Development of Wan Chai: Looking into Urban Renewal Projects by ARCH2058

Chan Yu Ling 3035800150 Gusawir Natalie 3035794545 Yeung Hoi Ling 3035686932

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Development of Wan Chai: Looking into urban renewal projects Wan Chai is one of the earliest developed towns in Hong Kong. It was first developed as a Chinese residential area in the colonial period. After the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to HKSAR, Wan Chai has then developed into a district where many political and economic activities take place there. Being one of the busiest districts in Hong Kong, it is worth mentioning the history of development in Wan Chai in order to satisfy the needs of the community. In this walking tour, three different urban renewal strategies including redevelopment, revitalisation and preservation will be discussed.

The Lee Tung Avenue

The former of Lee Tung Avenue was Lee Tung Street which is also known as the Wedding Card Street for the local. The street is famous for printing industry especially for wedding invitation and lai see where many print shops gathered there since 1850.

The shop in Lee Tung Street were mostly small and ran by family which it could be considered as a cultural heritage in Hong Kong. However, in 2003, the Urban Renewal Authority had announced that the street will be redeveloped and shall be demolished. In 2007, the street has been demolished to build high-rise buildings for luxury shops.

All small print shops were either moved or closed due to the redevelopment, as a result the Wedding Card Street no longer exist in Hong Kong. It has also led to the setback of the printing industry in Hong Kong. In 2015, the place was reopened as Lee Tung Avenue with its European- style design, it is a pedestrian walkway with high end retail shops on the sidewalks. Now, Lee Tung Avenue is well known to be a shopping and leisure area in Wan Chai.

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The Old WanChai Market

The Old WanChai Market is a pre-war architecture built by the Work Bureau in 1937 to replace the first generation market which was built in 1858. The market has a streamlined facade and also elongated, horizontal windows alongside a canopy which makes it look like a ship from the exterior.

The architecture is the oldest steel framed structure found in Hong Kong. Steel-framing was one of the most pioneering technologies during the 1930s. The Empire State Building in New York, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and the Old HSBC Building in Central are also steel framed structures in similar eras.

Not only the technologies are worth studying, the Old WanChai market is the only Streamline Moderne market building in Hong Kong, if not the whole China. Which makes it extremely important in architectural research.

Why there was a need to change ? In 1990, the Old WanChai market was reviewed as a grade 3 historic building by the Antiquities Advisory Board. In the next year, the board believes that the Old WanChai market holds very few historical value and a demolition should be made. However, the board agrees that the developer should try their best to preserve some of the useful elements of the architecture. The Land Development Corporation included The Old WanChai Market in the redevelopment plan in 1995 and sold the land to Chinese Estate Holdings in 1996. In Contract, Chinese Estate Holdings are responsible for developing 3 nearby sites which include the construction of the new WanChai market. The new WanChai market was completed and started to operate in 2008. All the vendors were relocated to it and the Old WanChai market was then left vacant.

In 2007, the Urban Renewal Authority and the developer confirmed to preserve the front part of the architecture and build a residential building on top of the existing structure.

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Core elements preservation scheme of the Wan Chai Market

The Wan Chai Pier Wan Chai Ferry Pier is operated by Star Ferry and started its ferry services since 1929. It used to provide three routes of ferry services, from Wan Chai to Jordan Road, Hung Hom, and Tsim Sha Tsui. Owing to the urban development in Hong Kong, Wan Chai Pier undergoes two times of development. The old Wan Chai Pier, the iconic landmark of Hong Kong, is in the first two generations and was demolished in 2014 to act in concert with the Wan Chai Development Project Phrase 2. A new pier with two storeys, which is the current pier, was built nearby and is in the third generation. It only provides ferry service to Tsim Sha Tsui. A waterfront promenade is constructed on both sides of the pier and creates an open leisure space for the public. Revitalization is carried out.

