How should the government deal with different stakeholders in urban redevelopment? In Hong Kong, urban development has been carrying out for many years. It aims at improving the living environment of community and enhance the efficiency in the usage of land. During the process of urban redevelopment, different stakeholders may face different problems. Also, both positive and negative impacts will arise in terms of economy, society and environment. The government should help the stakeholders to tackle the problems effectively and efficiently. For the Urban Renewal Authority (URA), they may face difficulties in land resumption. Due to the complexity of land ownership or the dissatisfaction on compensation of the land owners, the urban redevelopment may be delayed. Actually, the government can empower the URA in handling affairs about the land assembly to speed up the procedure of urban renewal. Apart from land resumption, the URA has huge financial burden owing to compensation and resettlement. The government should provide financial support for the URA. For the affected residents, they may lost the social tie of neighborhood. The redevelopment plan disturbs the daily routines of the residents. Moreover, they cannot afford higher land rent and other expenses in other districts. The compensation is absolutely not enough for their living. Large scale consultation should be carried out in each affected districts. The government should incorporate the views of the residents affected, the community and the public in the renewal works. District Urban Renewal Forum (DURF) has been set up before by the government in order to collect the views of the residents. Apart from consultation, “flat for flat” for owners should be carried out. It allows the affected residents to continue to live in the same districts and maintain the precious social network they have established. And the government can reserve public housing units for the residents. Normally, they many elderly living in the old districts. It is difficult for them to relocate to another place. Therefore, the establishment of social service team can help residents to solve the problems in moving and reconstruction. For affected merchants, they lost their customer networks and the number of visitors will drop due to urban redevelopment. For some small merchants whose operation depends on the social network in the district, the government should make efforts to help them identify suitable premises in the vicinity to relocate their business, so as to minimize the loss. Furthermore, the businesses cannot afford the high rent in the original or other districts. The government should make special arrangements to facilitate shops with unique features to return to the redeveloped sites. For conservation groups, historical, cultural or architectural value of the monuments landmark or building styles may be destroyed in the process of redevelopment. They claim that collective memory should be protected. In fact, the government can carry out revitalization or relocation of the heritages. There are many successful cases of revitalization and relocation in Hong Kong. For example, the Murray House in Stanley has been relocated by the government. Originally, Murray House located in Central. After developing Central into a Central Business District, Murray House has been relocated to Stanley. Until now, Murray House is a well-known landmark and tourist spot in Stanley. Another typical example is Lui Seng Chun in Mong Kok. In the past, Lui Seng Chun was a place for selling Chinese medicine. However, the trend of using Chinese medicine declined. The government carry out revitalization on Lui Seng Chun and it turns into Hong Kong Baptist University Chinese Medicine and Healthcare Centre now. The most important thing is that the unique architectural styles of both Murray House and Lui Seng Chun have not been changed after revitalization and relocation. Therefore, this can preserve the historical buildings and protect our collective memory. In general, Social Impact Assessment should be carried out on a district basis and on a project basis by the government. It aims at evaluating the impacts on different stakeholders of the urban redevelopment plan. The old districts are definitely needed to redevelop. At the same time, the government should consider various opinions from different parties in order to strive for a win-win situation. (4046)
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 14:20:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015