CONFLICTS IN NEIGHBORHOOD

REDEVELOPMENT
a Case Study of Kwun Tong, Hong Kong

Livie Li
Columbia University
History & Theory of Planning
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Contents

Introduction ..................................................................2

Methodology ................................................................2

Implementation ............................................................3

Analysis of major sources of conflicts ............................5

................................... Community Engagement Process 5

................................... Property ownership / Informality 8

.................................................................. Sustainability 9

........................................................Community Identity 11

Conclusion and Implication ......................................... 12

References .................................................................. 14

Annotated Bibliography .............................................. 16

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Introduction

The Urban Renewal Authority (URA 市區重建局) is a statutory body that is responsible

for undertaking urban redevelopment and rehabilitation projects (Adams, 2001). The

URA carried out over 60 redevelopment projects over the last twenty years, and the

Kwun Tong Town Center project is the largest in scale (Kwun Tong Town, n.d.). The

project masterplan was made in 1998 by LCD. Progress has been slow until 2002 when

the project was reactivated. The town planning approval process was started by the URA

in March 2007 (Kwun Tong Town, n.d.). Up until 2017, the project has not yet been

finished due to the conflicts between stakeholders regarding with governmental law and

development policy. Occupying a site area of 570,000 square feet, this multi-billion-

dollar project has so far affected 24 buildings, 4439 people, 1656 property interests, and

524 shops and hawker stalls (Law & Chui, 2010). Opponents of the project accused the

peremptory destruction of old facilities, relocation of store owners and eviction of

residents from destroying the communal life pattern which has been the essence of the

neighborhood since the 1960s. Moreover, people who had to shut down their stores

struggled to sustain the business operation once they move elsewhere.

This paper focuses on the major sources of conflict between government, developers and

the public in the redevelopment project, to evaluate the inadequacy of its community

engagement process, its definition of informality, as well as community sustainability and

identity.

Methodology

Most evidence is drawn from government publication, developer reports, scholarly

articles, and individual stories reported by news, documentaries, and published

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interviews. Studies conducted by URA are consulted. Literature reviews are based on

scholarly articles addressing re-housing principles stated in URA, the land acquisition

and compensation for relocation terms, the implementation of similar projects, and the

relationship between community voice and governmental redevelopment decision.

Through individual cases investigated by past news release and media interviews,

residents and store owners’ narratives are gathered to form an argument in the

community scope. Analysis on regulation and policy is heavily based on government-

issued procedures.

Implementation

In 1988, an area at Kwun Tong Town Center was designated for LDC to carry out

redevelopment. After the redevelopment study was submitted to and approved by the

government, the Planning Department issued relevant planning requirements in 1991.

Even though with years of communication with stakeholders and community leaders, the

Secretary for Planning Environment and Lands advised that it is not appropriate to start

the Kwun Tong Redevelopment Project in view of the setting-up of URA (Law & Chui,

2010). The difficulties encountered by the setting up of URA was largely due to the

compensation arrangement disagreement. In fact, the Land Development Corporation

specifically issued a statement to the Legislative Council Panel, presenting that “As the

Government and the Legislative Council have yet to come to an agreement on

compensation arrangements for people affected by redevelopment projects, the URA

cannot be set up and begin its operation.” The pace of redevelopment has been slowed

down, which violated the original intention of setting up URA to speed up the urban

renewal process ("The Land Development Corporation’s submission", 2001). Without the
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successful transition, the Land Development Corporation could not draw up future plans

or implement new projects. Not until 2002 did the Kwun Tong redevelopment project

was reactivated, after URA came into being.

Kwun Tong Town Center

Source: OfficeFinder

URA commenced the comprehensive Implementation Planning study, under which

consultants conducted a public opinion survey. In 2005, Kwun Tong District Advisory

Committee was formed. The committee included board members of the URA, Kwun

Tong District Council members, resident representatives and other stakeholders to advise

the URA on the redevelopment and concerns of the community. Almost a whole year was

dedicated to community engagement. URA staff met for 32 times with various groups of

stakeholders (Kwun Tong Town, n.d.). Up to 2006, URA commissioned a community

participatory design workshop to engage the various stakeholders. The whole community

engagement process could be divided into four stages, with the last stage being the

statutory required process during the formal town planning application process. A total of
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1,755 completed self-administered questionnaires at the exhibition sites were collected,

and extensive hearings with the participation of various stakeholders were conducted

(Law, 2005). Given that there was a general support of the redevelopment plan during the

engagement process, the prevailing complaints put the policy developer-community

relationships into question.

