholarship have paid little attention to the needs and contributions of producers and sellers in the flower industry in understanding the Mong Kok Flower Market heritage preservation project, which this research aims to rectify. This dissertation studies the history, operation and transformation of the Mong Kok Flower Market and flower cultivation in Hong Kong. Through investigating the power dynamics between ordinary people, local elites and the government in the process, this research discovers a kind of subjugated knowledge, purposely neglected, but is in fact of great importance to the understanding of how coloniality (colonial mentality) is embedded in the daily operations of power in colonial and postcolonial Hong Kong. This implies that the official end of colonialism does not automatically allow for the end of coloniality, which this research discovers to be still evidently embedded in Hong Kong’s “governmentality.” In fact, coloniality can be glimpsed through discovering its embedded operations in the daily operations and transformations of the Mong Kok Flower Market and flower cultivation in Hong Kong. My thesis engages in a process of decolonisation, which aims to explore embedded coloniality as a method of disclosing unarticulated and unconscious values and mentalities hidden in institutional practices that have been used to govern Hong Kong. The government has implanted this mentality in a process in which social injustice becomes institutionalised into well-accepted values in daily practice, and in this way, coloniality becomes normalised and legitimised. The government had deployed unjust social relations into executive protocols, bureaucratic procedures and laws governing the government and semi-governmental bodies affecting everyday life. The theoretical framework of this study is principally drawn from Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Ranajit Guha’s subaltern studies theories, which articulate the nature of subaltern people and their power dynamics vis-?-vis the elite. This study is structured through an examination of three aspects related to the flower industry: the first emphasises the dissipation of flower cultivation in the New Territories in relation to the collaboration between the government and the rural elites; the second highlights law enforcement patrols in the flower market wherein the government uses street management tactics rather than responding to the industry’s requests for a permanent wholesale market; and the third examines the heritage preservation of several buildings in the market and a revitalisation project in the vicinity as a way of beautifying the area, yet in these projects the government failed to engage the people in the industry in a democratic process of decision-making to determine the future of the market. My research explores three key issues relating to subaltern studies: (1) how coloniality is negotiated, articulated, forced and infused into the flower industry; (2) the impact of coloniality imposed on the flower industry through analysing its historic and cultural context; and (3) to what extent does the government use public policies (i.e. land policy, hawker control policy, heritage preservation policy) to facilitate the economic progress of the city. This study adopts a qualitative approach, using multiple methods such as textual analysis, ethnography including participant observation in the flower market, and semi-structured in-depth interviews with workers in the flower industry, including farmers, wholesalers, retailers and floral designers, etc. I performed participant observation through working as an assistant in a retail flower shop before Valentine’s Day which allowed me to gain first-hand information about flower shop operation and the customers’ perception of flowers. Through these approaches and methods my thesis explores the flower culture of Hong Kong and the power dynamics between the government, elites and ordinary people. The findings of the thesis reveal that the government often adopted negotiation as a means of governance. For instance, the government used various methods to incorporate local resistance as a way to facilitate development, but at the same time, ignored the needs of the flower industry, such as the need (1) to relax land administration rules which would have allowed larger pieces of land for flower cultivation, (2) to offer an appropriate site for a permanent flower market, and (3) to widen the pavement to solve the problem of street obstruction. Instead, the government managed people’s request for a permanent flower market. Law enforcement officers were employed to control the street and limit illegitimate use. I found that a hegemonic decision-making process prevailed, and the government tended to value professional advice but refused to seriously consider the voice of the people. These findings reveal the unwritten power dynamics between the government, elites and ordinary people and add variations to subaltern studies which merely focus on the agency of subalterns. This research is one of the first few local attempts to study the flower industry through its historical and cultural formation. By exploring the point of view of subaltern people vis-?-vis the power dynamics between the government and local elites in executive protocols, bureaucratic practices and laws, this research aims to adopt subaltern studies in understanding quotidian culture, and to make a significant contribution to postcolonial studies and urban studies. / published_or_final_version / Comparative Literature / Master / Master of Philosophy

