DEPT OF GEOGRAPHY
| Researcher : Chen Y |
| Project Title: | Recreation value of country parks in Hong Kong: an application of contingent valuation method |
| Investigator(s): | Chen Y, Jim CY |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Hui Oi Chow Trust Fund - General Award |
| Start Date: | 05/2008 |
| Completion Date: | 12/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Country parks, which usually contain various natural resources, play a positive role within the policy of conservation and recreation. Many benefits could be derived from country parks such as biodiversity conservation, nature education, and outdoor recreation. The provision of the recreational resources and opportunities is considered as a social service closely related to the quality of urban life. But stakeholders and policy-makers usually lack clear understanding of the value of recreational opportunities and natural conservation provided by country parks and even less their contribution to social welfare. In Hong Kong, 23 country parks have been established since 1970s, which account for about 40% of the total land area. Visiting country parks has been widely accepted by residents as a popular outdoor recreation choice. Managing the country parks to meet the recreation demands and simultaneously conserving the natural assets pose daunting challenges. Facing public funding stringency, it is necessary to make more efficient use of resources and present more rational and convincing arguments to win resources for countryside management. These issues call for a systematic assessment of residents' recreational activities and the benefits of conserving country parks to meet outdoor recreation needs. Contingent valuation is a standardized and widely applied survey method for estimating consumer’s willingness to pay for use, option, existence and bequest value. A blue-ribbon National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Panel stated that the contingent valuation method could produce estimates which are reliable enough for making administrative and judicial determinations. The method is also commonly applied to value publicly provided outdoor recreation opportunities in western countries. However, contingent valuation method is seldom applied to assess the value of nature in Hong Kong. This study aims at a comprehensive study of Hong Kong residents’ recreation activities using country parks and the recreation value of country parks through contingent valuation method. Specifically, the research objectives of this study include: (1) To explore the recreational use of country parks and the underlying factors. (2) To understand the preference of recreational activities provided by country parks and the underlying factors. (3) To assess the value of recreational opportunities measured by contingent valuation method. (4) To furnish a spatial assessment of the recreation value of different country parks and explanations for their variations. (5) To develop a cost-benefit analysis of country parks in Hong Kong. |
| Project Title: | Landscape amenity preferences: A comparative hedonic study of residential housing in Hong Kong and Shenzhen |
| Investigator(s): | Chen Y, Jim CY |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 11/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) To identify the landscape patterns of residential housing developments and the characteristics of their environmental amenities in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. 2) To investigate the spatial differentiation of various landcapes and related environmental amenities in residential areas in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. 3) To develop spatial indices for different patterns of open spaces to reflect the provision of ecosystem services using GIS techniques. 4) To construct the hedonic pricing models for the commercialized residential housing market of Shenzhen. 5) To quantify the impacts of different types of landscapes on residential housing price in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. 6) To compare consumers’ preferences of different ladnscapes, related environmental amenities and the environmental externalities in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. 7) To examine the differentiation and the underlying factors of environmental externalities between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Chen Y. and Jim C.Y., Amenities and Disamenities: A Hedonic Analysis of the Heterogeneous Urban Landscape in Shenzhen (China), The Geographical Journal. London, Royal Geographical Society, 2010, 176: 227-240. |
| Chen Y. and Jim C.Y., Residents' Motivations and Willingness-to-pay for Urban Biodiversity Conservation in Guangzhou (China), Environmental Management. New York, Springer, 2010, 45: 1052-1064. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Diversity and distribution of landscape trees in the compact Asian city of Taipei, Applied Geography. 2009, 29: 577-587. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Ecosystem Services and Valuation of Urban Forests in China, Cities. New York, Elsevier Science, 2009, 26: 187-194. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., External Effects of Neighbourhood Parks and Landscape Elements on High-rise Residential Value, Land Use Policy. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010, 27: 662-670. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Habitat Effect on Vegetation Ecology and Occurrence on Urban Masonry Walls, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010, 9(3): 169-178. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Leisure Participation Pattern of Residents in a New Chinese City, Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Blackwell Science, 2009, 99(4): 657-673. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Natural and Cultural Influences on Spatial Differentiation of Species Diversity in Taipei's Urban Forests, Applied Geography. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2009, 29: 577-587. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Urbanization Effect on Floristic and Landscape Patterns of Green Spaces, Landscape Research . London, Routledge, 2009, 34(5): 581-598. |
| Researcher : Cheng HT |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Loo B.P.Y. and Cheng H.T., Rail-based Transit-oriented Development in Metropolitan Cities: Potentials at Brown and Green Sites, Urban Affairs Association 40th Conference: Sustaining Cities in a Time of Globalization: Social, Economic and Political Realities, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 10-13, 2010. |
| Researcher : Fok L |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lee F., Zhang D. and Fok L., Temperature, Aridity Thresholds, and Population Growth Dynamics in China Over the Last Millennium, Climate Research. Amelinghausen: Inter-Research, 2009, 39(2): 131-147. |
| Researcher : Hart MA |
| Project Title: | Spatial variability of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) in Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Hart MA |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 05/2008 |
| Completion Date: | 11/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Purpose of the proposed project Land-use modifications due to urbanization can modify the energy balance in cities; this in turn affects the urban thermal environment, resulting in the urban heat island (UHI) effect, whereby urban areas often experience different temperatures than surrounding rural areas. The purpose of the proposed project is to investigate the influence of urbanization on the urban climate in Hong Kong, and in turn assesses the causes of spatial variability in the summertime urban heat island by using a combination of mobile vehicle temperature traverses and GIS resources. We will use a tree structured regression model is used to quantify the land-use and surface characteristics that have the greatest influence on UHI intensity and this model is used to produce maps of summertime nocturnal and daytime UHI intensity. Key Issues Changes in the thermal environment due to urbanization are influenced by many factors. Land-use and surface characteristics that can influence the urban heat island include: building density and building height to width ratio, roads and traffic density, building and surface materials whose thermal properties differ from the surrounding rural environment, the use of green space, and sky view factor (Bottyan and Unger, 2003; Stone and Norman, 2006; Unger, 2006). A city’s canyon geometry, building density and the materials used can absorb and store more incoming solar radiation due to a reduction in surface albedo or conversely store less energy due to shading (Roth, 2002; Chudnovsky et al., 2004). Canyon geometry causes the city surface to emit less long-wave radiation due to reduced sky view factor (Unger, 2004; Erell and Williamson, 2007). Urban surface characteristics can result in a reduction in evapotranspiration due to lack of vegetation and surface moisture (Akbari et al., 2001; Wong and Yu, 2005; Jusuf et al., 2007). Urban areas are also sources of waste heat emissions due to anthropogenic activity (Sailor and Lu, 2004). Key issues being addressed Urban characteristics most important to spatial variability of UHI intensity differ depending upon city morphology, location and climatic zone. Whilst the general causes of the urban heat island are well known, it is not well understood how much influence different urbanization characteristics (e.g. land-use, road density, vegetation coverage) have on the intensity of the UHI. The proposed research will allow quantification of the land-use and surface characteristics associated with the hottest temperatures in Hong Kong during the summer. In previous research we have investigated the influences on spatial variability in the UHI in two U.S. cities: Portland, Oregon and Houston, Texas. Portland experiences a temperate oceanic climate and has a greater metropolitan population of just under 2 million, and while not widely viewed as a city with significant heat issues, presents an opportunity to study a potentially vulnerable city. Houston with a population of over 4 million experiences a subtropical humid climate. The proposed research in Hong Kong allows the opportunity to investigate the UHI in a densely populated Asian city with a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate. |
| Project Title: | Developing Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data files under climate change scenarios for use in building energy simulations in Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Hart MA |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Hui Oi Chow Trust Fund - General Award |
