https://www.scmp.com/rss/9762/feed Ian Brownlee is the managing director of planning consultancy Masterplan Limited. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ian Brownlee Ian Brownlee The Northern Metropolis is in the news almost every day. The big policy focus for the administration, it is determining a new future for Hong Kong. Part of the New Territories, which were dubbed “a land between” in the 1980s, the area was once little more than a rural leftover between urban Hong Kong and the mainland, where Shenzhen’s paddy fields could be seen from a Lok Ma Chau hill. China’s opening-up policies saw Deng Xiaoping promoting Shenzhen in the 1990s. Suddenly, a world-class,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3339034/northern-metropolis-can-combine-best-central-planning-and-free-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3339034/northern-metropolis-can-combine-best-central-planning-and-free-market?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Ian Brownlee Ian Brownlee The Society for Protection of the Harbour has ceased operations after 30 years of advocacy to protect Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. The founder and main driving force of the group, Winston Chu Ka-sun, indicated his disappointment at the recent amendments to the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance and said “he was not sure about the future of the harbour”. I had the privilege of working with the group as its professional planning adviser through all the Town Planning Board and court processes... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3321169/how-hong-kong-won-its-legacy-protection-victoria-harbour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3321169/how-hong-kong-won-its-legacy-protection-victoria-harbour?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Aug 2025 01:30:07 +0000 How will Hong Kong’s athletes perform at the Paris Olympics? Will their results show progress in the city’s production of world-class athletes? Will the number of medals achieved reflect progress when compared with the six medals from Tokyo – one gold, two silver and three bronze, the best results ever for Hong Kong? It’s unlikely as that was a great achievement which will be difficult to better. Every result from the Olympics or Asian Games raises questions about whether Hong Kong’s sports... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3270664/lack-sports-facilities-keeps-hong-kong-going-more-gold?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3270664/lack-sports-facilities-keeps-hong-kong-going-more-gold?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jul 2024 01:30:13 +0000 Hong Kong’s municipal solid waste disposal problem has been with us for a long time and will not go away soon. The city has reached a crunch point after decades of procrastination and inadequate attention. Once again, a decisive solution has been sidestepped and the problem remains. Ten years ago, I worked with concerned and knowledgeable individuals in the Integrated Waste Management Action Group. We analysed the government’s proposals in the 2013 blueprint for the sustainable use of resources... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3264290/hong-kongs-waste-woes-cant-wait-next-charging-scheme-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3264290/hong-kongs-waste-woes-cant-wait-next-charging-scheme-attempt?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 May 2024 01:30:08 +0000 The Hong Kong budget for 2024/25 will soon be announced. Will it take account of the fundamental changes Hong Kong is undergoing? Changes in population structure and community attitudes will shape our social and economic activities. We need to change the way we invest in, plan and manage our city. Some changes are related to technology, others because of Covid-19, including changes in attitudes to health and well-being, and greater awareness of sustainability. Yet other changes relate to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3252078/hong-kong-20-years-ago-gone-its-time-accept-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3252078/hong-kong-20-years-ago-gone-its-time-accept-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Feb 2024 01:30:14 +0000 The announcement of the Northern Metropolis in 2021 was a welcome focus on an area of Hong Kong that had not been comprehensively planned. It covers a wide strip of land along the border with Shenzhen. It includes existing towns at Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long and developing areas at Kwu Tung and elsewhere. It also includes areas of high ecological value. One of the biggest questions with the Northern Metropolis is how the government will protect and enhance irreplaceable biodiversity assets while... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3246469/hong-kong-wetlands-risk-losing-out-technology-development-plans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3246469/hong-kong-wetlands-risk-losing-out-technology-development-plans?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 29 Dec 2023 01:30:07 +0000 The HKeToll collection system is almost fully in place. On November 26, the Tate’s Cairn Tunnel joined the system, and the Aberdeen Tunnel is next this month. About 430,000 vehicles per day are now being charged through this system. Generally, the transition from toll booths to electronic payment has resulted in smoother traffic flow, and will create more potential for green landscaping. But this is more than a toll collection system – it is also a traffic management system. On December 17,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243752/how-hketoll-can-make-hong-kong-better-city-street-level?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3243752/how-hketoll-can-make-hong-kong-better-city-street-level?