This design thesis is to provide an innovative design concept and approach to revitalize the area of Porto Interior. In this design, a piece of industrial waterfront in Porto Interior of Macao has been taken to revitalize the old town Macao and to enhance the protection of the Historic Centre of Macao at the same time. This design thesis is divided into 3 sections: 1) surveying, 2) planning and 3) landscape design section to show the generation of the design process. Site selection, problem findings and forecasting are supported by the surveying section. This information supports the generation of landscape planning and design concept for the Porto Interior waterfront. The main design idea is to connect the world heritage of Macao to the water edge and emphasize the linkage to other waterfronts in Macao in order to build up an entire public open space system. The “Connection” idea is to re?link the world heritage of Macao and Porto Interior waterfront in physical and mental way, as well as tangible and intangible way. In the whole design process, nine heritage paths are created in order to provide a physical linkage between the Historic Centre of Macao to Porto Interior. Main landscape areas?the celebrate nodes are generated by the intersection point between the heritage paths and the waterfront. Those nodes contain with different functions, such as plaza, garden, infrastructure, leisure and entertainment space and their design are inspired by the daily experience, story and element of the Historic Centre of Macao. Those inspirations are captured or interpreted into the nodes in mental and intangible way as well. This design idea and approach will shorten the distance between the world heritage and Porto Interior. At the same time, it provides a consistence experience to visitors and recalls visitors’ memory. The new design for Porto Interior is able to improve the living and business environment by providing higher quality public open space. Besides, vehicular circulation is improved as the design thesis proposes the harbor tunnel to link up the south and north of Macao and the light rail public transport system, moreover, pedestrian circulation is enhanced since the share street concept is promoted and the main carriageway between community and waterfront is narrowed, increasing the accessibility and adaptability from the residential area to waterfront public open space. “Connection” design vision is fully addressed in the waterfront design of Porto Interior, Macao. The new design waterfront is able to be a unique public open space to Macao, reflecting the spirit of the Historic Centre of Macao and blending with the history of industrial waterfront simultaneously. / published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

It is a common phenomenon in many developments that the old cannot coexist with the new especially when our city is under rapidly development pressure for elevating the city competitiveness. Many decayed urban districts have neglected the importance of urban redevelopment. As a result, many featured streetscapes are disappearing. There are many discussions and a huge public noise on protecting some commemorative old districts because those unique streets are our local identities and living cultures. There are two well known urban renewal projects recently - Lee Tung Street and Wing Lee Street. The first one is completely demolished while the second one has escaped from bulldozer thanks for an award-wining film. These two cases exactly indicate that the fate of all decayed districts are either completely demolished or completely preserved. Frankly, it is sad to witness our local identities losing bit by bit, but the decayed urban districts are definitely needed to be regenerated to enhance better living qualities. This thesis aims to examine a landscape approach to reimage a streetscape for Lee Tung Street renewal project, exploring in a new way to sustain the unique street culture. Intangible value is significant in streetscape. It is an image of a city and a section of a city development history. The demolition of Lee Tung Street has destroyed part of the development history and has erased a section of the city memory. The proposed model aims to reframe the missing link in urban content and to sustain the intangible heritage of Lee Tung Street. / published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

With rapid urbanization since the 1990s, many Chinese historic cities have faced the dual challenges of regenerating dilapidated historic inner urban areas and promoting local economic development. Rampant urban redevelopmentoriented planning and practices have been undertaken in many places. While bringing enormous economic returns, this trend also poses many threats to the character of the historic cities. Literature on urban regeneration shows that local communities should play an active role in regenerating a place in addition to other key actors such as the government and the private sectors. Local communities also play a critical role in conserving the indigenous lives of historic residential districts. Social capital enables local communities to act together to pursue shared objectives in the community-based regeneration processes. Based on this theoretical premise, the study seeks to examine the role of social capital in the regeneration of Chinese historic cities. This thesis aims to provide a historical and contextual understanding of the evolution of urban regeneration in Chinese historic cities. The thesis also explores the role of social capital in the current controversies surrounding urban regeneration in transitional China. In the current mode of urban regeneration governance in China, local governments often play a dominant role as both redevelopment advocates and project managers. Private developers are actively involved while local indigenous residents are often excluded from the regeneration processes. Urban regeneration practices in Chinese historic cities are often conducted through urban conservation-cum-redevelopment strategies to spur local economic growth and improve the physical environment. Since the focus is on the conservation of the physical environment, many local indigenous lives have to be excluded and relocated to give way to local redevelopment projects. The lack of community involvement in local regeneration processes severely undermines the goals of comprehensive urban regeneration and integrated urban conservation plans. Xi’an, a typical Chinese historic city, has been chosen as the study site. Two solid local case studies have produced the following major findings. In the Drum Tower Muslim District, traditional Muslim lives and businesses have sustained a vibrant local economy. Together with cohesive community relationships, this thesis argues that the historic Muslim district can actually sustain a self-regeneration process, given proper maintenance of the dilapidated urban infrastructures by local governments. The question is an institutionalized mechanism to facilitate this kind of regeneration. The implementation of the government-led regeneration projects within the Sanxuejie Historic District, where community relationships are weak with low level of social capital, was more “efficient”. However, it also means that regeneration efforts were less comprehensive and indigenous lives of the original neighborhoods were not conserved. To achieve the goals of comprehensive urban regeneration in historic cities, this thesis maintains the following: (1) the conservation of indigenous lives and local socio-cultural elements is important for local regeneration plans; (2) a strong social capital contributes to the conservation of local indigenous lives by facilitating community involvement in local urban regeneration processes; and (3) an institutionalized community participatory mode of urban governance is essential for a comprehensive regeneration plan at the local level. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Nan Jing is famous for its long history and rich culture and nowadays it is facing a serious problem of character lost in company with fast modernization and construction. In south area along Qin Huai River which is the source of most non-material cultural heritages, lots of old districts are under the process of demolishing which contains the most valuable element for the area is the existing urban texture of old Nan Jing city. On the other hand, people in old south area are facing problems of over density , chaos environment and shabby houses for decades of years. How to improve people’s living standard become an important issue for local government. The purpose of the thesis is to find ways to preserve the valuable urban texture, at the same time, expand open spaces for new requirements of residential and public use. The traditional small scale and the requirement of big open space is the main conflict through out the whole design. The design is proposed to create big spaces first and use different ways to separate them into small spaces with the maintenance of the function. There are two steps in the design process. The first step is to reorganize the existing buildings and the second step is to generate landscape design. The landscape design should keep the same language with the buildings and interpret different ways to keep the original scale of the space at the same time meet the requirement of new space functions. / published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