| Start Date: | 07/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| Purpose of the proposed project Computer models are commonly used for estimating thermal loads and energy consumption in new construction and existing buildings. A key element in building energy simulation is access to detailed weather information that is representative of the local climate. Building energy simulations generally use Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data files to represent outdoor weather conditions. A TMY is a set of hourly values of solar radiation and meteorological data determined from historical meteorological observations that is representative of the long term climate of a location. TMY data sets rely on meteorological inputs deemed “typical” from available historical observations. The proposed project will supply TMY data files representative of the long term future climate for Hong Kong SAR, China. These data files will be produced using the latest scenarios of climate change from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) suite of climate models. Advanced statistical modeling (downscaling) techniques will be employed to make the coarse-resolution GCM output suitable for local application. This product will extend the existing knowledge base of global climate change impacts on energy consumption. Key Issues Building energy modeling software such as eQUEST and EnergyPlus—both based on DoE-2—(Department of Energy 2007) are commonly used for estimating thermal load and energy consumption in new construction and existing building applications. A key element in building energy simulation is access to detailed weather information that is representative of the local climate. The Hong Kong Performance Based Building Energy Code (PB-BEC) (EMSD 2005) requires building energy simulations of existing or new buildings using historical weather data, either in the form of a Test Reference Year (TRY) or Typical Meteorological Year (TMY). Both TRY and TMY data sets are determined from available historical observations. Although these data sets are periodically updated, they represent past climatic conditions and while important for current building energy consumption, it is important also to consider future performance. Changes in global climatic conditions due to human induced climate change suggest that present meteorological inputs into building energy models may not be representative of future climatic conditions. With the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report, Climate Change 2007, predictions of increases in global surface temperature range between 1.8-4.0 ºC (Solomon et al. 2007). In addition heat waves are predicted to become more frequent and longer lasting in a future warmer climate (Solomon et al. 2007). These current meteorological data files used to assess a building’s thermal performance, energy consumption and load profiles are not representative of these predicted climatic conditions under global climatic change, and as a result are inadequate to assess actual building performance into the future (next 30-50 years). Problems being addressed The proposed study will produce TMY data files under future climate change scenarios for simulation of the energy performance of buildings for Hong Kong. These future climate TMY data files will allow for the impacts of global climate change on energy consumption and load profiles of current and planned building stock in Hong Kong to be investigated. By designing buildings with future climates in mind, energy may be saved through enhanced adoption of energy efficient technologies, and appropriate sizing of mechanical equipment for future conditions. Further, future energy consumption estimates based solely on projections of future population growth and economic development will likely be underestimated. The existence of realistic future climate TMY scenarios will greatly enhance our ability to forecast future generation requirements for base and peak load conditions. References Department of Energy (2007). EnergyPlus, U.S. Department of Energy. Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. EMSD (2005). Guidelines on performance-based building energy code. Hong Kong, Electrical and mechanical services department: 52. Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, R. B. Alley, T. Bernsten, N. L. Bindoff, Z. Chen, A. Chidthaisong, J. M. Gregory, G. C. Hegerl, M. Heimann, B. C. Hewitson, B. J. Hoskins, F. Joos, J. Jouzel, V. Kattsov, U. Lohmann, T. Matsuno, M. Molina, N. Nicholls, J. Overpeck, G. B. Raga, V. Ramaswarmy, J. Ren, M. Rusticucci, R. Somerville, T. F. Stocker, P. Whetton, R. A. Wood and D. Wratt (2007). Technical Summary. Climate change 2007: The physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group 1 to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manninget al. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, Cambridge University Press: 74. |
| Project Title: | Developing Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data files under climate change scenarios for use in building energy simulations: a case study of Hong Kong and California |
| Investigator(s): | Hart MA |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 12/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) Use advanced statistical modeling (downscaling) techniques to determine local scale impacts of climate change scenarios from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) suite of climate models for Hong Kong and California. 2) Develop typical meteorological year (TMY) data files under future climate change scenarios for simulation of the energy performance of buildings for both regions. 3) Disseminate the results to the building energy modeling community. It is envisaged this analysis resource will become part of the building energy modeling infrastructure. |
| Project Title: | Temporal (from diurnal to decadal) variability in urban heat island magnitude in Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Hart MA |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 01/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Purpose of the proposed project Land-use modifications due to urbanization can modify the energy balance in cities; this in turn affects the urban thermal environment, resulting in the urban heat island (UHI) effect, whereby urban areas often experience different temperatures than surrounding rural areas. The purpose of the proposed project is to investigate the urban heat island magnitude in Hong Kong from a temporal perspective. In particular we are interested in how the urban heat island magnitude differs under the three time frames listed below, in order to answer the following questions: 1. Decadal- how has the UHI magnitude differed historically and what is the relation between UHI magnitude and urbanisation intensity in Hong Kong? 2. Seasonal- how does the UHI magnitude in Hong Kong differ among seasons? During what season is the UHI strongest? Under what weather conditions is UHI the strongest? 3. Diurnal- how does UHI magnitude in Hong Kong differ throughout the day in Hong Kong and at what time of day is UHI magnitude strongest? Key Issues and problems being addressed An urban heat island can have human health and thermal comfort consequences (Voogt 2002; Huang et al. 2005), alter the city’s photochemistry and affect urban air pollution (Saitoh et al. 1996; Taha 1996; Sarrat et al. 2006), initiate or affect the formation of convective storms (Jauregui and Romales 1996; Bornstein and Lin 2000), and affect the energy consumption needs of a city through impacts on heating and cooling requirements (Akbari et al. 2001; Assimakopoulos et al. 2007; Kolokotroni et al. 2007). The proposed research will allow quantification of the temporal variability in the UHI in Hong Kong over a span of time frames from decadal to diurnal. Enhanced understanding of temporal variability in Hong Kong’s UHI will be advantageous when trying to mitigate the UHI and manage the consequences of the UHI listed above. References Akbari H, Pomerantz M, Taha H (2001) Cool surfaces and shade trees to reduce energy use and improve air quality in urban areas. Sol Energy 70:295–310 Assimakopoulos MN, Mihalakakou G, Flocas HA (2007) Simulating the thermal behaviour of a building during summer period in the urban environment. Renew Energy 32(11):1805–1816 Bornstein R, Lin Q (2000) Urban heat islands and summertime convective thunderstorms in Atlanta: three case studies. Atmos Environ 34:507–516 Huang H, Ooka R, Kato S (2005) Urban thermal environment measurements and numerical simulation for an actual complex urban area covering a large district heating and cooling system in summer. Atmos Environ 39:6362–6375. DOI 10.1016/j. atmosenv.2005.07.018 Jauregui E, Romales E (1996) Urban effects on convective precipitation in Mexico City. Atmos Environ 30:3383–3389 Kolokotroni M, Zhang Y, Watkins R (2007) The London heat island and building cooling design. Sol Energy 81:102–110. DOI 10.1016/j. solener.2006.06.005 Saitoh TS, Shimada T, Hoshi H (1996) Modeling and simulation of the Tokyo urban heat island. Atmos Environ 30:3431–3442 Sarrat C, Lemonsu A, Masson V, Guedalia D (2006) Impact of urban heat island on regional atmospheric pollution. Atmos Environ 40:1743–1758. DOI 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2005.11.037 Taha H (1996) Modeling impacts of increased urban vegetation on ozone air quality in the south coast air basin. Atmos Environ 30:3423–3430 Voogt JA (2002) Urban heat island: causes and consequences of global environmental change, vol 2. Wiley, Chichester, NY, pp 660–666. |
| Project Title: | Seventh International Conference on Urban Climate (ICUC-7) An evaluation of intra-urban variability of near-surface urban air temperatures and humidity in Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Hart MA |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 06/2009 |
| Completion Date: | 07/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Hart M.A., Sailor D.J. and Low C.T., Quantifying the urbanization characteristics associated with peak urban temperatures., 10th Asian Urbanization Conference. Asian Urban Research Association, 2009. |
| Researcher : He H |
| List of Research Outputs |
| He H., What Bio-hydrologic-climatic Implications Can We Learn From Changing Environment Of the Three Gorges Reservoir?, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences. 2009. |
| Researcher : Hu Z |
| Project Title: | 2010 Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting Situating Regional Advantage in Geographical Political Economy: A Case Study of the Adaptive Capacities of State-owned Enterprises in Post-Reform Guangzhou, China |
| Investigator(s): | Hu Z |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 04/2010 |
| Completion Date: | 04/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Hu Z., Situating Regional Advantage In Geographical Political Economy: A Case Study Of The Adaptation Practices Of State-owned Enterprises In Post-reform Guangzhou, China, The 106th Conference Of The Association Of American Geographers. Washington,DC, The Association of American Geographers, 2010. |
| Hu Z., Understanding The Changing Geography Of China’s State-owned Enterprises: A Statistical Examination, Asian Geographer . 2009. |
| Hu Z., 批判实在论与我国经济地理学的研究范式选择, 地理学评论（第一辑）, Beijing, The Commercial Press, 2009. |
| Li Y. and Hu Z., Red Tourism: Sustaining Communist Identity In A Rapidly Changing China, Journal Of Tourism And Cultural Change. UK, Routledge, 2010, 8: 101-119. |
| Researcher : Hu Z |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Hu Z., Situating Regional Advantage In Geographical Political Economy: A Case Study Of The Adaptation Practices Of State-owned Enterprises In Post-reform Guangzhou, China, The 106th Conference Of The Association Of American Geographers. Washington,DC, The Association of American Geographers, 2010. |
| Hu Z., Understanding The Changing Geography Of China’s State-owned Enterprises: A Statistical Examination, Asian Geographer . 2009. |
| Hu Z., 批判实在论与我国经济地理学的研究范式选择, 地理学评论（第一辑）, Beijing, The Commercial Press, 2009. |
| Li Y. and Hu Z., Red Tourism: Sustaining Communist Identity In A Rapidly Changing China, Journal Of Tourism And Cultural Change. UK, Routledge, 2010, 8: 101-119. |
| Researcher : Huang L |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Huang L., The Initiation and Impetus for a Sustainable Green Roof Movement in Hong Kong. World Green Roofs Development Conference, 7-10 May 2010, Shanghai, 2010. |
| Researcher : Jim CY |
| Project Title: | The process of desertification and its control in Northern China |
| Investigator(s): | Jim CY, Peart MR, Zhang D |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Matching Fund for National Key Basic Research Development Scheme (973 Projects) |
| Start Date: | 07/2001 |
| Abstract: |
| To identify indigenous peoples knowledge on desertification in China; to evaluate soil property changes associated with desertification; to examine if aeolian transport of dust impacts upon precipitation chemistry. |
| Project Title: | Sustainable environment |
| Investigator(s): | Jim CY |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding for Strategic Research Theme |
| Start Date: | 12/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| n/a |
| Project Title: | 2nd International Conference on Urban Biodiversity and Design (URBIO2010) Using school green roofs for environmental education |
| Investigator(s): | Jim CY |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 05/2010 |
| Completion Date: | 05/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Chen Y. and Jim C.Y., Amenities and Disamenities: A Hedonic Analysis of the Heterogeneous Urban Landscape in Shenzhen (China), The Geographical Journal. London, Royal Geographical Society, 2010, 176: 227-240. |
| Chen Y. and Jim C.Y., Residents' Motivations and Willingness-to-pay for Urban Biodiversity Conservation in Guangzhou (China), Environmental Management. New York, Springer, 2010, 45: 1052-1064. |
| Jim C.Y., Li S...M... and Fung T..., A New Geography of Hong Kong, Volume I. Hong Kong, Friends of the Country Parks and Cosmos Books, 2010, 316 pp. |
| Jim C.Y., Li S...M... and Fung T..., A New Geography of Hong Kong, Volume II. Hong Kong, Friends of the Country Parks and Cosmos Books, 2010, 228 pp. |