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Looking at redevelopment from Lee Tung Street Gusawir Natalie 3035794545 Hong Kong has been well known as concrete city where skyscrapers can be found all around the city. Behind the beautiful skyline, the inner city of Hong Kong shows its uniqueness in culture. However, with the increasing population in Hong Kong, the population density in Hong Kong reaches 51,000 people per km2 where only around 21% of land is developed in Hong Kong (Lai, 2010). Without the permission from the government to develop unused land, the only solution to solve the increasing population is to develop vertically. Many urban renewal projects have started in the old towns such as Wan Chai, Sheung Wan from the late 1990s. In this essay, impacts of using redevelopment as an urban renewal strategy will be discussed starting with the case analysis of the redevelopment of Lee Tung Street.

Lee Tung Street is demolished before building the Lee Tung Avenue. Lee Tung Street has rich cultural value that should not be easily demolished. Lee Tung Street is also known as the Wedding Card Street, it is famous to produce wedding banquet invitation cards, lai see and more traditional Chinese decorations. It was not only a usual practice for the bride and groomto-be to visit the Lee Tung Street before their wedding banquet, but it has also become a tourist’s spot that showcase the printing industry and traditions in Hong Kong (Tsang & Zhang, 2019). Lee Tung Street was a precious collective memory for many citizens that it reminds people with Chinese wedding traditions and culture. Lee Tung Street had gathered small print shops that were mostly family basis. Some shop owners were living in the same street which a closely bonded community were formed there as Lam noted. There was a tight knitted relationship in the neighborhood, print shop owners were like family more than competitors, they were working together as a community and showed human kindness continued by Lam who visited the Wedding Card Street before its demolishment. The human activity in the street is much more valuable than the physical buildings. Lee Tung Street was not valuable simply because of the

cluster of Tong lau, but the sense of community formed by the tenants there. Despite the rich cultural value of Lee Tung Street, as there is a drastic population rise due to the flood of immigrant worker in 1990s (Commissioner for Census and Statistics), under the Development Scheme Plan, Lee Tung Street was included in the redevelopment project which intended to improve the environment, promote land efficiency and improve traffic flow (Law, 2010). The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has announced that Lee Tung Street will be demolished to build 4 high-rise building and an underground carpark. This has caused controversy from the community for a few reasons. First, the old tenants were not satisfied with the amount of compensation. URA provide compensation of HK$4,079 per square foot, however with this amount of compensation, tenants could hardly afford the rent of shop near the original site during the redevelopment process nor to rent a shop in the same site after the redevelopment due to the surge of rent by 50 % and 200% respectively (Huang, 2019). This implies the Wedding Card Street can hardly be reformed after the demolishment that the number of print shop decreases and they are scattered in different

place after the redevelopment. This also explained the setback of printing industry in Hong Kong. Moreover, the intention of redevelopment is to create shopping and leisure area for the middle-class and international business which does not match with the original local grass-root business (Tsang & Zhang, 2019). This is undoubtedly displacing local culture. While tenants and citizens would like to preserve the culture of Lee Tung Street, they put forward the Dumbbell proposal which is to keep part of the tong lau and request for store for store compensation so that the business in Wedding Card Street can be continued after the redevelopment (H15 concern group). Unfortunately, the proposal was rejected by the URA, and the original plan was to continue. The area is reopened as Lee Tung Avenue now, which include 4 high-rise building designed with European style with 200-meter pedestrian walkway. The shops besides the walkway are mostly luxury chain stores that sell designer accessories, kitchenware, cosmetics and restaurant offering Japanese and French cuisine (Lee Tung Avenue). Even though the name of the street is still similar to the demolished one, the new development is not a continuity of the previous development that no traces of traditional Chinese wedding products could be found in the Lee Tung Avenue now.