Analysis of major sources of conflicts

During the planning process, the URA had received strong support from the community.

The number of involved stakeholders is relatively large (62 stakeholders of various types,

a stratified sample of 930 residents, 204 shop operators, 100 shoppers, 52 visitors within

the area of the Town Center, 92 participants in the workshop, 39 briefing sessions and a

random sample survey of 1,602 people) and a general consensus was reached - 86% of

the 442 representations supported the proposed redevelopment (Law). However,

demonstrations from store owners began. The general feedback from the residents and

store owners of Kwun Tong can be grouped into the following categories: higher rents;

traditional and specialty shops replaced by chain stores and malls; the decrease of

commercial use units. The area was indeed rundown and in need of a makeover, but the

developer's way of treating the occupants has left many residents asking whom the Kwun

Tong redevelopment is really for.

Community Engagement Process

The community engagement process was one of the most exhaustive processes carried by

the URA. There are four stages during the process, with the first, third and final stages

focused largely on presenting the masterplan and envisioning the redevelopment project.

The second stage, elaborated how land and compensation will work, was dedicated to
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stakeholders and addressing their concern. The URA seemingly made it more available to

the community. Eight meetings were held with the Kwun Tong District Council and some

sub-communities, and 32 meetings for residents and relevant organizations (Law & Chui,

2010).

Even though these meetings aimed to inform the stakeholders of the progress made, in

the whole community participation process, it is possible that URA intentionally misled

the stakeholders to believe in the benefit of high-density development. Before the

approval of the Kwun Tong Redevelopment masterplan, URA told the resident that they

would be able to get a larger amount of compensation if they support the development

plan with the highest building density, giving residents false hope. Voters were hoaxed

into believing that only by supporting the highest density plan would they get the

maximum subsidy, and submitted over 2000 support letters (RTHK, 2013). The evidence

of support, as it turned out, did not truly represent the residents' interest. During the first

stage, the government presented to the public three sets of neighborhood design, and

committed a advisory process for two months. Through the documentary of media videos

and photographs, the way to conduct the participation engagement was largely exhibiting

the architecture and landscape models. To fully understand the implication of these

models, one has to be a built environment professional. Models were made of transparent

plastic materials, making it difficult for the public to envision the community

environment in reality.
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Architectural model of the Kwun Tong Redevelopment Project

Credit: Haiyang Cao

Architect Man Yiu Ho points out that human understand architectural models through

placing themselves in the location with a corresponding scale, then visualize the potential

issues they would encounter. Other than the building models, the URA did not present

much information, such as the estimated future population in the neighborhood, or

transportation facilities (Fong, 2015).

Healy (1986) stated that commitment to the democratic process is crucial to just planning

solutions, however the actual implementation of the engagement process does not

necessarily guarantee the effectiveness of public participation. The large number of the

involved participants and extensiveness of the consultation process might not be adequate
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if consensus is reached through bias, manipulation, or without complete operational

transparency.

Property ownership / Informality

Since the plan requires reconstruction on sufficient land, acquiring property and solving

land tenure rights have become a dilemma for both the URA and the store owners. Land

acquisition from different owners is one of the major impediment to urban renewal,

especially in Hong Kong. Along with disagreement occurred regarding the compensation

policy, hindrance in land acquisition slowed down the pace of redevelopment, which

violated the original intention of setting up URA to speed up the urban renewal process

("The Land Development Corporation’s submission", 2001). The strategy the URA

adopted was to refute the legitimacy of store ownership which was transferred from a

former owner who was decreased or was unable to be contacted, or without verified

documents (such as oral agreement).

The past authorization and loose regulation led to the integrating of the street trading into

the Kwun Tong social fabric. From media interviews, because of the lack of license

renewal requirement, business owners claimed that the URA accused them as illegal

operators. Mr. Leung Kam Hung, the owner of Kok Chai racing pigeon shop, he showed

his animal trader license issued by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department

in 1997. In 2013 URA asserted that his store has been an illegal structure from the

beginning (RTHK, 2013).