| Jim C.Y., Associate Editor, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, ISI Journal. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Diversity and distribution of landscape trees in the compact Asian city of Taipei, Applied Geography. 2009, 29: 577-587. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Ecosystem Services and Valuation of Urban Forests in China, Cities. New York, Elsevier Science, 2009, 26: 187-194. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., External Effects of Neighbourhood Parks and Landscape Elements on High-rise Residential Value, Land Use Policy. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010, 27: 662-670. |
| Jim C.Y., Forensic and Post-mortem Analysis of Trees. Hospital Authority, Tuen Mun Hospital, 29 March 2010, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., From Tree Felling to Campus Greening. Geographical, Geological and Archaeological Society, University of Hong Kong, 29 October 2009, 2009. |
| Jim C.Y., Green Roof for Sustainable City. U Magazine Hong Kong Green Award Ceremony. Nikko Hotel, 24 February 2010, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Green Roofs for Environmental and Economic Benefits in Compact Urban Hong Kong, 16-19 August 2009, 10th Asian Urbanization Conference. Hong Kong, 2009. |
| Jim C.Y., Greening Roofs for Sustainable Development of Compact Tropical Cities, Building Surveyors Conference: Building a Green and Sustainable Future. Hong Kong, 2009. |
| Jim C.Y., HSBC Green Roof for Schools Project: Resources for Teaching and Learning. HSBC Main Building, Central, 05 June 2010, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Habitat Effect on Vegetation Ecology and Occurrence on Urban Masonry Walls, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010, 9(3): 169-178. |
| Jim C.Y., Hazard Tree Assessment. Hong Kong Housing Authority Headquarters, 30 June 2010, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Honorary Member Award of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners 2009 (Awarded for sustained scholarly and community contribution to urban greening), 2009. |
| Jim C.Y., How Did They Harm and Kill our Beloved Trees? MTR Trees Community of Practice Seminar, MTR Headquarters, 17 March 2010, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Keynote speech, Greening Roofs for Sustainable Development of Compact Tropical Cities, Building Surveyors Conference: Building a Green and Sustainable Future, Hong Kong, September 2009. 2009. |
| Jim C.Y., Keynote speech, The Initiation and Impetus for a Sustainable Green Roof Movement in Hong Kong, World Green Roofs Development Conference, 7-10 May 2010. Shanghai, 2009. |
| Jim C.Y., Keynote speech, Urban Greening: A Vital Lifestyle Issue. China Europa 2009, Le Havre Developpement, Le Havre, 8-10 December 2009. 2009. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Leisure Participation Pattern of Residents in a New Chinese City, Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Blackwell Science, 2009, 99(4): 657-673. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Board of Consulting Editor, Environmental Awareness, an international journal published by the International Society of Naturists, Vadodara, India, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Editorial Board, Arboriculture Journal, the international journal of urban forestry, Arboricultural Association, UK , 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Editorial Board, Cities, ISI Journal. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Editorial Board, Forest Ecology and Management, ISI Journal. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Editorial Board, Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, Rowman & Littlefield, New York, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Editorial Board, Journal of Geographical Sciences, Department of Geography, National University of Taiwan, Taipei, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Editorial Board, Journal of Geographical Sciences, Springer Science Press, Beijing, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Editorial Board, Landscape and Urban Planning, ISI Journal. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Editorial Committee, Modern Urban Research, Urban Research Association, Nanjing, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Member of Editorial Committee, Pedosphere: A Quarterly Journal of Soil Science, Science Press, Beijing and New York, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Natural and Cultural Influences on Spatial Differentiation of Species Diversity in Taipei's Urban Forests, Applied Geography. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2009, 29: 577-587. |
| Jim C.Y., Old Masonry Walls as Ruderal Habitats for Biodiversity Preservation and Enhancement in Urban Hong Kong, Urban Biodiversity and Design. Oxford, Blackwell, 2010, 323-347. |
| Jim C.Y., School Green Roof: City Cooler and Cleaner. Hong Kong, Friends of the Country Parks and Cosmos Books, 2010, 180 pp. |
| Jim C.Y., Yang F...Y... and Wang L..., Social-ecological Impacts of Concurrent Reservoir Inundation and Reforestation in the Three Gorges Region of China, Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Blackwell Science, 2010, 100(2): 1-26. |
| Jim C.Y., Sustainable Urban Greening in Compact City Environment. Housing Authority Seminar on Research and Development, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 24 May 2010, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., The Initiation and Impetus for a Sustainable Green Roof Movement in Hong Kong, World Green Roofs Development Conference, 7-10 May 2010. Shanghai. |
| Jim C.Y., The Protected Area System: Nature Conservation for a Liveable and Sustainable City, A New Geography of Hong Kong, Volume I. Hong Kong, Friends of the Country Parks and Cosmos Books, 2010, 203-263. |
| Jim C.Y., Tree Survey in Public Housing Estates 2007-2009: Management Report. Hong Kong, Hong Kong Housing Authority, 2010, 792 pp. |
| Jim C.Y., Tree Survey in Public Housing Estates: Reports on Individual Estates. Hong Kong, Hong Kong Housing Authority, 2010, c. 3000 pp. |
| Jim C.Y., Trees in Public Housing Estates: Profile and Management. Hong Kong Housing Authority, 13 May 2010, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Urban Greening: A Vital Lifestyle Issue, China Europa 2009, Le Havre Developpement, Le Havre, France, 8-10 December 2009. |
| Jim C.Y. and Chen Y., Urbanization Effect on Floristic and Landscape Patterns of Green Spaces, Landscape Research . London, Routledge, 2009, 34(5): 581-598. |
| Jim C.Y., Using School Green Roofs for Environmental Education, URBIO 2010 Urban Biodiversity and Design Conference, 18-22 May 2010. Nagoya. |
| Jim C.Y., Vertical Greening Research Project at DSD Shatin Works. Drainage Services Department, Shatin, 08 June 2010, 2010. |
| Jim C.Y., Why Should Hong Kong Install Green Roofs. Hong Kong Gardening Society, 10 July 2009, 2009. |
| Lo Y.H. and Jim C.Y., Recreational Behaviours and Motives for Conservation of Urban Green Spaces in a Compact City, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010, 9: 113-120. |
| Poon H.C.C., Liu C.H. and Jim C.Y., Modelling the environment impacts of vegetation canopies with different lengths and leave area densities in urban scale, 13th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes, Paris, France, June 1-4, 2010. |
| Poon H.C.C., Liu C.H. and Jim C.Y., Turbulent flow within and over vegetation canopy with different length and drag forces, International Conference for Applied Energy (ICAE2010), April 21-23, 2010, Singapore. 2010. |
| Researcher : Kwong KH |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lai P.C., Kwong K.H. and Mak A.S.H., Assessing The Applicability And Effectiveness Of 3d Visualisation In Environmental Impact Assessment, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design. UK, Pion, 2010, 37: 221-233. |
| Lai P.C., Mak A.S.H., So F.M., Leung S.T.S. and Kwong K.H., Modelling Voter Behaviours by Geographic Information Technology: A Case of Hong Kong in 2004, Annals of GIS. United Kingdom, Taylor and Francis, 2010, 16(1): 15-25. |
| Lai P.C. and Kwong K.H., Spatial Analysis of the 2008 Influenza Outbreak of Hong Kong, In: David Taniar, Osvaldo Gervasi, Beniamino Murgante, Eric Pardede, Bernady O. Apduhan, Computational Science and its Application (ICCSA 2010), Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 2010, 6016: 386-400. |
| Researcher : Lai PC |
| Project Title: | GIS and GPS Training Course for Senior Secondary Geography Teachers |
| Investigator(s): | Lai PC |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Education and Manpower Bureau - General Award |
| Start Date: | 03/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| To equip geography teachers with the knowledge, skills and techniques essential for incorporating the use of GIS and GPS into the learning and teaching of Senior Secondary Geography; to provide teachers with examples on how GIS and GPS can be used to facilitate senior secondary students in conducting geographic enquiry and fieldwork investigations; to impart the skills of adapting and developing teaching materials suitable for the New Geography Curriculum. The workshops and course materials are tailor-made for secondary school teachers of Hong Kong with the aim of simplifying the preparation and implementation of learning materials into classroom teaching. Teachers can individualize their lesson development by changing the study area and modifying the guided steps. |
| Project Title: | GIS and GPS Training Course for Senior Secondary Geography Teachers |
| Investigator(s): | Lai PC |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Education Bureau - General Award |
| Start Date: | 06/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| The objectives of the captioned training are: (a) To equip geography teachers with the knowledge, skills and techniques essential for incorporating the use of GIS and GPS into the learning and teaching of Senior Secondary Geography; and (b) To provide teachers with exampels on how GIS and GPS can be used to facilitate senior secondary students in conducting geographic enquiry and fieldwork investigations. |
| Project Title: | 2010 International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications (ICCSA 2010) Spatial Analysis of the 2008 Influenza Outbreak of Hong Kong Spatial Components in Disease Modelling |
| Investigator(s): | Lai PC |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 03/2010 |
| Completion Date: | 03/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Project Title: | Geographic information systems for early detection of pandemic influenza outbreak in Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Lai PC |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases - Full Grants |
| Start Date: | 05/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| To develop individual-based computational models to examine interactions between infectious agents and their hosts, disease spread, prediction systems, and responses strategies; to determine how a pandemic influenza outbreak might travel through a city; to offer decision support for policymakers to consider areas to receive resources for minimizing impacts of the disease. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Kwong K.H. and Lai P.C., Spatial Components in Disease Modelling, In: David Taniar, Osvaldo Gervasi, Beniamino Murgante, Eric Pardede, Bernady O. Apduhan, Computational Science and its Application (ICCSA 2010), Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 2010, 6016: 401-412. |
| Lai P.C., Wong W.C., Low C.T., Wong M. and Chan M.H., A Small-Area Study of Environmental Risk Assessment of Outdoor Falls, Journal of Medical Systems. United States, Springer, 2010, 00. |
| Lai P.C., Wong M., Chan M.H., Wong W.C. and Low C.T., An Ecological Study Of Physical Environmental Risk Factors For Elderly Falls In An Urban Setting Of Hong Kong, Science of the Total Environment. US, Elsevier, 2009, 407(24): 6157-6165. |
| Lai P.C., Application of GIS in the Spatial Distribution of SARS in Hong Kong, 6th Annual Scientific Meeting, Stanley Ho Centre for Emergency Infectious Disease. 2009. |
| Lai P.C., Kwong K.H. and Mak A.S.H., Assessing The Applicability And Effectiveness Of 3d Visualisation In Environmental Impact Assessment, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design. UK, Pion, 2010, 37: 221-233. |
| Lai P.C., Mak A.S.H., So F.M., Leung S.T.S. and Kwong K.H., Modelling Voter Behaviours by Geographic Information Technology: A Case of Hong Kong in 2004, Annals of GIS. United Kingdom, Taylor and Francis, 2010, 16(1): 15-25. |