From the analysis of Lee Tung Street redevelopment, several problems are revealed. Firstly, the redevelopment proposal neglected public’s voices. Even though there are a lot of opposition voiced out by the public on the issue of redeveloping Lee Tung Street, the strong desire of public to request for preserving Lee Tung Street were neglected (H15 concern group). The Dumbbell proposal has won the Silver award in Hong Kong Institute of Planners which the institute has never given out Gold award by that time (Huang, 2009), the proposal was turned down by the Town Planning Board with the reason of not enough evidence is provided to support its environmental and traffic impact. After the rejection of the proposal, the Wan Chai district council published a statement to question the plan proposed by the URA and summarized some suggestion extracted from the Dumbbell proposal. However, URA did not response to the statement since they were not required to and the district council in Hong Kong can only play advisory role in the redeveloping process (Huang,2009). This has shown the monopoly role of URA in decision making that public’s opinions were hardly considered by the URA, thus it shows

how differently URA and the community is valuing what is worth preserving. Another problem of redevelopment revealed in Lee Tung Street redevelopment project is gentrification which is a common problem found in many redevelopment projects. Gentrification refers to the process of changing the poor urban area to middleclass residential and business area (La Grange, 2016). The term “gentrification” has been mentioned in media in Hong Kong for 75 times in the last decade when associated with redevelopment impact La Grange summarized, showing gentrification is a common phenomenon in Hong Kong redevelopment projects. To understand why redevelopment is leading to gentrification, it is essential to study the background of the URA. URA is a quasigovernmental, profit-making statutory entity in charge of speeding urban redevelopment in Hong Kong (Lai, 2020). The aims of URA are stated to use improve quality of life of residents with “people centered” approach. However, it has been a question whether the URA is working with the principle stated. URA is working with private sector as a joint venture, therefore the redevelopment projects are usually targeted with high revenue instead of historical and

cultural preservation. Since there is land shortage problem in Hong Kong, real estate industry has always been a high return investment as the property price is increasing continuously. Therefore, old town with low land efficiency has been the target of urban redevelopment to replace the old, low-story buildings with high rise buildings as La Grange noted. There are a lot of examples besides Lee Tung Street showing how redevelopment is displacing the culture and history with commercial buildings, for instance the redevelopment in Kwun Tong. The redevelopment of Kwun Tong covers large area including Yue Man Square which gathered street vendors. The small shops and hawkers there were one of the unique cultures found in Kwun Tong that many residents nearby have close relationship with the shop owners. However, as the redevelopment project started, the shops were either closed or moved to the new YM2 shopping center. Unfortunately, the rent of the shopping center is not affordable to some of the old shop owners, therefore the community of old Yue Man Square were dismissed. Thus, after displacing the old community with new commercial buildings, the sense of belongings is believed to decline (Low, 2021). Other examples would be Langham Place in Mong Kok and K11 in Tsim Sha Tsui were not

designed to integrate into their neighborhood (Lai,2010). These “pencil” redevelopment is maximizing the land efficiency by adding a skyscraper to the neighborhood. The above redevelopment projects were happened in old towns which has rich historical and cultural value, however as the redevelopment project is taking into action, the community is being gentrified and lost the uniqueness of each community. To conclude the impact of redevelopment as an urban renewal strategy, the main problem is gentrification. As the demand of housing continue to increase, there would have more pressure to redevelop the old towns. If every redevelopment project gives same outcome of commercial buildings without preserving the community identity, Hong Kong will soon become a commercial city without any cultural uniqueness. This would result in lower sense of belongings to the city. Therefore, it is important to revise the role of URA in planning urban renewal projects to achieve the stated goal of urban renewal that is people-oriented design.

A View Captured from the Past – Urban Renewal, Preservation and Core Element Conservation in The Old Wan Chai Market Yeung Hoi Ling 3035686932

In the past couple decades, the whole world experienced a rapid growth in economics, knowledge and technology. Which naturally leads to a higher standard toward the cityscape among the population. In economics, we would like to optimize development potential for greater profit margin (Chan and Lee, 2019); in knowledge, we understand that dilapidated buildings would create social costs due to congestion, neighborhood decline, and gradual loss of social cohesion and integrity (Ng,2002); in technology, we realized that buildings could be used more efficiently.