In 2015, The URA reclaimed all the land titles of Heng On Street in October. Land

ownership was transferred to the Lands Department (“Recovery of land”, 2016). The

Bureau managed the land on behalf of the Lands Department and became the landlord of

the remaining residents. By the time one shop owner and 28 tenants were not resettled.
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Each of them received a letter of intent to relocate, which originally was for owners to fill

in move out date according to their own will. However, they complained that the URA had

pressured them to put "February 28" as departure date. Compensation would be deducted

if they fail to comply. Tenants were unable to find another living space on such short notice,

and in turn, lost approximately HK$10,000 relocation subsidy. Tenants demanded grace

period to find a place to reside, and refused to be forcefully relocated. The Lands

Department disclaimed its responsibilities and required them to communicate with the

Bureau (Yuen, 2013).

Redevelopment planning such as the Kwun Tong project inevitably imposes a utopian

blueprint on the neighborhood (Roy, 2005). This created an issue of social injustice, since

in Hong Kong public authorities can exercise compulsory purchase powers over

individuals (Ng, 2002). Under these circumstances, since the property or asset could be

claimed by others, the title cannot be legally transferred to a third party. Store owners were

not able to accept compensation and relocate without proper validation of property

ownership. Gilbert (2002) argues that formal finance is not always the optimal solution for

property occupiers, there are certain limitations to legalization. When planners usually

associate poverty with informality, they fail to consider the future employment

opportunities to maintain livelihood once they are told to convert to a formal operation

model.

Sustainability
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Kwun Tong alley business owner refuses to move for redevelopment project

Source: South China Morning Post

For the majority of the residents and store owners, short-term financial incentives are not

the whole story. Aside from insufficient compensation, the sustainability of individual

business is another dire concern.

Even though they the negotiation process had been going on for over two years, many of

the Yue Man Square shop owners did not make a bid for vacant units in markets managed

by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, closely before the deadline they

had to be forcefully relocated. Air-conditioner repairman Ngai Man-wing said that his

type of business is not allowed in public markets, therefore he would not be able to

benefit from the offer (Ng, 2013). The owner of Wai Le Model Company recounts that he

has been operating his business at the same location for almost 30 years. The rent went

from about HK$12,000 in 2005 to over HK$20,000 in 2013, He points out that even if he

ending up finding a storefront to continue his business, he would have to put in the fixed

cost of repairing and furnishing the shop. For many of the traders, compensation hardly

held value to them if they could not sustain their business in new premises. Referring
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again to the Mr. Leung Kam Hung case, on the 24th day passing the move-out deadline,

his racing pigeon store was demolished by the URA team at 4 am, without prior notice

(RTHK, 2013). He was granted a commercial space in Mong Kok’s Yuen Po Street Bird

Garden, but he failed to get approval from he Food and Environmental Hygiene

Department for a license renewal, due to the department’s concerns over bird flu.

Without his business, he would not be able to maintain his livelihood.

Community Identity
Kwun Tong is cherished by Hong Kongese. It is not a "bedroom community", which is a

residential suburb inhabited largely by people who commute to a nearby city for work. In

contrast. Rather it is a community with strong tolerance of difference in social classes.

With the disappearance of old brand stores, where customers and owners interact on a

regular basis, the collective living mode dissipates. Wah Yu Chan, a member of Kwun

Tong District Council, points out that Urban renewal may destroy the relationship of the

community which has been established throughout the years (Shan, 2013). When

interviewed, several store owners of older generations get emotional and express their

nostalgia for the business that have been part of their lives for decades. For 40 years, Mr.

Ma had been able to support his family with his noodle shop. He waited till the last day

before the deadline to close his shop, abjuring a large sum of relocation compensation.