| Lai P.C. and Kwong K.H., Spatial Analysis of the 2008 Influenza Outbreak of Hong Kong, In: David Taniar, Osvaldo Gervasi, Beniamino Murgante, Eric Pardede, Bernady O. Apduhan, Computational Science and its Application (ICCSA 2010), Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 2010, 6016: 386-400. |
| Lai P.C., Wong C.M., Hedley A.J. and Leung G.M., Spatial Clustering of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Medical Journal . Hong Kong, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and the Hong Kong Medical Asso, 2009, 15(6), Supplement 9: 33-35. |
| Wong H.T. and Lai P.C., Time Series Forecasts of Monthly Ambulance Calls in Hong Kong, 10th Asian Urbanization Conference. 2009. |
| Researcher : Law MY |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Law M.Y., PhD Thesis on Greenspace Assessment and Planning in Shenzhen, 2009. |
| Researcher : Lee AKY |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lee F.Y.S., Lo W.H.C. and Lee A.K.Y., Strategy Misguided: The weak links between urban emission control measures, vehicular emissions, and public health in Guangzhou, In: Jennifer Holdaway, Wang Wu-yi, Ye Jin-zhong, Zhang Si-qiu (eds.), Environment and Health: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives. Beijing, Social Sciences Academic Press, 2010, 131-152 (in Chinese). |
| Lee F.Y.S., Lo W.H.C. and Lee A.K.Y., Strategy Misguided: The weak links between urban emission control measures, vehicular emissions, and public health in Guangzhou, Journal of Contemporary China. USA, Routledge, 2010, 19(63): 37-54. |
| Researcher : Lee F |
| Project Title: | The Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Natural Disasters in Historical China |
| Investigator(s): | Lee F, Zhang D |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 01/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| China was marked by a series of natural calamities in the first half of 2008. In January 25 – February 6, winter storms hit Hunan, Hubei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Shanghai heavily, causing extensive damage and transportation disruption. Total damages were estimated at about RMB 111 billion. On May 12, the ‘Great Wenchuan Earthquake’, which measured at 8.0 Ms and 8.3 Mw according to Chinese Earthquake Administration, occurred in Sichuan. According to official figures, 69,172 died, 374,159 were injured, and 17,420 are missing. In addition, the South China floods began on May 26. Four rounds of torrential rains with landslides and flooding lasted for 20 days and affected fifteen provinces in Eastern and Southern China. The above incidents have cost much in China in terms of human lives and the economy. One question that many people may ask is: Can those disasters be predicted? In fact, this question touches upon the effectiveness of the existing monitoring and forecasting system of natural disasters. Nowadays, the monitoring and forecasting of natural disasters in many countries (including China) is based on real time measurement and instrumental records spanned the last several decades. Briefly, scientists only base on the short-term (say decadal) information to predict the future. On the other hand, in China, a great wealth of data pertaining to historical natural disasters can be found in ancient Chinese chronicles and local gazettes. If those historical data could be processed and examined systematically, the long-term (say centennial) ‘spatio-temporal’ dynamics of natural disasters in Chinese history can be elicited. Apart from improving technically the existing monitoring and forecasting system, it is believed that the making use of such long-term information will be promising in tracking future possible disasters. Although some contemporary scholars have tabulated and analyzed those historical data, most of the related studies either cover small regions (e.g., provinces, river catchments, etc.) or merely focus on the temporal (i.e., cyclic) patterns of historical natural disasters. Thus, the integration of spatial and temporal elements of historical natural disasters is far from satisfactory. Seeing this research issue, this proposed research project is designated to explore (1) the long-term spatio-temporal dynamics of natural disasters at the countrywide level and (2) the associated causing mechanisms, with particular attention put on the natural disasters meaning most to China’s population (e.g., earthquake, flooding, drought, cold spells, etc). |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lee F., Award for Outstanding Research Postgraduate Student, The University of Hong Kong, 2007-2008, 2009. |
| Lee F., Dr Stephen S.F. Hui Prize in Geography for Outstanding PhD RPG Thesis, The University of Hong Kong, 2007-2008, 2009. |
| Lee F. and Zhang D., Natural Disasters in Northwestern China, AD1270-1949, Climate Research. Amelinghausen, Inter-Research, 2010, 41(3): 245-257. |
| Lee F., Zhang D. and Fok L., Temperature, Aridity Thresholds, and Population Growth Dynamics in China Over the Last Millennium, Climate Research. Amelinghausen: Inter-Research, 2009, 39(2): 131-147. |
| Lee F. and Zhang D., What Drove the Secular Population Cycles in Historical Agrarian China?, Climate Research. Amelinghausen, Inter-Research, 2010, 42: 235-246. |
| Researcher : Lee FYS |
| Project Title: | Towards Sustainable River Basin Governance in China: A Case Study of Dongjiang |
| Investigator(s): | Lee FYS |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 01/2006 |
| Abstract: |
| Aim/purpose Focusing on the river basin of Dongjiang (East River), the proposed project is designed (i) to help improve our understanding of the primary functions of and institutional constraints faced by the river basin commissions in China; (ii) to explore the feasibility of introducing an innovative institutional mechanism for the purposes of strengthening river basin governance as the country shifts toward a market-oriented economy; and (iii) to examine the extent to which concerned stakeholders such as different water-user groups from up-stream, mid-stream and down-stream communities could be involved in the river basin decision-making processes. Through an intensive fieldwork-based case study analysis of the above three aspects of river basin management in Dongjiang, the ultimate objective of the project is to identify pathways by which the existing freshwater resources management scheme in China could be reformed and moved toward an effective, equitable and sustainable river basin governance structure. Key issues Water is arguably China's most critical resource. Nearly 700 million Chinese lack access to clean potable water and have to rely on water contaminated with animal and human waste that exceeds the legally allowed maximum levels for faecal coliform bacteria. As a result of rapid economic growth and rapid urbanization in the past two decades, competition for the increasingly scarce resource of water has been intensifying all over the country, between urban, industrial, and agricultural consumption, and between upstream, midstream and downstream users. At the national level, for instance, out of 668 major cities, two-thirds are reportedly suffering from some sort of water shortage problem. Many cities in the North China Plain have increasingly turned to groundwater to make up for the shortfall between swelling water demands and limited surface water resources, leading to the problems of over-extraction of groundwater and falling levels of water tables. The water shortage problem has been greatly exacerbated by the water pollution problem which is, broadly speaking, caused increasingly by municipal and agricultural sectors than industries. Large proportions of municipal wastewater are being discharged into surface water bodies with minimal or no treatment, contributing to an increasing load of organic and toxic waste in major waterways. For example, less than 10 percent of municipal wastewater countrywide-which is only a fraction of industrial rates-receive treatment before they are discharged. This waste load is then further augmented by an ever-increasing amount of chemical pollutants such as fertilizers and pesticides carried into water-bodies by agricultural runoffs. The combined effects of water shortage and high pollution have been extremely detrimental to the health of economies, eco-systems and the human species. For instance, more than 90 percent of urban river sections have been so heavily polluted that they are considered not suitable for human contact; and the water quality in about half of these river sections are considered so poor that it is not even suitable for irrigation purposes. Given that China's de facto urban population will continue to increase at a rapid rate in the coming decade, the demand for urban environmental infrastructure, already high, will multiply accordingly. Primarily out of a concern over the rapid rate of urban population growth, some researchers in the west have been highly sceptical about the Chinese government's plan to raise the overall municipal wastewater treatment rate from 11 percent in 1997 to 40 percent by 2010. Indeed, providing sufficient environmental infrastructure will represent a particularly challenging task for local administrations of smaller cities and towns, which have the least amount of resources at their disposal to construct environmental infrastructure but where much of the increase in urban population will concentrate. Devising a viable financing mechanism to help urban governments at various spatial scale to generate revenues to pay for the construction and long-term maintenance costs of environmental infrastructure is, however, only a necessary but not sufficient condition to tackle the steadily swelling volume of municipal wastewater. An indispensable requirement is an institutional framework that could be used by higher authorities to encourage or coerce the local-level governments to place a higher priority on cleaning up their wastewater discharge and to cooperate with neighbouring jurisdictions in redressing, minimizing or avoiding cross-boundary impacts of water pollution problems in the first place. |
| Project Title: | Urban Water Management in Southern China: The Promises and Limitations of Water Services Bureaus |
| Investigator(s): | Lee FYS |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 01/2007 |
| Abstract: |
| Aim/purpose The proposed research project is designed to address the following questions, through in-depth case studies of selected cities in Southern China, to help us improve our understanding of the promises and limitations of the newly created body of water services bureau in tackling water resources management problems in this supposingly water-rich region: (a) To what extent, and how, have the water services bureaus been able to address the most challenging water management problems encountered in their respective jurisdictions? (b) What are the major institutional constraints that have prevented the water services bureaus from fully implementing the necessary measures in correcting the water management problems? (c) What are the major lessons that could be drawn from the case study cities, in terms of policy implications as well as implications for further research? Key issues Although coordination is severely lacking among jurisdictions, some cities in Southern China have led the way in seeking a functional coordination of water management. Reportedly modelled after the water services department in Hong Kong, China's first city-level water services bureau was established by the Shenzhen government in July 1993 to help fight the twin problems of drought and flooding that have hit the city particularly hard since the early 1990s. In 1991, the volume of daily water supply was sharply reduced by 30 per cent as a consequence of a partial shutdown of the city's water supply plants for maintenance purposes, causing major disruptions to economic and social lives and resulting in an estimated total economic loss of RMB 1.2 billion. In 1993, Shenzhen lost another RMB 1.4 billion to damages caused by two major rain storm-fed floods. In order to avert similar and further economic damages, the Shenzhen city government then decided in 1993 to transform the city's water resources bureau (WRB) into the country's first water services bureau. The latter differs from the former in two major ways: First, the WSB was accorded a higher level of bureaucratic status in the city's hierarchical structure than the WRB, with a