Community Evaluation and Impact Assessment of Revitalization Project: A Case Study in Hong Kong

Abstract

With the aim of promoting sustainable conservation and development of historic buildings in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government introduced the Revitalizing Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme in 2007 to conserve and revitalize government-owned historic buildings. Since the announcement of the Revitalization Scheme, many people have criticized that the revitalization projects ended up not for the benefit of the local communities. Based on a completed revitalization project (the former North Kowloon Magistracy building) and situated within the literature of revitalization practices, community involvement, community evaluation, and impact assessment, this paper explored how community involvement with the revitalization project might influence the community’s evaluation of the project’s outcomes. The research found that community connections or involvement with the revitalization project significantly affected the community’s evaluation of the project’s various impacts.