Numerous old-brand stores were forced to close because the increasing rent became

unaffordable. Another interviewee is Mr. Lau Hoi, who has been operating his stationary

store for 37 years. He recounted that customers came here with their children after getting

married, the whole family shopped here. He felt a strong sense of satisfaction and

happiness, developing a rapport with his customers. Looking at the three proposed

schemes for the redevelopment project, only one of them included a brief plan of a small
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hawker bazaar. Its location, area, or number of hawkers accommodated, however, were

never mentioned. The social structure that took decades to establish and connection in

between locals were destroyed along with the tearing down of old buildings. Jacobs

(2011) also reasoned in her book that local characters have a surveillance function. The

public witness and communicate events and news, bringing people together. Aged

buildings are essential to the affordability of housing, as well as the growth of small

enterprises.

Conclusion and Implication

The URA had an accumulated surplus of HK$16.2 billion as of 2013, and has recorded

only two years of deficits in its 13-year history, during downward economic cycles in

2004 and 2009 (Wong, 2014). The finance oriented scheme of the Kwun Tong Center

Redevelopment Project left people thinking the authority's top-down approach is driven

by money, rather than social missions. The lack of transparency and sincerity during the

community participation process, the ruling of urban informality to make way for land

acquisition, and the disregard to community sustainability and identity all contributed to

the ongoing conflicts inundating the project’s implementation. Urban renewal is

unavoidable. The challenge lies in the way of renewing. Kwun Tong is a place where

people of the root class thrive, what is important to them is the welfare of their

neighborhood and the sustainability of their livelihood.

The new scheme did not get rid of the middle-grade and high-end consumption patterns

of big shopping malls and fails to take into account the needs of the grassroots people in

most of Kwun Tong, a neighborhood with distinct social function. According to the 2016

population census, the average monthly income of in Hong Kong is HK$10,000, and only
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HK$ 9,000 in Kwun Tong, with the jobless rate being the second highest in Hong Kong.

When planning poor areas, cities should be given the chance to get out of poverty.

The complaints of merchants and tenants highlight the embarrassing role of the URA.

Since the URA uses government land resumption ordinance to collect property, it must

face up to its social responsibility. Increasing public spaces, planning for small business

and coordinating with relocation among the strategies the agency should consider to

involve the collective social benefit.

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Adams, D., & Hastings, E. M. (2001). Urban renewal in Hong Kong: transition from
development corporation to renewal authority. Land Use Policy, 18(3), 245-258.

Cervero, R., & Murakami, J. (2009). Rail and Property Development in Hong Kong:
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Healey, P. (1993). Planning Through Debate. The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis
and Planning, 233-253. doi:10.1215/9780822381815-011

Hong Kong, Alliance of Kwun Tong's Urban Renewal. (2008). Property Owners Survey
and Appeal for Urban Renewal Authority Housing Purchase Policy. [住宅物業小業主對
市區重建局住宅物業收購政策的審視和訴求].

Hong Kong, Lands Department. (2016). Recovery of land at Heng On Street, Kwun Tong,
Kowloon for development by the Urban Renewal Authority DL-10: KT. [收回位於九龍
觀塘恒安街的土地 以供市區重建局實施 DL-10:KT 發展項目].

Yuen. (2013, November 22).Lands Department Works for the URA. [地政署助紂為虐
淪為市建局收地打手]Retrieved December 11, 2017.

Hong Kong, Census and Statistics Department, Population Census Office. (2012). 2011
Population Census Summary Results

Hong Kong, Legislative Council, Finance Committee. (2001). Home Purchase Allowance
and Ex gratia Allowance for Owners and Legal Occupiers of Commercial Properties.

Hong Kong, Legislative Council, Planning, Lands and Works. (2001). The Land
Development Corporation’s submission on the compensation package for land
resumption to the Legislative Council Panel on Planning, Lands and Works.

Hui, E. C., & Yu, K. H. (2012). Assisted homeownership, investment and their roles in
private property price dynamics in Hong Kong. Habitat International, 36(2), 219-225.
doi:10.1016/j.habitatint.2011.08.007

Jacobs, J. (2011). The death and life of great American cities. New York: Modern
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Kwun Tong Town Centre Project (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2017, from
http://www.ura.org.hk/en/projects/redevelopment/kwun-tong-town-centre-project.aspx
 15

Lau, C. (2004). Conceptual framework of applying mass valuation in Hong Kong urban
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Law, C. K., Chui, E. W., Wong, Y. C., Lee, K. M., & Ho, L. S. (2010). The
Achievements and Challenges of Urban Renewal in Hong Kong. Development Bureau,
HKSAR Government

Law, C.K., Chui, W.T.E., Wong, Y.C., Lee, K.M. & Ko, S.F.L. (2005) Community
Aspiration Survey – Kwun Tong Town Centre Department of Social Work and Social
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Lo, R. (2011). Real estate valuation in hong kong. The Appraisal Journal, 79(2), 161-
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Ng, J. (2013, March 16). Kwun Tong alley shopkeepers stand their ground against URA.
South China Morning Post. Retrieved November 12, 2017.

