From ultra-modern skyscrapers to grubby flatted factories, from mega-rich business people to those living in shanty dwellings, Hong Kong is a region of extremes.
Its government's Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has to grapple with diverse and sometimes frequently conflicting needs of commerce and society which means a study of the way that the region is approaching urban renewal provides lessons that are widely relevant.
A glance at the ultra-modern, picture-postcard skyline of central Hong Kong suggests little in the way of urban renewal problems. The island's restricted land supply ensures that site values almost continually escalate, providing the economic justification for replacing obsolete buildings with something more modern, efficient and above all, taller.
But lurking behind the shiny glass and concrete surface of the city is a certain amount of friction. Not everybody is content with the way that Hong Kong is going.
Consequently the URA's current urban regeneration strategy is half way through a two-year long review process.
The URA's task is to maintain a balance between the commercial freedom that characterises the region and, among other things, the need for affordable housing, the desire to preserve social networks in local communities as well as to conserve what architectural heritage remains.
The last 30 years has seen much more development focused on the New Territories – the area of mainland China that falls under the auspices of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
During the same period manufacturing in Hong Kong has declined from 25% of GDP in the 1980s to 3% in 2009 leaving a question mark over 17m square metres of flatted factories.
Meanwhile, when buildings of all types fall into disrepair fragmented ownership means that consensus is difficult to achieve and they often remain neglected.
The UK's Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), which is prominent in Asia with a branch in Hong Kong, has been asked to contribute to the URA's strategy review and published its recommendations during the MIPIM Asia property exhibition and conference staged in Hong Kong last week.
RICS chief executive Louis Armstrong said that the institution's findings are widely applicable: "We can learn a lot from Hong Kong and from mainland China as well. This is a particularly important piece of work as far as the RICS is concerned."
Among its conclusions the RICS says that for urban renewal to be successful clear public goals are required and the government must provide leadership. "a future 'vision' needs to be set by the public sector, which needs to see itself as a 'Public Entrepreneur'" says the report.
Policy needs to be consistent too. RICS says that drastic shifts and changes in government policy tend not to work – there must be some level of consistency. Furthermore, urban renewal, needs to be a process of evolution not revolution, RICS says.