In order to achieve these goals toward urban regeneration, urban renewal was introduced. Urban renewal has been recognized as a tool to tackle urban issues and secure the well-being of the people. By structuring and restructuring, It creates a better living and working environment for society. (Ng,2002) In Hong Kong, urban renewal projects were used to be handled by the Land Development Corporation (‘LDC’). In 1998, the government announced the establishment of the Urban Renewal Authority (‘URA’). The goal of the authority was to decrease the duration of the renewal project. This move proves that the Hong Kong Government was trying to put more effort on urban renewal issues. (Lee,1999) Even though the government has put much effort into urban renewal, it is still lagging behind its policy goal. (Hui, Wang and Wan, 2008).

One of the reasons would be the involvement of the public sector. Since urban renewal projects happen in areas which were originally a habitat for thousands of people. Any small decisions would directly affect citizens. Therefore, the process of planning has to differentiate with ordinary projects and become more public-based. In normal construction and developments, planning decisions and information will be kept secret to avoid increase in cost, no matter time or money cost, due to speculation. However, in urban renewal projects, information will be released for the public to understand the project and to be involved. The reason for this is to fulfill the aim of public interest, and it is the core value of urban renewal. However, it is undeniable that public participation will increase the resource input to the planning process. (Lee, 2019) When a ‘good participation’ was involved, the public could help solving conflicts and correcting some of the less thoughtful planning ideas.

But when a self-interested ‘bad participation’ happened, nothing could be solved, and more conflicts would be created. (Sandercock, 1994) Public are not professionals, many of the time their opinions are likely to be personal and lack careful considerations. Which means the ‘bad participation’ would not be an uncommon situation to encounter. This makes the planning part of urban renewal projects extremely time-consuming and hard to move on. Another problem that urban regeneration has to deal with is land acquisitions. Most of the time, the original owners or users have to sacrifice some of their rights in order for the city to attain greater benefit.( Roquet, Bornholdt, Sirker and Lukic, 2017)Compensation or resettlement would be made to remedy their losses. And how the compensations should be made become a difficult task for the urban renewal team to handle.

After the establishment of the URA, a clearer compensation method was introduced to standardize the amount of compensation and the details of relocation. For example, the owner could receive compensation based on an equation: ( Unit price of a notional replacement at 7 years old x Saleable area of the property + Incidental Cost Allowance) = final amount of compensation received. And for tenant, Ex-gratia Allowance would be released based on the equation: 3times its RateableValue + 10% of the Rateable Value for each year of business operation (maximum of 30 years) From Minimum HK$110,000 (10 years or less) to Maximum HK$700,000. (URA, 2021) Even when compensations are made, not all the users of the urban renewal districts would be satisfied with

it. It’s because the compensation has the possibility to fail to provide improvement if not the same quality of life to the relocated individual. (Choi, Kim, Marcouiller and Kiam, 2016) As urban renewal projects are constructed, the rental value of the nearby community since a ‘better’ environment is created. However, in vendors’ perspective, especially for those local communitybased shop owners, business could hardly be carried on as compensation was not sufficient for them to rent similar premises in a ‘redeveloped’ district. (Ng, 2002) Similar situations also apply to residential redevelopment, people are not able to live in the same neighborhood since a rapid increase in rental value would occur after urban renewal. These concerns from the public further elongated the time taken for land acquisition, which increased the cost of the renewal project. Even when acquisition is done and URA settles with all the vendors and owners, renewal projects could