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Dec 2023 08:30:09 +0000 When the Hong Kong government says it is going to review processes to streamline the city’s development, it creates an anticipation that something may actually be done to make things easier and quicker. A review definitely needs to be done, as the bureaucracy is getting unnecessarily complex and the outcomes it delivers are not that great. The slowness in delivering flats to address people’s housing needs is the big driver. On March 22, proposals were presented to the Legislative Council’s panel... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3172401/cutting-public-out-hong-kongs-town-planning-wont-make-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3172401/cutting-public-out-hong-kongs-town-planning-wont-make-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Apr 2022 01:15:09 +0000 The devastating impacts of Covid-19 are being felt around the world. One unexpected outcome may be that it reduces the rate of climate change. The coronavirus may inadvertently be the unifying factor which forces change in lifestyles on a global scale.  To meet carbon emission reduction targets, changes in lifestyle and business are required: consumption of almost everything must be reduced and manufacturing, energy use, international transport of goods, tourism and air travel curtailed.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3074400/coronavirus-crisis-changing-how-we-work-travel-and-shop-might-just?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3074400/coronavirus-crisis-changing-how-we-work-travel-and-shop-might-just?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2020 22:30:14 +0000 The overwhelming victory by pro-democracy candidates in the recent district council elections is already having an effect – in fact, even before they begin their work in earnest. There seems to be a realisation within parts of the administration that there has been a significant change that cannot be ignored.  In July 2019, I wrote in the Post about the need for all of the administration to listen to the public, not just Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. My reference was the Town... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3045341/after-hong-kongs-pro-democracy-camp-election-win-town-planning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3045341/after-hong-kongs-pro-democracy-camp-election-win-town-planning?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Jan 2020 02:00:16 +0000 This month, the pro-government party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, proposed resuming land owned by private developers to build more public housing. The Post, in an editorial, welcomed the move and concluded that: “If ever there was a time to think outside the box it is now.” Beijing newspapers then urged Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to resume land from Hong Kong developers, who have been accused of making excessive profits. High housing... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3027711/resumption-land-costly-and-takes-time-here-are-five-better-ways-fix?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3027711/resumption-land-costly-and-takes-time-here-are-five-better-ways-fix?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Sep 2019 22:30:06 +0000 Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has apologised for seeking to introduce the extradition bill that set off a wave of unprecedented protests and violence. She has said she will reform her administration’s governing style and listen to the people. But it is not just the chief executive who needs to listen to the public – the whole of the civil service needs a change in attitude. Nor is it just the younger generation whom officials should listen to; rather, they need to listen... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3016890/it-isnt-just-carrie-lam-who-needs-listen-people-so-does-whole-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3016890/it-isnt-just-carrie-lam-who-needs-listen-people-so-does-whole-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2019 22:30:09 +0000 The timing could not be worse. Just after the administration withdrew its proposal for the rationalisation of tunnel tolls, the Transport Bureau submitted to the Central and Western District Council a long-running study on road pricing in Central. The legislature’s fundamental objection to the tunnel tolls plan was apparently an objection to charging for the use of roads. There is no real concern about the quality of life in our city.  The disagreement between the administration and the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3004137/hong-kong-has-blown-chance-sell-public-congestion-pricing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3004137/hong-kong-has-blown-chance-sell-public-congestion-pricing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Apr 2019 01:00:15 +0000 The controversial Central-Wan Chai Bypass is set to open soon – after nine years and HK$36 billion, we are finally getting the “missing link” in east-west traffic movement along the north shore of Hong Kong Island. This is not just a major highway connection. It also creates enormous opportunities to transform traffic priorities and rethink how best to use our limited road surfaces in a packed part of the city. The first opportunity is rationalisation of cross-harbour tunnel flows. Traffic... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2179620/central-wan-chai-bypass-isnt-just-vital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2179620/central-wan-chai-bypass-isnt-just-vital?