Projects
HAPPY CITY WORKSHOP
On the 14th of November 2020, the ISU organised a virtual event called the Happy City workshop, which was conducted to facilitate a discussion on the theme of critical urban issues and the aspirations we should have as a community to create a more livable city. Well known speakers were invited to share their perspectives on the issues of sustainability and happiness in Hong Kong, their own approaches to sustainable design and how we can transform our cities and the way we live as citizens in a dense urban environment. The virtual event consisted of both panel presentations and breakout sessions where all participants of the workshop, who ranged from qualified professionals to students, could take part in a joint discussion about what contributes to a happy city.
Panel Presentations
The event started off with opening remarks by Dr. Sujata Govada, the Founding Director of ISU and the CEO and Managing Director of UDP international. This was followed by her presentation on the origin of the ‘Happy City’ concept, a statistical comparison of Hong Kong’s livability versus other leading nations and the “ingredients” needed to create a Happy City. By comparing Hong Kong’s livability index, population density, open space and living space to other major cities, we get an understanding of how these aspects contribute to what citizens perceive as happiness and how the economics and science behind happiness is what is used to determine each city’s happiness ranking in the world.
Donald Choi, the president of HKIUD and CEO of Chinachem group then followed up with a presentation looking at Hong Kong from a more nancial standpoint in relation to GDP and from the perspective of the Urban Renewal Authority. Around 18.5% of Hong Kong residents showed symptoms of bad mental health, with the main causes being loss of identity, lack of con dence, disruption from technology which lead to a fear of joblessness and una ordable housing. With Hong Kong being one of the network cities in the greater bay area, it is important to create feasible solutions to these health problems, such as the a ordable housing schemes incorporated in other cities like London, in order to lead Hong Kong’s happiness and productivity in an upwards trend.
Afterwards, Markus Shaw the chairman of Walk DVRC introduced the Walk DVRC proposal which aims to create a more pedestrian -friendly environment in Central and integrate more open space into the area to allow people and vehicles to co-exist. Walk-DVRC reminisces on the way of life in the past when the roads in Hong Kong were largely open to pedestrians, in comparison to the system now where roads are primarily for vehicles and pedestrians are pushed to the sidewalks. Most major CBD renovation projects worldwide (such as Trafalger Square in London and Broadway in New York) start o with pedestrian schemes, and so Walk-DVRC proposes a “pedestrian artery” through the central CBD to bring connectivity to the district and surrounding heritage sites and to further elevate Hong Kong’s status as a global city.
Francis Ngai the Founder & CEO of Social Ventures then proceeded to share his own experiences of trying to contribute to a more healthy society, from his green eating initiative “Green Monday” to “RunOurCity”, the running initiative to encourage youth to be healthier. He also introduced Social Venture’s a ordable rent scheme to revive neighbourhoods and give aspiration to unmotivated youth. With over 130 homes currently being provided, Social Ventures has created an alternative to sub-divided housing which encourages people to connect with each other and could potentially be the new urban model for Hong Kong in the future.
Urban Processes Project, MSC Urban Design Students, School of Architecture, CUHK
Finally, Hendrik Tieben, an Associate Professor at the CUHK School of Architecture emphasised the importance of modifying small spaces such as street parks and pathways in the city to create a large positive impact in the long term for the overall city. Creating these interactive spaces encourages interaction between people and forms a community network, which in turn encourages social activity and bene ts the positive impression the space has on an individual. By making these small scale changes, the overall happiness of people increases.
To summarize the presentation session, Dr. Sujata Govada concluded by referencing ISU’s latest initiative to create a smart cultural precinct triangle in Central to connect the heritage sites within the area and facilitate a pedestrian system within this highly urbanised area.
Breakout Sessions
On the 14th of November 2020, the ISU organised a virtual event called the Happy City workshop, which was conducted to facilitate a discussion on the theme of critical urban issues and the aspirations we should have as a community to create a more livable city. Well known speakers were invited to share their perspectives on the issues of sustainability and happiness in Hong Kong, their own approaches to sustainable design and how we can transform our cities and the way we live as citizens in a dense urban environment. The virtual event consisted of both panel presentations and breakout sessions where all participants of the workshop, who ranged from qualified professionals to students, could take part in a joint discussion about what contributes to a happy city.
Introduction Session
The breakout sessions started of with a self-introduction segment where participants introduced themselves, what makes them happy and what they thought were the key ingredients for a happy city. This was then followed by student presentations and then a quick exercise for participants to familiarise themselves with the CBD area of Hong Kong which is where a lot of the city’s largest urban environment is situated.
Role-play
The interactive segment consisted of a role-play scenario where each person takes on the role of a key stakeholder in our society (eg. Landlord, student, businessman etc,) and comments on what they would like to modify about the urban environment of Central. This activity allowed participants to gain an idea of the di erent perspectives and attitutes people may have towards what they think needs to be improved in a city. The varying opinions are also re ective of what needs to be considered when planning an urban environment and creating an ideal Happy City. Final discussions and key recommendations on the topic were presented to the larger group at the end of the event.
