An advisory body on the environment yesterday called for more studies into the impact of poor ventilation and air pollution in the city. 'We hope there will be more research on how wind speed, direction, building height and positioning of buildings will affect the city's ventilation,' said Lam Kin-che, chairman of the Advisory Council on the Environment. 'Just take a look at the Provident Centre and City Garden on northern Hong Kong Island; the breeze can hardly get inland.' The council also wanted quantitative guidelines set for acceptable ventilation for new large-scale urban or property developments. Speaking after the council was briefed by Planning Department officials on the proposal for air ventilation guidelines, Professor Lam said it was urgent that guidelines be implemented for the Kai Tak redevelopment, which is now under planning review. He did not respond directly to whether air ventilation assessments should be made mandatory for developers, but he welcomed the Planning Department's promise to make the city's ventilation a priority. Green Power research head Cheng Luk-ki said it was time to press ahead with such ventilation assessments, given the building booms in Kowloon after the relocation of the airport. 'It is still not too late, though most developments in the city centre have not taken into account air ventilation,' he said. Dr Cheng said good ventilation in the city was vital because it helped improve dispersion of air pollutants, eased the heat-island effect and could save energy. The group found in 2002 that temperatures at street level in west and central Kowloon were generally higher than in the east. The Urban Renewal Authority yesterday pledged to follow proposed guidelines and conduct air ventilation assessments on their large redevelopment projects in the future.
