with vertically-separated systems for vehicular traffic and pedestrian flow. This high-density urban design promoted walking and public transport use, and improved access to facilities and services for residents, while also reducing environmental impact. Compared to Hong Kong’s organically-expanded urban core, the new towns offered planned urban environments that support health and well-being, implementing the latest design standards for public space and recreational facilities. The increased accessibility and diversity of facilities encourage social interaction and a sense of belonging, which can enhance the social sustainability of communities.5 However, such highdensity cities can also produce negative effects such as increased prices, reduced access to green spaces, and social exclusion.6 We highlight four key considerations from Hong Kong’s experience of designing new towns. Planning balanced and mixed land-use patterns A key consideration in creating vibrant, diverse, and socially- inclusive new town environments is the underlying planning philosophy of land-use planning. Hong Kong’s first generation of new towns emphasised ‘balanced development’, which meant that equal proportions of public and private housing were spatially mixed. This was done to prevent segregation between the low-income and middle classes. In turn, the land- use planning of the second generation of new towns separated industrial and residential land, using landscape features as buffer areas. As the third-generation new towns were planned around high-connectivity transport nodes, there has been less emphasis on the integration of living and working spaces. Nevertheless, the large Transit-Oriented Development (TOD)-based commercial centres7 (such as in Ma On Shan and Tseung Kwan O) and the SAR’s highly distributed education and healthcare networks offer a range of local employment opportunities and services. Our study of the land-use condition of the three generations of new towns found that the proportion of residential land is similar across all towns (30 to 35 percent). In fact, the third-generation new towns have increased proportions of commercial land, while the size of industrial land has been significantly reduced. The open space land ratio has remained constant at 15 percent throughout the new town planning stages. This corresponds with the ‘compact city’ development model, in which the size of public open spaces is restricted by planning regulations and the economic parameters of high-density development. Surveys, however, have found that while Hong Kong residents are satisfied with the quality of public space facilities provided in most districts, the accessibility to and variation of activity spaces should be improved.8 To enable universal access to sports and recreation, a range of public spaces should be distributed across urban districts, instead of being grouped together in a large central park. Also, quantity-based planning requirements should be accompanied by qualitative design principles, so that there are more engaging and supportive open spaces.9 Promoting public transport use and walking Hong Kong’s new towns are served by efficient public transport systems such as the metro, bus, and light rail, which enhance social connectivity and facilitate the economic interaction among different urban nodes. As a result, the SAR is amongst cities with the highest use of public transport per capita.10 Its relatively low degree of private car use also contributes to its environmental performance, air quality, and pedestrianoriented streetscapes. These qualities are most apparent in the territory’s older urban districts, where historic planning layouts have created narrow roads, which are easy to traverse with pedestrian crossings or elevated footbridges. In the new towns, however, vehicle roads are planned as multi-lane arteries, creating spatial barriers between different housing estates and communities.11 As the majority of residents live in public housing and do not possess cars, cycling and walking could be integrated more prominently. While the new towns were built with the intention of creating self-sufficient communities, a significant number of people commute between the new towns and the historic urban core. As most higher-value companies prefer to be located in proximity to one another, and close to the opportunities and services of the central areas, there is pressure to expand existing road and rail networks across the territory. A lack of street-facing retail spaces in some new towns is an additional factor affecting the walkability and liveliness of the street environments, leading to a lack of social integration and opportunities for local entrepreneurialism. While the improvement of these issues in existing new towns is yet to become a policy focus, lessons are being incorporated into the planning of novel new towns, so that there are better quality walking environments and cycling systems.12 Designing public spaces for residents’ quality of life needs The development of public space in new towns has undergone significant changes over time. In the early stages of new town development, public spaces such as playgrounds and sports 18 Singapore Management University
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