commensurately higher level of authority to re-distribute and manage water resources effectively across the urban-rural divide thorough the city's entire jurisdiction. Secondly, unlike the rural-oriented WRB, the WSB was asked to focus on accomplishing two urban-centred tasks: establishing a modern, reliable urban-based water supply system and building an effective urban flood-control mechanism. Of these two objectives, the articulation of the urban and rural water supply systems into one single network was billed as the first step toward building an integrated water management structure for the rapidly burgeoning city-region. In practice, however, WSBs have made their presence felt more in flood control, a more southern concern. Shenzhen's urban-based integrated water management structure was gradually replicated elsewhere and effectively instituted, by the end of 2003, in 50 per cent of country's city and county-level jurisdictions. There were, however, substantial variations in the level of services provided by these newly created WSBs: while 96 per cent of them have assumed the flood control function, only 68 per cent were running the water supply networks, with 37 per cent managing the drainage facilities and an even smaller portion-28 per cent-overseeing the wastewater treatment plants. It is also interesting to note that the majority of the jurisdictions in the Pearl River Delta have not yet opted for the WSB model. Accomplishments in terms of major financial gains in scale economies in constructing city-wide integrated water supply projects, improved efficiency in water allocation as well as reduced tensions between territorial and functional sectors competing for water have been claimed by cities-such as Shenzhen and Shanghai-that have established the WSBs. These urban-based offices have also been credited with the strengthening of the institutional basis for the introduction of price reform measures and commercialisation schemes in the water sector, at least in areas such as water supply and sewerage, where, as noted, the WSBs are least likely to exercise direct control, although they have responsibility integrated water resource management. Despite such initial claims of success, some researchers are quick to point out that the effectiveness of the WSBs is severely constrained by the lack of consistency and urgency in the implementation of this institutional form at a nationwide level. Beijing did not establish a WSB until March 2004. With only a minority of the country's designated cities embracing the integrated water management structure, old and new systems continue to coexist, and the nation's vertical hierarchy and horizontal bureaucracy relating to water resources management are plagued by confusion and sometimes contradictions in administrative 'property rights', organisational goals and project objectives. These problems are aggravated by the ineffectual design and half-hearted implementation of politically sensitive reform measures such as price hikes in water fees and wastewater treatment charges. Hence, almost without exception, water supply and wastewater treatment enterprises throughout urban China have remained money-losing entities and continue to rely on substantial subsidies paid for from municipal budgets. |
| Project Title: | The Conservation of Cultural Heritage Assets in China: The Changing Role of the State in the Fast-Growing Metropolises of Guangzhou and Shanghai |
| Investigator(s): | Lee FYS |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 11/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| The ultimate objective of the proposed research is to analyze the changing role of the principal stakeholders, including state and non-state actors, with regard to the practices of cultural heritage conservation in the rapidly transforming metropolises of Guangzhou and Shanghai. |
| Project Title: | Barriers to the Adoption of Cleaner Production Measures in Guangdong Province: An Institutional Analysis of a Policy Implementation Problem |
| Investigator(s): | Lee FYS |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 06/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| China’s central government started introducing Cleaner Production (CP) practices in its industrial sector after the 1992 UN Summit (Mol and Liu 2008). According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Cleaner Production means the continuous application of an integrated preventive environmental strategy to processes, products, and service to increase overall efficiency, and reduce risks to humans and the environment. Cleaner Production can be applied to the processes used in any industry, to products themselves and to various services provided in society (UNEP 2009). For production processes, for instance, CP could entail one or a combination of such environmentally friendly measures as conserving raw materials, water and energy; eliminating toxic and dangerous raw materials; and reducing the quantity and toxicity of all emissions and wastes at source during the production process. According to the Chinese National Cleaner Production Center, the Chinese government has closely followed the UNEP definition for its Cleaner Production initiative (Kao et al 1999). In the initial phase (1992-1997), CP measures were introduced from abroad to China’s industrial enterprises through development aid projects. These projects were centered around the introduction of methodology from overseas organizations, training of personnel, and the design and implementation of demonstration projects—which were carried out mostly via bilateral cooperation agreements with expert organizations from the developed countries. China’s overall Cleaner Production program then entered its second phase in 1997, when the Chinese government decided to devote its own resources to conducting policy analysis and formulating the larger policy implementation framework (Fang and Cote 2005; Fan and Li 2004; Zhang and Chen 2003). The widespread diffusion of CP practices throughout China since the turn of the century was then facilitated by China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, a commitment made by the National People’s Congress in 2002 to pursue a Cleaner Production strategy (Geng and Doberstein 2008; Yap 2005), and the promulgation of the Cleaner Production Promotion Law in 2003. In particular, China’s accession to the WTO helped alter the overall industrial pollution landscape by triggering the Chinese government to seek changes in its developmental agenda in favor of CP adoption. In order for Chinese-made products to become competitive in the global market, central government officials reckoned that China’s industrial sector had to comply with international standards on products and production processes (Mol and Liu 2008; Shi 2003). In addition, China’s entry to WTO created a new wave of foreign direct investment and, from the perspective of central government authorities, this presented an unprecedented opportunity for Chinese companies to receive environmentally sound technologies and advanced management skills from incoming multinational corporations (Shi 2003). Despite the promulgation of the CP Promotion Law at the national level and the introduction of various CP initiatives at the local level, recent CP auditing figures showed a rather disappointing picture of the progress made by the nation in disseminating CP practices. First, out of a total of 2,571 enterprises which underwent a nationwide CP audit exercise in 2007, only 1,638 enterprises received the CP certification, yielding a passing rate of 63.7 percent. Secondly, more than half of the 2,571 enterprises—at 1,495—were in fact required by the authorities to undergo the CP audit, even though the CP program was originally and is still being hailed as a voluntary initiative (Liu 2009). These figures clearly suggest that there are major limitations to running the Cleaner Production program as a voluntary scheme. Although Guangdong is one of the nation’s most industrialized provinces, it has made very modest progress in disseminating CP measures among its factories. In 2001, Guangdong Provincial authorities had announced an ambitious target of turning 300 factories into CP-certified enterprises by 2005. By 2006, however, only 52 enterprises were officially recognized as CP-compliant firms (Dong 2006). Even though that figure rose to 75 in 2007, Guangdong’s CP enterprises still accounted for only 1.10 percent of the 6,626 enterprises that have adopted some form of CP measures nationwide (Ji 2007). Such a rather low take-up rate by industrial enterprises in Guangdong Province was also found elsewhere, particularly in such prosperous parts of the country as the Shanghai municipality (0.25 percent); Zhejiang Province (0.75 percent); and Jiangsu Province (2.00 percent) (Bi et al 2009). These statistics have inevitably led researchers to ask the question of why CP measures have been so poorly received by industrial enterprises. A small number of researchers have begun to identify the barriers to adopting CP practices by industrial enterprises. For instance, barriers to CP adoption have been broadly categorized by some studies into regulatory, institutional, technical, and organizational factors (Shi 2003; Fang and Cote 2005; Geng and Doberstein 2008; Hicks and Dietmar 2007; Huq et al. 1999; Wang 1999; Yap 2005; Zhuang 1997). Another study has identified a set of 20 barriers encountered by small and medium-sized enterprises in adopting CP measures and grouped them into four categories: policy; financial; technical and managerial (Shi et al 2008). One of the major weaknesses of these studies was that they were not informed by any theoretical framework. Without an analytical basis to inform their methodology, the underlying meaning of the empirical data gathered could not be fully revealed. In addition, no systematic discussion has been conducted to address the question of how, and to what extent, such barriers could be overcome to allow the CP initiative to become a dominant and effective strategy in combating the industrial pollution problem. The proposed research is formulated to overcome this major weakness of the earlier studies on barriers to CP adoption. Built around the theory of problem of implementation gap, and focusing on the case of Guangdong Province, the project is designed as an exploratory study to examine two inter-related questions: (i) What was the main strategy used by the implementing agencies in Guangdong Province in disseminating and promoting CP practices? (ii) What are the major institutional barriers to adopting and implementing CP measures by different types of enterprises in Guangdong Province? References available upon request (the word limit precludes their inclusion here). |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lee F.Y.S., Lo W.H.C. and Lee A.K.Y., Strategy Misguided: The weak links between urban emission control measures, vehicular emissions, and public health in Guangzhou, In: Jennifer Holdaway, Wang Wu-yi, Ye Jin-zhong, Zhang Si-qiu (eds.), Environment and Health: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives. Beijing, Social Sciences Academic Press, 2010, 131-152 (in Chinese). |
| Lee F.Y.S., Lo W.H.C. and Lee A.K.Y., Strategy Misguided: The weak links between urban emission control measures, vehicular emissions, and public health in Guangzhou, Journal of Contemporary China. USA, Routledge, 2010, 19(63): 37-54. |
| Lee F.Y.S. and Lo W.H.C., The Political Economy of Water Resources Conservation in China: Reconciling Bureaucratic Conflicts in Conserving Dongjiang's Water Resources, EU-China River Basin Governance Research Network Inaugural Workshop, Guangzhou, China, November 23-27, 2009. |
| Lee F.Y.S., Weak Carbon Concern and a Soft Carbon Policy in Hong Kong: A Research Agenda, International Workshop on Sustainable and Low-Carbon Development in Indonesia and Asia: Dialogues between Policymakers and Scientists on Green Growth, Borgor, Indonesia, 16-17 February 2010. |
| Researcher : Lee KS |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lee K.S., How Can Hong Kong be a Truly World City? Towards a Polycentric Metropolis Spatial Planning, Hong Kong Sociological Association , 11th Annual Conference: Envisioning the World City, December 5, 2009, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China 2009. 2009. |
| Lee K.S., Interactive Linkages Between People and Information in Hong Kong: An Advanced Producer Services Perspective, The Research Postgraduate Conference 2010, Faculty of Social Sciences, The Universityof Hong Kong, May 29, 2010. The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China 2010. 2010. |
| Lee K.S., Merit Award, Tertiary Student Group, 2010 Couplet Competition of the Hong Kong Youth Cultural and Arts Competitions, Hong Kong, 2010. |
| Lee K.S., Reading Political News: Using Legitimacy Perspective to Analyze an Opinion Poll Result of Under Secretaries and Political Assistants, Hong Kong, Radio Television Hong Kong, 2009, 14-15. |
| Lee K.S., Sustainable Consumption of Newspaper: Actualizing Human-nature Harmony Through Producer - Consumer Strategic Sustainable Resonance, 16th Annual International Sustainable Development Research Conference, Hong Kong, May 30 - June 1, 2010. 46-53. |
| Researcher : Lenzer Jr JH |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lenzer Jr J.H., Financial Innovation, Information Technology and Geographical Responsibility: Lessons from the US Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis, Association of American Geographers' Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 14-18, 2010. |
| Researcher : Leung MWH |
| Project Title: | Charting transnationalism from the shop floor: A pilot study of small-to-medium-size migrant/ethnic entrepreneurship in Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Leung MWH |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 05/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| Migrant entrepreneurship has grossly been overlooked by scholars in Hong Kong, with the exception of research conducted on the businessmen and industrialists from Mainland China in the 1960s conducted by scholars such as Wong Siu Lun. The lack of research in this field is surprising as migrant entrepreneurs in catering and retail trade from South Asia and Southeast Asia, among others, are apparent in the urban landscape and contribute to the vibrant local economies in many parts of Hong Kong (e.g. Chungking Mansions, to name only the most spectacular example). This study explores the phenomenon of small-to-medium-size businesses operated by migrant of non-ethnic-Chinese background in Hong Kong. Concentrating on migrants of non-ethnic Chinese background provides a focused lens to explore the multicultural aspect of Hong Kong economy and contributes to extend our understanding of migrant entrepreneurship beyond ethnic Chinese migrant businessmen. Building on my previous research on ethnic Chinese migrant entrepreneurship in catering, computer trade and travel agency sectors in Germany since 1999, this project aims to deepen my conceptual and empirical expertise in this research area by exploring the phenomenon in a new geographical terrain. Specifically, the project objectives are: 1. To conduct a conceptual analysis of migrant entrepreneurship in Hong Kong, drawing upon and test the relevance of major concepts available in the academic discourse in Western Europe and North America; 2. To chart the prevalence and geography of small-to-medium-size migrant businesses in Hong Kong; 3. To identify two relevant branches operated by migrant groups for further investigations; 4. To develop key theoretical issues and most relevant and workable empirical angles for the subsequent larger-scale project. In this project, I shall adopt the “mixed-embeddedness approach” advocated by scholars Jan Rath and Robert Kloosterman, as a theoretical starting point. Cases will be examined taking into account the economic structure, cultural and social capital of the migrant entrepreneurs and the political-institutional frameworks (both in migrants’ origin countries and Hong Kong, and at different geographical scales). By consciously setting the analytical lens on all these aspects, the common trap of misinterpreting these firms and entrepreneurs either as a product of culture or market structure is avoided. Important issues to be explored include: 1. The formal and informal regulatory frameworks in which the migrant entrepreneurs are embedded, so to examine the degree of regulatedness and level of informality of their activities; 2. The opportunity structures for small-to-medium-size migrant entrepreneurship in Hong Kong; 3. The role of cultural capital i.e. significance of (performed) cultural identities and; 4. The significance of social capital (i.e. ethnic and social networks spanning different geographical scales) in the formation and operation of their businesses – a resource that is commonly regarded as essential for the reduction of transaction costs. This approach allows for an analytical distinction between place (or context)-specific aspects of embeddedness (i.e. the socio-economic and institutional context in Hong Kong) on the one hand, and for more general trajectories of migrant entrepreneurship as a global phenomenon on the other. I hypothesise that many of the migrant/ethnic businesses under investigation are engaged in activities that span national boundaries. Inspired by scholars such as Michael Peter Smith and Luis Eduardo Guarnizo, this project aims to chart globalisation and transnationalism from below by focusing on the nature and day-to-day working of small-to-medium-size migration businesses which operations span transnational economic and socio-cultural space. This selection debunks the conventional, often essentialised, association between globalisation and big transnational corporations commonly found in the academic and public discourses. Echoing local anthropologist Gordon Mathews’ appreciation of Chungking Mansions as “world centre of low-end globalisation”, this project will also uncover globalisation and transnationalism from the “low-end”. This approach illustrates how globalisation and transnationalism are far from “just” abstract and aloof concepts, but concrete and grounded processes affecting and being charted by actors of diverse backgrounds. Specifically, this part of the research plans to document the level of localism and transnationalism in the migrant entrepreneurship under studied. Namely, the forward- and backward-links of these entrepreneurs with partners in places ranging from the local districts in Hong Kong to their homelands, or to other business partners beyond Hong Kong and their homelands (e.g. co-ethnic ties in the USA or Europe for example) will be charted. The project assumes that high proportion of migrant entrepreneurs in Hong Kong is engaged in trade that commodifies their “culture” in form of cuisines or clothing and jewellery. Careful observation at their businesses and interviews with migrant entrepreneurs will likely provide textured materials to illustrate the fluidity of “culture” and “ethnicity” in the market. Strategies in marketing, staging and manufacturing ethnic goods to suit the opportunity structure and consumers’ taste will be examined. In addition to ethnicity and culture, this project also stresses the power of gender. As studies by Felicitas Hillmann and Eunju Lee, among others, have demonstrated, the experiences of and strategies adopted by female and male migrant entrepreneurs can be very different, and sometimes contradictory. As the study of migrant entrepreneurship has hitherto been mostly gender-blind, this research will contribute to the discourse, testing the relevance and possibly extending the small but growing literature with gender perspectives beyond the Western European and North American context. Major questions investigated include the gendered difference in: 1. the motives of becoming one’s own boss; 2. cultural and ethnic resources available to aspired migrant entrepreneurs; 3. business strategies (ranging from local to transnational scales) adopted; 4. perceived opportunities and constraints to run their businesses in Hong Kong. As the city government presents Hong Kong to be Asia’s World City, it is time for social scientists to pay more serious attention to the various populations that contribute to the worldliness of the city. This project will serve to illustrate some of the major trends and aspects regarding migrant entrepreneurs from different parts of the world, armed with different capital and experiences, thus enriching the body of the migration stories available in Hong Kong. |
| Project Title: | Refabricating the Hong Kong story: A study of industrial heritage and its valorisation |
| Investigator(s): | Leung MWH |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Hui Oi Chow Trust Fund - General Award |
| Start Date: | 08/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| Sustaining cultural heritage contributes to the strengthening of a sense of place, sense of belonging and civic pride. In recent years, the contested meanings and management approaches of cultural heritage (e.g. incidents such as the Star Ferry Pier and Queen’s Pier debacle, the fate of the “Wedding Card Street” and the King Yin Lei dispute) has aroused increasingly level of attention among concerned residents, NGOs, scholars and policy-makers in Hong Kong. Current perspectives on cultural heritage in Hong Kong are based predominantly on dichotomous traditional Chineseness (e.g. temples and Chinese festivals) vis-à-vis postcolonial romanticism (e.g. colonial era architecture such as the Central Police Station complex) juxtaposition. This project proposes a deeper appreciation of Hong Kong’s manufacturing-industrial history and identity, complementing the current heritage story. The research demonstrates the meaningfulness in highlighting the city’s manufacturing industries as part of its identity and heritage. Manufacturing industries, exemplified by the “Made in Hong Kong” label, have contributed in the making of today’s Hong Kong and are still vivid in the memories of many people in Hong Kong and in the global community. No heritage valorisation and management approach can be comprehensive without paying due, sincere recognition to the economic, socio-cultural and spatial processes that have produced “Made in Hong Kong” golden era. The appreciation, conservation and valorisation of industrial heritage have hitherto almost exclusively taken place in old industrialised countries (OICs), concentrated in old- and de-industrialised areas in Europe, and to much lesser extent in North America. Properties valorised in these cases are mostly large-scale and spectacular industrial heritage properties (e.g. mines, large textile plants, power plants, etc. mainly dating from the late 19th to early 20th century). This project urges more effort in extending these exercises beyond the OIC context. While some examples of such heritage conservation can be found in Japan, mainland China, Taiwan and South Korea, most of these projects also focus on large and spectacular industrial properties, mirroring the practice in the OICs. Hong Kong offers an interesting case for different reasons. Its vibrant and dynamic industrial past, embodied in a wealth of tangible and intangible assets provide an obvious justification for valorisation. While the city is still home to both locally-, regionally- and transnationally-linked industrial production systems, their rapidly changing nature and transboundary movement (i.e. relocation to other parts of the Pearl River Delta and beyond), creates new challenges for heritage valorisation. It calls for prompt, well-conceptualised and context-sensitive approaches to identify, preserve (or in some cases, rescue) and valorise this fast-disappearing heritage. Considering the characteristics of this industrial story seriously, this project rejects a mere transfer of models and practices from OICs. Rather, we aim to chart a heritage valorisation approach that: i. appreciates the value of small-scale, labour-intensive manufacturing production with non-impressive machinery and intriguing linkages between factories and residential production sites, strongly contrasting to the mostly large-scale and spectacular industrial heritage properties that are valorised in OICs. ii. highlights the spatially dynamic characteristics of Hong Kong’s industrialisation and de-industrialisation processes, namely the take-off with a “transferred industrialisation” induced by immigrant entrepreneurs from mainland China in 1940s to 1950s, and likewise a remarkable transboundary transfer to the mainland in 1980s to 1990s. iii. emphasises the spatial context of Hong Kong (i.e. its size, compactness, and geopolitical location) and its consequences in the city’ industrialisation and de-industrialisation processes (i.e. how production is organised spatially and socially, and how it shapes a variety of special industrialised cityscapes) both prior to and after the implementation of the Open Door