Improve use of idle sites for a lovable, liveable Hong Kong, new concern group urges

Take advantage of idle and underused local sites to help turn space-strapped Hong Kong into a lovable and liveable city, a newly founded concern group urged the government on Wednesday. 

Very Hong Kong, an independent not-for-profit foundation comprising about 10 professionals, including architects, planners and lawyers, called on the authorities to adopt a people-oriented mindset on the use of public spaces in Hong Kong and to streamline complicated procedures to facilitate the temporary use of government sites. 

Christopher Law, chief curator and co-founder of Very Hong Kong, said the group was formed in response to the lack of policy support for innovative use of idle sites. Its members hope to raise government awareness of the social and cultural needs of the people, not just their practical needs. 

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“In the past, we participated in a lot of community projects, and we found that community wisdom and creativity abound in this city, but available platforms to meet community needs are inadequate,” Law said. 

He pointed out that the Lands Department announced last year it had more than 800 idle sites available for short-term use by non-governmental organisations, but it was extremely difficult for the community to get final approval for projects due to the complicated process. 

“Whenever someone applies for short-term use of an idle site, he or she needs to seek approval from many government departments – sometimes more than 10 – including lands, planning, fire services, architectural services and education. The long and complicated process is really a turn-off for applicants,” Law said. 

The veteran architect cited the example of a two-day outdoor movie screening under a road bridge that took the organiser at least six months to obtain final approval for.