Images of Shikumen Housing have been regularly present as Shanghai’s “collective memory”, serving as testimony to the city’s rapid growth from a backward colonial enter pot into a booming metropolis in the past decades. After 100 years of usage, it is now threatened by modern lifestyle, both functionally and materially. Revitalization is needed to extend the lifespan of the houses within. With a burgeoning enthusiasm towards urban revitalization, various approaches of revitalization have been tried, among which Tianzi Fang(田子坊), located in Taikang Road, Luwan District, is unique for its coexistence of original residents and creative industry practitioners. Results from the case study suggest that Tianzi Fang approach is more welcomed by direct stakeholders as well as visiting tourists. It challenges the conventional mode of urban revitalization by a community-initial approach. This dissertation investigates the case of Tianzi Fang. First hand survey on the spot together with secondary information collected and analyzed to have a comprehensive understanding of the characteristic and process of the revitalization for sustainable development. A literature review commented that the efficiency of public participation was appreciated which contributes a lot to Tianzi Fang’s success. A management proposal is raised at the end of the dissertation as a conclusion of the study and a reference for further research. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

Culture-led regeneration policy has become a global trend in many major cities worldwide (UNCHS, 2004; Miles and Paddison, 2005). While overseas governments such as the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia have directed their regeneration policies to encourage the creative class and industries; Hong Kong is again left behind. Some scholars suggest that the culture-led strategy can act as the twenty-first century driver for regeneration, able to better preserve social networks and capital, and hence bring greater benefit to the local residents (Szeto, 2007). However, the methods of promoting culture-led regeneration in the Hong Kong context are rarely discussed. In addition, to what extend urban planning could help to facilitate creative class, and its possible impact on local residents is yet to be studied. This dissertation therefore has a two-way focus; on one hand, it seeks to address the research gap on how culture-led regeneration can be implemented in Hong Kong; on the other hand, it contributes to the academic debate by exploring the mechanism of capitalising culture in a regeneration project in order to maximise the ways at which local residents can truly benefit. It is often assumed that the integration of cultural production, consumption and community art programmes bring about the greatest benefits for the local economy, and hence benefit the locals by ‘trickle down’ effect (Binns, 2005). However, this dissertation argues that the community and its institutions play an important role in distributing the wealth created by culture-led redevelopment. While gentrification as well as the displacement of local residents, is usually observed in culture-led regeneration, progressive community planning and community ownership of the ‘Common’ can help in breaking the monopoly of rent and fixed capitals, to the benefit of local residents. The case of Hoxton – with the success of its local organizations in reducing the pressures of gentrification – is studied alongside with a case of similar background, Noho, Hong Kong, to explore new research and enlighten a possible new policy direction of culture-led regeneration in Hong Kong. Both cases are led by artists and creative industries in the area with the aim of revitalizing poor local economies. In light of this, the two cases are compared to firstly address the research gap on the community role in a sustainable culture-led regeneration, and then to enlighten a possible new policy direction of culture-led regeneration in Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning