URBAN RENEWAL:
Destructive Vs.
Mee Kam Ng
Department of Urban Planning and Design
Faculty of Architecture
The University of Hong Kong
Renewal
What is Urban Renewal?
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‘Urban renewal’ is not defined in the Urban Renewal
Authority Ordinance (URAO)
Urban Renewal Authority has four priorities:
redevelopment, rehabilitation, preservation and
revitalisation
But what is ‘renewal’?
In Greek, there are two words for ‘renewal’:
◦ ‘Neos’: new, young in time (neo-)
◦ ‘Kainos’: new in nature or quality
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However, if we read the URAO carefully, the Ordinance
is basically talking about ‘renewal’ as ‘redevelopment’
 ‘Neos’!
‘Neos’—Destructive Renewal?
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‘Neos’: new development, new buildings, new
community, new establishment, not rooted in the
community, not sure if it will grow healthily, not weave
well with existing urban fabric, too expensive…
 Who will benefit? Developers? The primary and the
secondary property markets?
 Who pays? Tax-payers? People are displaced,
business uprooted, community network shattered
‘Kainos’—Is Sustainable Renewal Possible?
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Can we have ‘Kainos’, that is,
renewal as nature/quality? Just
like some pretty women and
men who seem to never grow
old, they are always young, full
of energy and good looking…
Old Buildings Make Great Shops
& Streets:
◦ Old buildings are welcome by
business because of cheap rent or
land costs
◦ Not all old buildings are dilapidated
◦ When put into good use, old
buildings contribute to diversities,
local character, economic vibrancy
and keeping a place alive!
‘Kainos’ Renewal
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Improve Internal Living
Conditions:
◦ If the internal living conditions are
poor in old buildings, this does
NOT mean that the buildings need
to be demolished
◦ To borrow from Jane Jacobs,
‘slums’ can be ‘unslummed’: lower
the population density, improve
the living conditions
‘Kainos’ Renewal
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Social, Economic & Cultural Functions of Streets:
◦ The social and economic functions of old buildings & streets go
beyond what can be seen: invisible social networks, economic
mutual support system, nurturing street smart kids, providing
defensible space
 support the sustainability of a place, ‘Kainos’!
‘Kainos’ Renewal
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If we want sustainable renewal:
◦ We should keep as many of the old buildings as possible
◦ Unslum those ‘overcrowded’ ones and improve the internal living
conditions
◦ Enact legislation to enforce responsible maintenance of buildings
◦ Keep street level shops to sustain vibrant local economy
City districts will be diversified; Jobs will be available; Accumulation
social and economic capital is possible; Sense of belonging can be
increased
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What is required: gradual changes, not ‘slash & burn’
When Should we do ‘Neos’ Renewal—
Redevelopment?
Only when buildings are unsafe and too poor to
maintain
 How can we make sure ‘neos’ renewal will be
sustainable (‘kainos’) then?
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How to Make Sure ‘Neos’ Renewal be Sustainable?
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respecting the history of an existing place, adding
differences and diversities, enriching and perfecting it
How to Make Sure ‘Neos’ Renewal be Sustainable?
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Creating lively and interesting streets, recognising their
economic and social functions
How to Make Sure ‘Neos’ Renewal be Sustainable?
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Diversity breeds diversity: economic (local and beyond),
social mix (different classes) and built forms (old and
new)
How to Make Sure ‘Neos’ Renewal be Sustainable?
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Use the public realm (open spaces, public buildings) to
knit places together
How to Make Sure ‘Neos’ Renewal be Sustainable?
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Fostering community networks, a sense of belonging and
local identity
How to Make Sure ‘Neos’ Renewal be Sustainable?
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The importance of a local
perspective
Acknowledge the forces that
exist for regeneration in the
old districts
Recognise the social and
economic functions of old
areas and communities in
urban sustainability
Why is the local/community dimension so important?
Local knowledge is essential  local districts need to build up
capacity to plan, coordinate and manage at an
understandable scale
 Then, local districts need to identify the appropriate renewal
mechanisms:
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◦ Need for economic renewal—fostering diversities? Branding?
◦ Improving living conditions—internal? Population density? Groupspecific such as better housing for elderly?
◦ Redeveloping unsound buildings?
◦ Fostering social networks?
◦ Rejuvenating historic and cultural resources?
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And to carry out
these options:
for
Why Can be Done in Urban Renewal?
Economic
Analysis
Environmental
Analysis
Social
Analysis
INPUTS
External
Drivers of
Change
APPLICATION TO
AN INDIVIDUAL
URBAN AREA
Internal
Drivers of
Change
OUTPUTS
Neighborhood
Strategies
Training &
Education
Economic Development
Physical
Improvements
Environmental Action
Roberts & Sykes, 2000, p.20
Why Can be Done in Sustainable Urban Renewal?
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Rehabilitation (top-priority)
◦ ‘Unslumming’, improving internal living conditions, lowering population
density
◦ Material or monetary assistance
◦ Legislative changes: mandatory maintenance of buildings by owners
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Redevelopment
◦ Private sector based (‘Neos’)  with ‘Kainos’ design, knitting the project
into the existing urban fabric
◦ In order to produce ‘Kainos’:
 Community based? (loans from the Government? Guarantor?)
 Community-private sector partnership? (legislative support)
 Community involvement and decision making
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Revitalisation
◦ Improve street layout to allow for growth of community-based
enterprises
◦ Foster diversities
◦ Knitting a place together with streets, public realm (open spaces, public
buildings), art display, interesting visual corridors, street furniture…
◦ Building people’s sense of belonging to the district, a place they call
home, ready to defend it…
Conclusion
 Cities are complex & intricately organized:
‘a creation of incredible numbers of different people and different
private organisations, with vastly different ideas and purposes,
planning and contriving outside the formal framework of public action’
(Jacobs, 1961, p.241).
 Cities are inherently ‘organic’, renewing themselves
constantly: ‘Kainos’!
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If we bear this in mind, urban renewal has to be ‘Kainos’ renewal,
continuous renewal as an innate nature/quality—multidimensional, community based, people-centred, place making
and local identity fostering
Let’s not redevelop our cities as ‘Neos’ renewal as far as possible
and when ‘Neos’ is inevitable, let’s plan it with ‘Kainos’ design.
And the local perspective is essential if we want ‘Kainos’ design
and renewal…