also be fiercely opposed if it touches the collective memory of the public. The greatest example is the redevelopment project of Queen’s Pier in 2006. A great protest was sparked due to the government's insistence on the demolition of it, 300 policemen and six harbour patrol boats were used and a number of activists were forcibly carried away. The incidence reflects how the local value socio-cultural identity symbols. (Henderson, 2008) In order for a renewal project to run smoothly, it has to avoid touching architecture with strong local identity or renew it in a way to embrace the local culture. With the aim to tackle the aforementioned problems, the LDC and the Hong Kong Government develop an urban renewal strategy, Core Element Conservation, for the renewal project of the Old WanChai Market (‘WanChai Market’) . The WanChai Market is a pre-war architecture located at the junction of WanChai Road and Queen's Road East. It was built by the Work Bureau in 1937

and is believed to be the oldest steel framed structure in Hong Kong. The WanChai Market is one of the very few streamline moderne architecture in Hong Kong, and perhaps the only one streamlined moderne market in China. ( 東網，2019） It was graded as a grade 3 historic building by the Antiquities Advisory Board (‘AAB) in 1990. However, the Board agrees that the WanChai Market holds no significant historical value and a demolition could be made for urban redevelopment. The land was then sold to the Chinese Estate Holdings in 1996 and a redevelopment contract was signed in the same year. In response to the public opposition toward the demolition, the AAB later agreed that developers should try their best to keep the significant parts of the market. In 2004, AAB sent a letter to the developer, urging them to keep the exterior of the market after receipt of a letter from The Hong Kong Institute of Architects.

In 2007, the legislative council agreed to the URA that the contract should be abided but a negotiation has to be made between the Chinese Estate Holdings and URA to seek the possibility to keep the exterior part of the Wanchai Market. And also confirmed that all vendors in the market could be relocated to the newly built market across the street. Eventually, the Core Element Conservation was proposed and agreed by both parties. According to URA, the ‘core element conservation’ is an approach which keeps the major and important part of an architecture, and demolishes the less significant one. In WanChai Market’s case, the most iconic element of the architecture is the outer core of it which included a curved facade and fin like windows. After preserving parts of the current architecture, the remaining parts of the architecture were demolished and a residential building, One WanChai, of 46 floors and 237 flats was built. So as to achieve a better

cohesion between the existing structure and the new residential building, some architectural concepts were recommended by the URA, namely symmetrical prototype, smooth facade with minimal decoration, curved facade corner, coherence on plan and tonation in white or light grey as to achieve minimalist modernism. (URA, 2007) (URA, 2008) Similar approach could be found in other parts of the world, such as the renovation of Hearst Tower in New York by Norman Foster, which a 13 storey hotel was built on top of the original office building of the Hearst Corporation with a major requirement of preserving the landmark facade of the original architecture (California Construction News, 2019); or the Portico Scots Church in Sydney which a modern apartment was built on top of a neo-gothic mass (Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects, 2018). All of these approaches were to preserve some significant heritage while adding new energy and programme into it. Which to a large extent kept the essence of

history in the city and solved the problem of underdevelopment. The Core Element Conservation of the WanChai market successfully kept the spirit of the original architecture. However, unlike similar projects overseas which receive great compliments, the renovation of the WanChai market gets almost onesided criticism. Even when the projects had clear traces in listening and tackling the concerns from the public, successfully transforming all vendors to a new location nearby and preserving the essence of the old building, it still failed to satisfy the public. The most common opinion on the projects is about the programme of the preserved part. The preserved part is now a mall with a high-end cafe, designer furniture brand and other upscale consumption stores. The original entrance of the market became an entrance to a fancy clubhouse

which is exclusive for the occupants of the One WanChai. It created a great contrast with the original purpose of the architecture which is a local market that sells affordable groceries and food. These summed up together and deliver a wrong message to the public that only rich people are allowed to enjoy the benefit brought by redevelopment and the less privileged are not considered . Hence, antipathy from the public arose. (陳, 2021) It is a pity that such a thoughtful project received almost no appreciation from the public, but it also conveyed a message that public perception is also a great factor to determine a successful renewal project. More consideration should be given to the local community instead of the financial profit that it would bring.

