A video featuring the CLC-ULI research workshops was screened at the ULI Asia Pacific Summit in Hong Kong earlier this month. Click to watch the video. CLC Director (Research) Dr Limin Hee also co-moderated a track on urban mobility at this

Summit. Learn more about the Summit here.

Findings of the CLC-ULI 'active mobility' research project will be presented at the WORLD CITIES SUMMIT 2014 next week, as well as the 2014 ULI Fall Meeting. A joint CLC-ULI publication, Creating Healthy Places through Active Mobility, with recommendations for the Singapore context will be released later this year. This research is funded by an ULI Innovation Grant, as part of the Building Healthy Places Initiative.

"We shall not make the cities to make the cars happy, but we shall find a good balance, so that the necessary traffic can happen without congestion and

without too much pollution. But also that people can walk around as much as possible, and that they can bicycle as much as possible." - Professor Jan Gehl in his short chat with the CLC at the CLC-ULI workshop.

Click here to read more of Jan Gehl's experiences in urban planning and how his interest in a people-centric approach began.


 

Hongkongers come first: Through discussions with various government departments in HK, the consistent message was the strong interest the HK government has for its citizens. In particular, HK has a small foreign workforce as the priority is on providing employment opportunities for locals. Foreign workforce is concentrated to specific sectors that consistently face local manpower shortage, and this policy went through a very thorough consultation involving the government, unions and employers. These sectors are deemed the 3D industries ("dangerous, dirty and demanding"), such as construction and elderly care sectors.

Public consultation: The HK Government takes public consultations very seriously, and has put in place systems and structures to ensure that the peoples' voices are heard. While it may slow down the decision-making process, this sincere effort has allowed the government to engage the people more effectively as Hongkongers are happy to share their views with the government via media channels and support groups.

Strength of civil society: A legacy of the British, the civil society is empowered such that they play an active role in the development of HK. For example, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) provides housing for lower income groups while the private sector meets the needs of the affluent; a not-for-profit organisation like the Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS) complements the work of the HKHA by providing housing options for the "sandwiched" class.

*EDGE programme is conducted twice a year for promising officers from the Infrastructure & Environment (I&E) Sector in Singapore slated for the Public Sector Leadership Programme. As part of the first run of the 2014 programme, participants went on a study trip to Tianjin Eco-city and Hong Kong to understand and learn about their experience in urban development.