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RTHK. (2013, November 17). Retrieved November 28, 2017, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz9UN2hASQ8

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[Photograph]. Kwun Tong, Hong Kong.

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Redevelopment in China Metropolises and the Emergence of Gentrification: Case of
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Renewal Authority. South China Morning Post. Retrieved November 28, 2017.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5B26fKGGL8

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Annotated Bibliography

Healey, P. (1993). Planning Through Debate. The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis
and Planning, 233-253. doi:10.1215/9780822381815-011

Healy’s article stated the nature of communicative (participatory) planning, which is the
approach used in the Kwun Tong redevelopment project. The importance of commitment
to the democratic process as a way of setting solutions is explained in the article,
providing a guideline of evaluation of the effectiveness of the public participation stages
during the implementation. Both the article and the planning process of the project
emphasizes on respecting differences and seeking consensus.

Jacobs, J. (2011). The death and life of great American cities. New York: Modern
Library.

In her book, Jane Jacob explains the negative effect of urban renewal. She expresses the
importance of local public characters in neighborhoods, explaining that they strengthen
the ‘eyes’ on the sidewalk and help form a social network, dispersing community news
and connecting the local population. The redevelopment of Kwun Tong has a destructive
effect on the communal life pattern it had since the 1960s.

Jacob specifically argues that there is a need for aged buildings, as they ensure low rent
yields, encouraging the growth of small enterprises. The reality of hawkers being evicted
in old Kwun Tong directly contradicts this value. This explains why residents feel that
short-term financial incentives are not sufficient, and the sustainability of individual
business is another concern.
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Roy, A. (2005). Urban Informality: Toward an Epistemology of Planning. Journal of the

American Planning Association, 71(2), 147-158. doi:10.1080/01944360508976689

Roy states that Informality is more of a “generalized mode of metropolitan urbanization”

rather than squatter settlements as perceived in the past. This article focuses on urban
informality to highlight the challenges of dealing with the “unplannable” exceptions to
the order of formal urbanization. The problem of property ownership makes it impossible
for the redevelopment project to proceed in a timely manner because the acquisition of
land is halted, as many store owners in old Kwun Tong center have always existed in a
legal limbo.

Zhang, X., Hu, J., Skitmore, M., & Leung, B. Y. (2014). Inner-City Urban
Redevelopment in China Metropolises and the Emergence of Gentrification: Case of
Yuexiu, Guangzhou. Journal of Urban Planning and Development, 140(4), 05014004.
doi:10.1061/(asce)up.1943-5444.0000169

The paper looks at the inward city of Yuexiu On Guangzhou, a more typical Chinese
metropolis, to show the emerging gentrification characteristics in modern China. The
author concludes that extensive new residential buildings result in gentrification, rather
than a commercial development. In Hong Kong, however, new residential buildings
usually come with the development of a commercial center as well. Unlike what has
happened in the West where urban renewal is a result of a declining inner-city region,
gentrification in Chinese cities and Hong Kong emerges in a still vibrant old urban
center.

Ng, J. (2013, March 16). Kwun Tong alley shopkeepers stand their ground against URA.
South China Morning Post. Retrieved November 12, 2017.

The news article gathered evidence on how Kwun Tong alley shopkeepers stand their
ground against URA. The hawker’s verdict can be generalized as the compensation
offered by URA is not enough for them to rent a new business place in other areas once
they move out; even if they could afford a new storefront, a lot of their business types are
not legit in new public markets. Once they accepted the compensation and move out, it
would be hard for them to find a sustainable solution to continue the operation of their
business. These complaints demonstrate the major conflicts during the redevelopment
process from bottom-up individual perspectives.