Policy. iv. accentuates interweaving industrial, social and urban processes related to (de)industrialisation in a transboundary context. In particular the project intends to underscore delicate issues e.g. those relating to labour work and living conditions. This proposed research draws upon literature from multiple disciplines – integrating cultural geography, heritage and cultural studies, history and tourism, and adopts a participatory and policy-oriented approach. It investigates the value and valorisation potential of manufacturing industrial heritage in Hong Kong. This project comprises two parts: (i) analytical part and (ii) explorative part: i. The analytical part of our project will provide an academic evaluation of the heritage discursive space in Hong Kong, aiming to firstly analyse factors contributing to current neglect of industrial heritage by examining the viewpoints of important actors, and secondly consider its potential for valorisation. This part of the research will contribute to the increasingly vibrant debate regarding cultural heritage in Hong Kong, and complement the hitherto theoretical and empirical scholarship that neglects the city’s manufacturing industrial history and identity. ii. The exploratory part of the project will produce an “other Hong Kong heritage story” using a participatory approach. We aim to produce a heritage narrative that emphasises the unique time-space compressed nature of the city’s industry history, the spatial organisation of manufacturing work and the dynamic spatial stretch that the (de)industrialisation process has taken. Specifically the objectives of this project are: i. to conduct an academic analysis of the cultural heritage discursive space in Hong Kong, with a distinct focus on industrial heritage; ii. to gauge the level of understanding and appreciation of “industrial heritage” among key actors in e.g. relevant policy-making bodies, business and industrial sectors, researchers, NGOs and the broader civil society; iii. to identify (an) exemplary industrial heritage story (or stories) for valorisation; iv. to draft a concept plan for the valorisation of the case industry (or industries) for education, tourism and creative re-use; and v. to develop a model of participatory governance in heritage preservation in Hong Kong. In the face of rapid deindustrialisation and pressure for urban renewal, prompt, well-conceptualised and time/space-sensitive efforts to valorise, preserve and manage this fast-disappearing heritage are vital. Our findings will be useful for government agencies, industrial communities, NGOs and researchers in urban planning, heritage studies, education and tourism studies. They will also be constructive for similar research in China and other newly industrialising, and in some cases, already de-industrialising economies. |
| Project Title: | Collecting intellectual mileage: A study of transnational academic mobility of Hong Kong scholars |
| Investigator(s): | Leung MWH |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 05/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Transnational movements of scientists and researchers have become more common place in the global knowledge economy. Regular exchanges and collaborations with colleagues overseas have indeed become a necessary component of scholars’ work, especially among those in advanced economies. Geographic mobility is often perceived as a key to academic excellence and career advancement by the scholars. As nation states, urban centres and academic institutions compete to host or at least be affiliated with the maximum number of talents, the movement of these increasingly mobile scholars has also become a terrain of contest. Ever more institutions worldwide are involved in stimulating the global circulation of academics, hoping that geographical mobility of their affiliated scholars will have positive effects on their institution’s position in the global knowledge network and achievement in expertise production. To date, research by geographers and others interested in mobility on this increasingly numerous and strategically important mobile population has been scarce. This project contributes to this literature by examining the motivations for and impact of transnational academic mobility of Hong Kong scholars. Focusing on academic staff of higher education institutions rather than students, who have been the subjects of most work in this research area, it will help draw a fuller picture of academic mobility. “Academic mobility” refers to the academically-motivated geographical movements of students, faculty and researchers, generally in higher education, from their home institution to another one, either inside or outside of their home country, to study, teach or take part in research for a period of time. Depending on the working definition adopted, academic mobility can refer to short research visits or even conference travel, or exchange of longer duration such as guest professorship or research visits that last as long as a few years’ period. Compared to other population movements in our increasingly globalising world, such as migration and tourism, international academic mobility has received hitherto relatively little attention. This neglect is surprising considering the strategic importance of this group of mobile talents as agents shaping the production, exchange and spread of knowledge as well as culture and practices associated therewith, which in turn attribute to the competitiveness of structures ranging from individual academic institutions to urban centres, from nation state to world regions at large. Academic mobility is conceptualised in this study as dynamic, varied and contextualised processes, which will be examined “bottom-up” by documenting and analysing the experiences of mobile academics. This widens our understanding beyond macro-level narratives that concentrate on the number and geographical distribution of these research visits and generalised arguments along the “brain gain”/”brain drain” binary. By examining the mobility experiences of Hong Kong-based scholars who have completed overseas research visits (of a minimum length of one semester), this study also extends our current knowledge of international population mobility patterns in Hong Kong. Existing work on international population movements among Hongkongers focuses predominantly on family migration especially as a reaction to the approach of the handover to Mainland Chinese rule in 1997, and more recently on return migration or sojourning among transmigrants. This proposed research will break new grounds in examining the nature, meanings and impact of geographical mobility among Hong Kong scholars and their role in shaping the transnational, cosmopolitan intelligentsia that is actively engaging with the global knowledge economy. The meanings of geographical mobility as a means of capital accumulation as perceived and practised by Hong Kong academics will be a central question in this research. Here, I draw upon Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of economic, social, cultural and symbolic capital as a source of power, domination and opportunities. In Bourdieu’s perspective, economic capital refers to income and other forms of financial resources and assets; social capital exists in durable social relations, networks and contacts; cultural capital of a person (e.g. competence, skills, qualifications) takes three forms, namely objectified (e.g. books, computers), embodied (characteristics of a person e.g. accent or multilingualism), and institutionalised forms (e.g. university degree or affiliation with prestigious research institution); and finally the concept of symbolic capital is used to explain the manner in which various forms of capital are perceived in a corresponding social structure, such as the prestige or status value attached to certain competencies, values, and/or places of learning and research. This research will focus on the accumulation of social, cultural and symbolic capital among Hong Kong academics after their mobility experience. While Bourdieu argues that the different types of capital can all be derived from economic capital, this research will explore if, and how geographical mobility can also be converted to social, cultural and symbolic capital which subsequently can be accumulated and transformed to further mobility, both in geographical (as in subsequent overseas travelling for varied purposes) and social (as in career advancement) sense. In relation, the role of transnational academic visits in the creation of and shaping a group of transnational cosmopolitan intelligentsia will be examined. Moreover, this research will also offer insights into the meanings of geographical mobility, the symbolic power of place in knowledge production and exchange, and the intensifying linkages between Hong Kong academia and the global knowledge economy. The specific objectives of the projects are: 1. To investigate the policy, socio-economic, cultural and academic contexts that account for the intensifying linkages among scholars in Hong Kong and overseas academic circles; 2. To chart the development and patterns of transnational mobility of Hong Kong scholars; 3. To examine the motivations for and impact of overseas research stays among Hong Kong scholars; 4. To identify factors attributing to the varied mobility motivations and experiences among scholars of different age, gender, discipline, academic rank, geographical background and previous mobility experience; 5. Applying Bourdieu’s concept of “capital”, to analyse how geographical mobility is transformed into cultural, social and symbolic capital, and subsequently to social mobility and further geographical mobility; 6. To examine how cultural capital (i.e. competence and qualifications), social capital (i.e. network) and symbolic capital (i.e. prestige) accumulated from mobility is developed, maintained and negotiated in knowledge economies both in Hong Kong and transnationally. |
| Project Title: | Industrial heritage in Hong Kong: A Pilot Study |
| Investigator(s): | Leung MWH |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | The Lord Wilson Heritage Trust - General Award |
| Start Date: | 06/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| 1. To promote Hong Kong’s industrial heritage. 2. To explore the valorization potential of industrial heritage in Hong Kong using a participatory approach; 3. To draft a concept plan for the valorization of one case industry (e.g. textile and garment, printing) for education, tourism and/or creative re-use. |
| Project Title: | Transnational mobility, capital production and knowledge exchange: A study of research visits of Chinese scholars to Germany |
| Investigator(s): | Leung MWH |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 08/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) To investigate the policy, socio-economic, cultural and academic contexts that account for the intensifying linkages among scholars in the Chinese and overseas academic circles; 2) To chart the development and patterns of transnational mobility of Chinese scholars, taking Germany as a case-study; 3) To study the motivations for and impact of research stays to Germany among Chinese scholars; 4) To identify factors attributing to the varied mobility motivations and experiences among scholars of different age, gender, discipline, academic rank, geographical background and previous mobility experience; 5) Applying Bourdieu’s concept of “capital”, to analyse how geographical mobility is transformed into cultural, social and symbolic capital, and subsequently to social mobility and further geographical mobility; 6) To examine how cultural capital (i.e. competence and qualifications), social capital (i.e. network) and symbolic capital (i.e. prestige) accumulated from mobility is developed, maintained and negotiated in knowledge economies both in China and transnationally. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Leung M.W.H., Collecting intellectual mileage: A study of transnational academic mobility of Chinese scholars, DIME (Dynamics of Institutions and Markets in Europe) Workshop on Globalisation and the Changing Geographies of Production and Innovation. Utrecht, Utrecht University, 2009. |
| Leung M.W.H., Hong Kong’s industrial heritage: Envisioning Asia’s World City through a(n almost) lost lens, The 11th Annual Conference of the Hong Kong Sociological Association. 2009. |
