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Urban planning

Urban planning
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Urban planning. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
People admire blossoming lotus flowers at Long Valley Nature Park in Sheung Shui with the skyline of Shenzhen in the distance, on May 19, 2025. Photo: Eugene Lee
Hong Kong environmental issues

Opinion | To stay competitive, Hong Kong must embrace nature-based solutions

The government’s push for improved urban design is strategic and timely. Now it must turn ideas into action.

Hong Kong courts

Hong Kong government: golf course flats study has ‘no legal effect’ in appeal

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Hong Kong society

Town planning body slammed for neglecting disabled people over Wan Chai plan

Hong Kong society

HK$5 million plan to install anti-terrorism bollards near Hong Kong’s Sogo store

Authorities plan to place bollards and crash barriers at road crossings near Sogo in Causeway Bay and at the nearby Paterson Street pedestrian precinct.

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An artist’s impression of how the pedestrian crossing at Sogo will look with safety bollards installed. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Northern Metropolis can combine best of central planning and free market

Guided by the national five-year plans, the Hong Kong government is changing policies and offering attractive terms for the project.

Hong Kong society

Letters | How government-led building repairs can work in Hong Kong

Readers discuss the safeguards needed to ensure fairness and effectiveness, and public demand for the coin collection service.

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Architecture and design

Hong Kong’s AI-driven future and human past contrasted in 2 riveting projects

Sterile AI-driven designs at the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture are at odds with a group’s efforts to preserve community stories.

Visitors view a display at the 2025 Hong Kong Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture exhibition at the East Kowloon Cultural Centre. Photo: eKCC
Hong Kong housing

Opinion | Hong Kong’s fire victims need empathy, clarity and a plan

The fire must compel us to re-examine how we assign risk, structure contracts, insure homes and support communities after a catastrophe.

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Hong Kong transport

Hong Kong’s MTR Corp gets green light to plan 7.5km South Island line extension

Transport chief Mable Chan describes the new project as the ‘future power line’ of Southern district.

Indonesia

Deadly Indonesia fire fuels claims of ‘back-room dealings’ on safety

Unions blame bribery for lax enforcement after 22 workers died in a burning Jakarta office building with no emergency exits.

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Firefighters at a building in central Jakarta where a fire killed 22 people on December 9. Photo: TNS
Accidents and personal safety

Letters | Hong Kong’s ageing buildings need better care under stronger rules

Readers call on the government to revamp the city’s governance of building management and repair, and rethink its approach to teenagers’ social media use.

Workers carry out emergency repair works outside Po On Building in Mong Kok on July 5, 2023, after concrete chunks fell off the building for a second time in three days. Photo: Jelly Tse
Hong Kong culture

Opinion | Frank Gehry’s vision for Hong Kong’s arts hub was an opportunity lost

Years after Gehry delivered the Guggenheim Bilbao, one of the world’s most successful museums, his vision for Hong Kong was rejected.

Asean

In wake of Hong Kong blaze, Southeast Asia’s fire hazards come under scrutiny

Serious structural defects and inefficient bureaucracy tainted by corruption are common in the region, fire safety experts say.

Hong Kong society

Letters | Commercialisation of Hong Kong’s public venues must come with a caveat

Readers discuss the government’s bid to open up underused public venues, call for a Firefighters’ Day, and take issue with the sensationalisation of news.

Dancers perform at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre piazza on November 16, as part of the Asia+ Festival programme this year. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hong Kong economy

Good deal for all? Can Hong Kong urban renewal body’s payout review fix scheme?

Cash-strapped Urban Renewal Authority is reviewing compensation scheme for flat owners forced out by redevelopment. But is a wider rethink needed?

Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Hong Kong economy

Letters | Time for Hong Kong to move on IP trading, or our neighbours will

Readers discuss the city’s still meagre efforts to become a regional IP hub, the community charm of Victoria Park Tennis Stadium, and the use of physical cheques.

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong has set course to join the ‘yacht club of Asia’. Can it find a way?

Yacht tourism could potentially be worth billions of dollars annually to Hong Kong’s economy, but unlocking that potential remains a challenge.

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China's economic recovery

Why some Chinese cities are rethinking their sweeping development strategies

Why is the famed demolition and reconstruction approach that bottled lightning in Datong city increasingly seen as outdated? And what are the alternatives?

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Hong Kong economy

Exclusive | Northern Metropolis flexibility not ‘favouring developers’: Hong Kong minister

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn reveals six-year construction cap could be extended under incentives to boost investor appeal.

Hong Kong housing

Editorial | Strike a balance when fixing Hong Kong’s urban renewal compensation

The Urban Renewal Authority should ease the concerns of affected owner-occupiers while putting its operations on a sounder footing.

Hong Kong

Video | Family businesses vanish amid Kowloon City makeover

The bustling streets in Hong Kong’s Nga Tsin Wai Road and Carpenter Road area have gone quiet as shops shut during a redevelopment push, leaving Lam Kee Grocery as one of the last still in business.

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Japan

‘Bad actor’ fears prompt Japan to review foreign-owned land sales

Officials are concerned about strategic land near military bases and water supplies falling into foreign hands.

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Japanese soldiers train in Okinawa prefecture. Photo: AFP
Science

Letters | Yu Kongjian’s legacy of ‘sponge cities’ will carry on

Readers discuss a Chinese flood control solution for the world, reactions to a new tech talent visa, and golf tourism in Hong Kong.

Infrastructure

Will China’s next 5-year plan rewrite its infrastructure playbook?

While the old ‘megaproject’ model was effective, upcoming blueprint could provide outline for an updated, tech-driven outlook.

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Hong Kong housing

Hong Kong to relax plot ratio rules to encourage private urban renewal

Scheme targets older areas in seven districts with bonus plot ratio and land premium vouchers to provide incentives for redevelopment.

Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok in Kowloon. The Development Bureau will launch a two-month consultation over its proposal this month. Photo: Dickson Lee
Hong Kong housing

Should Hong Kong’s URA tie compensation to condition of homes? Analysts say yes

Lawmaker Andrew Lam says URA acquisition prices should exceed private sector values.

The Urban Renewal Authority faces increasing financial challenges amid a sluggish property market. Photo: Eugene Lee
Hong Kong society

Hong Kong plans to save historic school, ancestral hall in Northern Metropolis

Authorities say preserving century-old Yau Tam Mei Primary School and Wai Cheung Ancestral Hall will provide ‘tangible link’ to area’s history.

Hong Kong economy

Borrowing boost for Hong Kong urban renewal body as another deficit recorded

Urban Renewal Authority’s borrowing limit has been increased to HK$35 billion.

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