Revitalization at Wan Chai Ferry Pier Chan Yu Ling 3035800150

Hong Kong is renowned as an international financial centre and is one of the world’s leading financial centres. To ensure its prosperity and stability within the future, the government implemented several major development projects, such as the expansion of the airport, the construction of the high-speed and underground railway, and the redevelopment of Kowloon. In Hong Kong where has been already in a well-kept condition and has the potential to be even better, revitalization is a good way to further develop the city. Revitalization is the process of renewing and rebuilding a community or neighbourhood to make it better, stronger, and more prosperous. It is the process of improving the physical, social, and economic fabric of a place to make it more attractive to and liveable for current and future residents and businesses. This essay is going to discuss the benefit

of the urban renewal strategy, revitalization with the case study of Wan Chai Ferry Pier. When talking about Hong Kong transportation, the first thing that comes into many people’s minds must be the ferry. Especially in the 50s and the 60s, there is no doubt that the ferry took a critical role in Hong Kong transportation because it is the only way to cross the Victoria Harbour without the construction of cross-harbour tunnels. Although the ferry is fading down, it is still an important collective memory of Hong Kong people. Wan Chai Ferry Pier offers three ferry services from Wan Chai to Kowloon, Hung Hom and Tsim Sha Tsui. The Wan Chai Pier underwent two times of development. In the first generation of Wan Chai Pier, the route to Jordan was terminated due to the reclamation project. In the second generation, the Hung Hom route was cut off because of the continuous decrease of passengers. Only the Wan Chai-Tsim Sha Tsui is still operating nowadays. During the first development, more features were added to the pier to revitalise it. For example, a truck store that sells fishball and siu mai was constructed near the entrance. It can stimulate the economy by introducing new businesses into the pier. Also, waiting area and boarding walkway were

created. It can provide more comprehensive service and make people more convenient by creating new urban spaces and developing new infrastructure for the public. However, in 2014, the government launched the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation project. The site of Wan Chai Pier was included in the area of the Central -Wan Chai Bypass project. To cooperate with the project, the old Wan Chai Pier which has been in operation for 46 years was decided to be demolished and a new Wan Chai Pier will be built at the adjacent shore (The “Star” Ferry Company, Limited, 2013). Under the strategy of revitalisation, the area is cleared out by demolishing the old pier and something new is built in its place. More modern elements could be introduced into the place to improve the neighbourhood. The ferry pier is changed into a twostorey pier. The upper floor is used for food and catering. The rooftop of the pier becomes a public landscaped observation deck which allows people to enjoy the vantage point of Victoria Harbour (Civil Engineering and Development Department,2012). A themed harbourfront space called HarbourChill is created on both sides of the pier (The Development Bureau, 2021). The harbourfront is enhanced by

providing a promenade. A new government helipad and Central-Wan Chai Bypass is also constructed in this area. As the above mentioned, the development project introduced a lot of new infrastructures into the area with cooperation with the Wan chai Pier and improve the neighbourhood. Unlike other development projects of Pier in Hong Kong, Wan Chai Pier got less objection to the demolition of the pier. Take Queen’s Pier as an example, the government announced to demolish the pier in 2007 as the pier is included in Central Reclamation Project. Queen Pier is the only ceremonial public pier in Hong Kong. Many activities were held at Queen’s Pier, such as weddings, movie shooting, photo taking and civic and political functions. It is also a popular place for people to gather, fish and cross the harbour (Antiquities Advisory Board, n.d.). Queen Pier are more wellknown and frequently used than Wan Chai Pier. Therefore, more people will fight against the demolition project. However, Wan Chai Pier already cut off two routes to Jordan and Hung Hom due to the constant loss of passengers. It means that only a few people will use Wan Chai Pier and not many activities