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Dec 2018 22:30:45 +0000 Trees are living things that grow and change and eventually die and fall. They are important to a dense city like Hong Kong and are a vital antidote to our masses of concrete and hard surfaces. They are a major part of our soft infrastructure – they green, they shade, they provide oxygen and they cool the city from the ever-increasing urban heat island effect. A concentrated effort has been made to green the city and plant trees, especially over the past 30 years.  Typhoon Mangkhut was... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2168941/hong-kongs-trees-are-risk-more-people-who-dont?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2168941/hong-kongs-trees-are-risk-more-people-who-dont?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000 The task force on land supply’s consultation document should provide a factual starting point for a rational public discussion leading to realistic and achievable public policy objectives. Unfortunately, facts are not given priority and the process is likely to result in unachievable policy objectives. The most sensitive area and biggest driver for land is housing, and here the analysis has fundamental problems.   The demand for housing is derived from the government’s 2030+ planning strategy,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2145382/hong-kong-can-solve-its-housing-problems-without-finding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2145382/hong-kong-can-solve-its-housing-problems-without-finding?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 May 2018 10:20:42 +0000 Developers are often criticised for hoarding land in the New Territories and not developing their plots to meet Hong Kong’s housing shortage. Nothing could be further from the truth. Developers want to develop; that is their reason for being.  Instead, the biggest problem is that the government puts obstacles in the way of them doing this. Why this happens is mystifying to those of us involved in the development process, as it is the government that keeps saying land for development is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2139059/dont-blame-developers-hong-kongs-land-shortage-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2139059/dont-blame-developers-hong-kongs-land-shortage-government?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Mar 2018 09:14:06 +0000 July was a critical month for plastic pollution. Plastic waste now has catastrophic implications for Hong Kong, and the planet. In July, a study by the University of California, Santa Barbara provided the first global analysis of all mass-produced plastics. Media reports said plastic threatened a “near permanent contamination of the natural environment”, and called the threat a “crisis comparable to climate change”. The amount of plastic created since 1950 had increased exponentially, from 2... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2106896/solution-hong-kongs-plastic-waste-crisis-turn-it-fuel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2106896/solution-hong-kongs-plastic-waste-crisis-turn-it-fuel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Aug 2017 11:02:12 +0000 The chief executive-elect has set herself quite a challenge in trying to get Hong Kong people united. It is only going to happen if she gives concentrated attention to what people really care about. It is more than “livelihood issues” – it is quality of life and achievement of personal potential. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has a proven history of effective policymaking. Her manifesto gave importance to young people and to building a “better future” together. She acknowledges their... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2087740/how-carrie-lam-can-fulfil-her-promise-help-hong-kongs-youth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2087740/how-carrie-lam-can-fulfil-her-promise-help-hong-kongs-youth?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Apr 2017 05:03:23 +0000 One of Hong Kong’s major competitive advantages over other Asian cities was that it was easy to get around and attend three or four business meetings a day. That is rapidly disappearing and we are becoming just another congested Asian city. The administration of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has requested suggestions for the coming policy address and budget. The government must address traffic congestion and make better use of roads in the public interest, while at the same time increasing... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2059897/hong-kong-must-target-private-cars-stop-city-grinding-halt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2059897/hong-kong-must-target-private-cars-stop-city-grinding-halt?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Jan 2017 01:01:10 +0000 The opening of the South Island MTR line next month will mean that, for the first time, people from the south of Hong Kong Island will not be totally reliant on road transport. Travel patterns will change away from road traffic, making it the perfect time to make more space available for people to walk. Making cities more walkable is a focus throughout the world. In early October, Hong Kong hosted the international conference called “Walk21”, featuring wide-ranging presentations about walkable... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2046222/making-hong-kong-walkable-city-one-step-time?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2046222/making-hong-kong-walkable-city-one-step-time?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Nov 2016 04:16:19 +0000 A year after it opened, Kitchee Sports Club’s ­HK$84 million training centre in Sha Tin is facing closure because the government wants to take back the land. The saga shows up the fragility of the provision of sports and community support services by sports bodies, schools and NGOs. The site was leased to Kitchee on a five-year agreement, and there are hundreds of organisations in the city providing sport and other community services that hold such short-term tenancies. All are at risk of losing... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2027331/kitchee-land-fiasco-highlights-lack-long-term-planning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2027331/kitchee-land-fiasco-highlights-lack-long-term-planning?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Oct 2016 04:12:54 +0000 The public consultation on the Lantau concept plan ends on April 30. Following the Hong Kong government’s recent record, nothing is likely to change in response to public input. Lantau is our biggest island and major development is already coming, with Tung Chung new town, the airport expansion and the bridge to Zhuhai and Macau. Also, there is a need for more urban development to meet local housing needs and employment. Lantau should be used for development and the logical place is along the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1938978/spare-lantau-island-more-artificial-tourism-projects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1938978/spare-lantau-island-more-artificial-tourism-projects?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Apr 2016 04:25:15 +0000 The Paris climate conference achieved an international agreement on limiting global warming. The subsequent focus has mainly been on reducing carbon emissions. In Hong Kong, the focus is on power companies’ fuel mix and reduced electricity use in buildings. But there is more that is relevant to us. One of the concepts from Paris is the protection and improvement of “carbon sinks”, particularly forests and seas, which applies to our forests, wetlands and surrounding seas. The summit states the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1893932/rezoning-hong-kongs-green-belt-housing-must-be-last-resort?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1893932/rezoning-hong-kongs-green-belt-housing-must-be-last-resort?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Dec 2015 01:50:38 +0000 A quiet revolution is taking place in Victoria Harbour as nature starts to reclaim the waters. And few are aware of the significance. In September, the government started turning off the last of the sewers which had for years spewed thousands of tonnes of almost raw sewage into the harbour. This is a major step in completing the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme, which has progressively seen the construction of major infrastructure to collect sewage from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and send it to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1876191/hong-kong-harbours-return-health-should-be-green-light-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1876191/hong-kong-harbours-return-health-should-be-green-light-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Nov 2015 03:10:45 +0000 Hong Kong's housing has been unaffordable for many local people for around 30 years. It is ironic that when worldwide interest rates are low, it is almost impossible for middle-income people in Hong Kong to buy a flat. Financial obstacles put in place by the government and the Monetary Authority protect the banking system and keep the property market high. They prevent people with a reasonable income and little accumulated wealth from buying a flat, trapping them in the unaffordable private... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1740221/why-hong-kong-housing-affordability-has-little-do-supply?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1740221/why-hong-kong-housing-affordability-has-little-do-supply?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Mar 2015 09:49:30 +0000 There is no doubt that a lack of land sales by the administration under former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen resulted in a housing shortage. The current administration has made housing its overriding priority, calling it a crisis. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying says it "is the major concern of everyone in Hong Kong" and has called on the public, district councillors and green groups to support his proposals. But is there really a crisis? The facts tend to show otherwise. Perhaps... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1699405/what-housing-crisis-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1699405/what-housing-crisis-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Feb 2015 08:19:58 +0000 This week is World Green Building Week, and it is observed in Hong Kong. The past approach to sustainable building design has largely focused on making buildings more energy efficient and reducing their carbon footprint. Maybe Hong Kong is now in a position to take a big positive step forward and make buildings energy producers. With Hong Kong recording the hottest summer months ever this year, global warming seems more of a reality than ever. All of us have been affected by the heat in one way... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1596164/hong-kongs-buildings-should-be-generating-electricity-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1596164/hong-kongs-buildings-should-be-generating-electricity-not?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2014 20:17:45 +0000 There is no doubt that the previous administration did not put enough land up for sale. Housing supply dropped to a level that affected the affordability of homes in Hong Kong. But affordability of housing is a worldwide problem, not just here. The present administration is totally focused on the provision of residential flats. One unintended outcome is likely to be the long-term shortage of open space, and community and institutional facilities for the people who will live in these new flats -... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1528423/urban-planning-must-reflect-hong-kongs-great-need-community-and-open-space?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1528423/urban-planning-must-reflect-hong-kongs-great-need-community-and-open-space?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jun 2014 05:30:30 +0000 Well-researched community initiatives are placing a different pressure on the government to look at how to implement its waste management policy. Waste management is widely recognised as a community problem. Waste levels are excessive relative to other places and landfill sites are running out of capacity. Community objections to landfill expansion and the use of incinerators are problems inherited from the previous administration. In May, the Environment Bureau issued the "Blueprint for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1368773/community-has-know-how-tackle-hong-kongs-waste-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1368773/community-has-know-how-tackle-hong-kongs-waste-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Dec 2013 19:40:44 +0000 The development secretary opened a can of worms with his suggestion that residential development could take place in country parks. However, the more complex issue is what to do with the "enclaves" that are surrounded by country parks, but not included as part of them. A town hall meeting in Sai Kung on Saturday seems to have brought several parties together, and reports indicated that "villagers' rights" was part of the discussion. To put this in perspective, we need to look at what other... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1336565/villager-rights-deserve-protection-they-cant-trump-all-else?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1336565/villager-rights-deserve-protection-they-cant-trump-all-else?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Oct 2013 09:15:00 +0000 Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has initiated a review of Hong Kong's tourism policy. It must be a radical reassessment, as the old model is no longer relevant. Continued growth in tourism is unrealistic and it must be stabilised. Until recently, all tourism was seen as beneficial. It is inevitable that large numbers of outsiders have consequences beyond creating employment and income. Like anywhere else, Hong Kong has a limited "cultural capacity" to accommodate tourists. Economic benefits now... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1218510/regulate-tourist-numbers-hong-kongs-benefit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1218510/regulate-tourist-numbers-hong-kongs-benefit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Reality hit the Hong Kong team on Friday when they lost three games in a row. After more than three months of a well-structured programme the team found they played to their seeding - at the bottom of pool C. The feeling around the stadium was that Hong Kong had done badly, and in reality they had. Their ball control was not up to it and they kicked the ball away. They gave away penalties and they had three players off the pitch at various times with yellow cards. They also suddenly realised... https://www.scmp.com/article/493738/fittest-fastest-hk-side-yet-not-race-so-its-time-we-gave-them-more-experience?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/493738/fittest-fastest-hk-side-yet-not-race-so-its-time-we-gave-them-more-experience?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Mar 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Parents shedding their reluctance to allow children to take part and Sars fears have seen phenomenal change Outside of the July 1 demonstrations, this morning's Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon rates as probably the biggest single public participatory event in Hong Kong. The growth of numbers in this event is astounding - from 1,000 entries in 1997 to nearly 31,000 this year. Even more impressive is this is only one expression of a major change in society in the past few years - there... https://www.scmp.com/article/490584/sports-explosion-shakes-hk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/490584/sports-explosion-shakes-hk?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Feb 2005 16:00:00 +0000 The report that some of Hong Kong's public-spirited, well-established families want to put together a charitable foundation to preserve the Central Police Station site, and operate an arts complex there, is great news. But the Tourism Commission is perhaps the wrong body to be leading the process on the sale of this important site, because there is more than just another tourist attraction involved here. A charitable foundation for heritage conservation is not a new concept. The idea has been... https://www.scmp.com/article/465421/heritage-conservation-built-trust?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/465421/heritage-conservation-built-trust?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Aug 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Madam Justice Carlye Chu has pronounced judgment on the way the Town Planning Board prepared its plan for the Wan Chai and Causeway Bay waterfront. She concluded that the board did not respect the law as embodied in the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance (PHO), and has told the board to go back and start again. This may have been the most direct effect of the decision, but the most important impact will be on how things are done in the future. The decision should not be seen as a victory for... https://www.scmp.com/article/422109/how-build-world-class-waterfront?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/422109/how-build-world-class-waterfront?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jul 2003 16:00:00 +0000