Urban Regeneration Process: The Legacy Village in the Urban City of Hong Kong

Abstract

It is increasingly recognized that embracing heritage conservation in urban regeneration plan can enhance sustainable development. However, the complex juxtaposition of conservation and urban regeneration has to be clearly addressed in cities relying heavily in property development and economic growth. The paper investigates the Nga Tsin Wai old village in the urban city of Hong Kong. It aims to explore the contested roles of the key stakeholders in the debate of the conservation and redevelopment of the village over the past twenty years. Focus group meetings of the original inhabitants and in-depth interviews of different stakeholders groups were conducted. The case vividly demonstrates the key challenges of integrating heritage conservation in the redevelopment of the old village including incompatible interests of different stakeholders groups, fragmented institutional arrangements, and lack of supportive government policies. This paper recommends a stronger collaboration between urban planners, conservationists and policy makers for better integration of the different regimes of economic development, real estate development, land use planning, and housing and urban policy. Most importantly, supportive government policy, especially in land use planning throughout the whole process is fundamental to resolve the conflicts arise from different interest groups.