happen here. Therefore, the development project of Wan Chai Pier got more approval. From analyzing the revitalization project of Wan Chai Pier, there are several benefits. Firstly, the project provides more open space for the public. The upper floor of the pier offers a dining and resting place for the public. A promenade called HarbourChill is constructed to connect the Wan Chai Pier and Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre with the theme of the city’s backyard garden (The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2021). Artificial turf, pavilions, outdoor curved observation deck, swings, chairs and tables are featured to create a cosy and comfortable leisure area (The Standard, 2021). Different activities can be held at this place, such as jogging, resting and gathering. The waterfront is also pet-friendly, and people can walk their dogs here (Architectural Services Department, 2021). In addition, play equipment is offered along the waterfront. For instance, the Hong Kong Arts Centre is collaborating with Napp Studio and they designed and placed a series of small tables with the theme of “Zoo along the Waterfront” (The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2021). The government also

collaborate with Playright Children’s Play Association to provide a pop-up play experience for children in order to explore their creativity and let the family can play together (Little Steps Asia, 2021). Furthermore, there are some decorations included in the promenade. The neon light installation with the street sign of the old street and the structure of photo frames allows people to take photos and keep their collective memory. Citizens can enjoy different kinds of leisure activities in the Wan Chai Pier and the surrounding. The government also organized several activities in collaboration with Social Ventures Hong Kong and other social enterprises, such as WE!Run@Harbour, yoga and art jamming. People can join different activities at HarbourChill to relax and enhance social cohesion (The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, 2021). This area is still developing. A Water Sports and Recreation Precinct and Revitalized Typhoon Shelter Precinct are going to open to create a closer relationship between people and the harbour (Harbourfront Commission, 2019). Another example would be the Mills. The function of the Mills is changed from a textile industry into a gallery and studio area. A new function is created in it and more entertaining leisure place and working space are

provided to the people. The revitalization project makes the open space more enticing and vibrant by introducing new infrastructures and decorations into this area. Second, the project brings more convenience to the public. The old pier is demolished to cooperate with the Central-Wan Chai Bypass project. The bypass which is running between Sheung Wan and North Point can connect the east-west traffic on Hong Kong Island. Travelling from Central to North Point with the Central-Wan Chai bypass will only need around 5 minutes (wsp, n.d.). Compared to the original commuting time of 30 minutes, the commuting time is significantly reduced by making the journey smooth and direct, and people can save more time on traffic with the Central-Wan Chai bypass. At the same time, the ferry from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui is still operating at the new Wan Chai Pier. The existing MTR Tsuen Wan Line is still running too. A Water taxi route is proposed and will be operated around the Wan Chai Pier (Harbourfront Commission, 2019). There are several kinds of transportation operating in this area and make the pier more interconnected with other places. The revitalization project also includes the improvement of the pedestrian pathway. Nine new

pedestrian links including five ground crossings, a pedestrian bridge and three pedestrian landscape decks are provided in this area (Civil Engineering and Development Department, 2012). People can travel around more conveniently through different pathways. Therefore, the project brings more convenience to the public by providing both transportation and pedestrian linkage. To conclude, the major benefit of revitalization, as an urban renewal strategy, is reviving the neighbourhoods. New and modern features and services can be added to this area. People can enjoy different infrastructure and the convenience brought by the enhancement in the surrounding linked to the project, such as more comprehensive transportation and open space. Revitalization can keep society developing and enhancing in terms of the infrastructures. The living standard can be improved. It can also make the surroundings more vibrant and energetic by increasing people flow. For instance, more people will visit Wan Chai Pier after revitalization to enjoy the open space there and only commuters between Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui will come to Wan Chai Pier. However, revitalization

is better to carry out in some places like Wan Chai Pier which the previous function is not effective anymore. Otherwise, revitalization cannot be successfully carried out due to objections like Queen’s Pier.

Endnote 1.

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Briefing on Final Report for Task Force on Harbourfront Developments on Hong Kong Island on 9.12.2019. 2021. Hfc.Org.Hk. https://www.hfc.org.hk/filemanager/files/TFHK_20191 209_item4_ppt.pdf.

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