| Leung M.W.H., Power of borders and spatiality of transnationalism: A study of Chinese-operated tourism businesses in Europe, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie. 2009, 100: 646-661. |
| Leung M.W.H. and Waters J., Transnational students and (im)mobilities in Hong Kong, Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. Washington DC, 2010. |
| Researcher : Leung STS |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lai P.C., Mak A.S.H., So F.M., Leung S.T.S. and Kwong K.H., Modelling Voter Behaviours by Geographic Information Technology: A Case of Hong Kong in 2004, Annals of GIS. United Kingdom, Taylor and Francis, 2010, 16(1): 15-25. |
| Researcher : Li Y |
| Project Title: | A Study of Red Tourism Development in China |
| Investigator(s): | Li Y |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 12/2007 |
| Completion Date: | 11/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Heritage tourism is now a world phenomenon of both socio-cultural and economic significance (Nuryanti, 1996). In the last decade heritage tourism expanded in the most obvious form of ‘Communist Heritage Tourism’ in post-communist countries in Europe and ‘Red Tourism’ in China. Some preliminary studies (e.g. Light, 2000; D. R. Hall, 2002; Coles, 2003) pointed to the contested nature of representing and interpreting the communist ‘heritage’, yet have not probed deeper into the issue of authenticity and its diversified and dynamic meanings for the agents involved. This proposed research will focus on the four major agents involved in the process of producing and consuming communist heritage tourism--the state, industry, tourists, and local community—to conduct a case study, with an ultimate goal being to shed new lights on the academic inquiry of ‘authenticity’ in heritage tourism research. Three specific objectives are set for the investigation, namely:. 1) to review the factual basis—both socio-cultural and economic—of communist heritage and /or red tourism--in order to identify the crucial factors that contribute to the development of this new form of heritage tourism 2) to investigate the roles of the four major agents involved in representing and interpreting communist ‘heritage’, in order to shed new lights on the academic inquiry of ‘authenticity’ in heritage tourism research 3) to analyze the phenomenon in question in the context of specific cases of red tourism development in China |
| Project Title: | A STUDY OF THE IMPACTS OF SPORT EVENTS ON HONG KONG |
| Investigator(s): | Li Y |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Hui Oi Chow Trust Fund - General Award |
| Start Date: | 09/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| Sport events are not new subjects for academic enquiry, especially regarding the substantial impacts on tourism economy. According to Roche (2000), in the 1980s and the 1990s the public generated surpluses of at least US $100 million were from Olympic Games. The research on sport events in Asia has had a similar focus on the tourism impacts (Kim and Morrison, 2005; Lee and Taylor, 2005; Owen, 2005). Notwithstanding the merit of this line of investigation, it has been argued that there are other dimensions of these events that merit increased attention (Hinch and Higham, 2001; Ritchie and Adair, 2004). One such omission has been the investigation of the potential enhancement effects of major sport events on residents’ participation in leisure sports and physical activities, and the extent to which such effects may contribute to the public health of a host community. This proposed research addresses this omission through an examination of the Hong Kong Equestrian Competition of 2008 Olympics and 2009 Hong Kong East Asian Games, with three objectives being: 1) to examine the enhancement effects of two specific sport events on residents’ participation in leisure sports, and the extent to which such effects may contribute to the host city public health and tourism 2) to generate policy recommendations so that Hong Kong and other cities in the Pearl River Delta Region will be in a position to maximize the catalytic effects of similar events in future years; and 3) to examine these questions in an Asian context Hong Kong’s tourism industry, identified as one of the ‘four pillars’ of the economy deserving of concentrated investment (Tung, 2001), has a promising prospect because the city will host the Equestrian Competition of 2008 Olympics, and 2009 East Asian Games. Despite the wide spread local support that these events have generated, there are these key policy issues associated with the events, which deserve an in-depth academic investigation. First, in spite of the physical activity focus of these events, the public participation rate in leisure sports in Hong Kong is rather low (Department of Health, 2006). This lack of public interest not only undermines public health but also contributes to an unattractive tourism destination image of a sedentary population prone to health issues like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome epidemic and avian flu (Chien and Law, 2003; Lo et al., 2006; McKercher and Chon, 2004). Second, high expectation of the economic effects invites sponsors such as Coca-Cola, Volkswagen, Panasonic, Samsung, Legend Group and General Electric, to be involved with 2008 Summer Olympics. Some (Dickson and Schofield, 2005) criticize the marketing leverage created by those sponsors is directly responsible for additional increases in caloric intake and declines in physical activities among the Chinese population. Third, past studies (Allison, 1993; Hall, 1992; Higham, 1999; Owen, 2005) indicate a sport event is a temporal and spatial system that involves a sum of relationships in the host community. Despite numerous studies regarding the economic impacts of sport events on tourism, little attention has been given to studying the assumption that a cycle of beneficial effects may exist among sport event, public health and tourism. That is, high profiles of hosting a sport event help stimulate the residents’ interest in leisure sports; more residents’ engagement in leisure sports would enhance public health, which helps construct a positive tourism image of the host city and would, eventually, benefit the tourism economy. This is a 24-month project and will be initiated in July 2008. The investigation will concentrate in the community based impacts of the two events as manifest in terms of: A) public health improvement in association with residents’ participation in leisure sports, B) built environment change in association with the events and, C) the effects of these on local tourism growth. A 3-phase interdependent investigation has been designed accordingly. The specific methods include content analysis of published government and industry documents; questionnaire survey of community residents, sport event participants and spectators as well as general tourists; and our on-site observations of the operations associated with the sport events. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Li Y. and Hu Z., Red Tourism: Sustaining Communist Identity In A Rapidly Changing China, Journal Of Tourism And Cultural Change. UK, Routledge, 2010, 8: 101-119. |
| Zhang Qiu H... .Q..., York Y... .Q... and Li Y., Understanding The Mechanism Of Zero-commission Chinese Outbound Package Tours: Evidence From Case Studies, international Journal Of Contemporary Hospitality Management. Bradford, England, Emerald publications, 2009, 21: 713-733. |
| Researcher : Lin GCS |
| Project Title: | Urbanization and Land Development in Post-reform China: A Study of the Guangzhou Metropolis |
| Investigator(s): | Lin GCS |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 04/2008 |
| Completion Date: | 03/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| Scope and Objectives: The objective of this pilot study is to develop a full research proposal for submission to the HK RGC within two years. One of the most striking features that characterized the growth and transformation of the Chinese economy in the recent decade has been a massive development of its land resources all over the country as a consequence of deepened market reforms and increased interaction with the forces of globalization. The process of land development has taken place initially in the countryside where rural economic reforms were originated. Official Chinese statistics reported that, between 1978 and 1996, total cultivated land shrank from 99.39 to 94.97 million hectares, a net loss of 4.42 million hectares or 4.4 percent, primarily because of agricultural restructuring, industrialization, and a rural housing boom (Heilig, 1997; Ash and Edmonds, 1998; Smil, 1999; Ho and Lin, 2003). Since the 1990s, a new wave of city-centered land development has emerged in which large cities, after a long lag behind their rural counterpart, re-asserted their leading position in the national and regional economy as well as the process of land development. There was an unprecedented expansion of the land occupied by cities and towns as the Chinese urban system dramatically grew vertically and horizontally. Horizontally, the total number of cities rose from 295 to 666 and their built-up areas grew by 130 percent, from 8,816 to 20,532 square kilometers during 1984-1996. Vertically, a meticulous comparison of the urban built-up area of the 286 identical cities for which data were available for the period of 1984-1996 revealed an expansion of the urban land from 8,713 to 14,135 square kilometers or 62 percent (Lin, 2002; Ho and Lin, 2004). Using the Landsat images taken in 1986, 1991, and 1996, Chinese land management authorities found out that the urban built-up areas of the 27 of China’s super-large cities expanded from 3,267 to 4,907 square kilometers or 50 percent (Li, 2000, p. 593). The latest wave of city-centered land development has effectively opened up the bottleneck upon Chinese urban infrastructure left over by the previous practice of urban containment under Mao and created new spaces for accelerate urbanization in the new era of market reforms and globalization. However, it has also given rise to intensified competition over access to land between the urban and rural sectors because much of the newly expanded urban land has been encroached upon the rural land in the outskirts of the city. Moreover, there have been frequent outbreaks of land disputes, peasants’ protests, and even violence in the process of land expropriation and conversion at the urban-rural interface. This new wave of city-centered land development has raised serious concerns over China’s long term interests in vigorous economic growth, social stability, and environmental sustainability. It has presented new challenges to planners and decision makers for the formulation and implementation of innovative policies, which have in turn demanded for the knowledge and understanding of the nature and dynamics of this ongoing process. There is a pressing need for serious investigations of the causes and consequences of China’s latest phenomenon of city-centered land development. Recent theoretical advancement in the studies of urban and regional development has been based predominantly upon the identification of regional competitive advantages in technology, labor market, and production network as the main driving forces of urban and regional growth in the era of intensified global competition. Much less attention has been paid to other sources of regional growth such as capital mobilization and land development which are clearly as important as technological innovation and labor market formation. On the other hand, the existing literature on China’s land development has addressed such issues as the loss of cultivated land, tenure security and rural land use, urban housing reforms, the urban land market, and land taxation. Urban and rural land has often been treated in a separate manner without paying adequate attention to the urban-rural interface where land expropriation usually occurred and social conflicts frequently erupted. There exist noticeable gaps in both the theoretical literature on urban/regional growth and empirical studies of China’s land development. Against the empirical and theoretical backdrop identified above, this proposed research intends to: 1. identify the extent and structural composition of urban land expansion since the 1990s focusing on the urban-rural interface; 2. investigate the social and political forces that have shaped China’s city-centered land development, with a special emphasis placed on the inter-relationship between land development and municipal finance; and 3. evaluate the consequences of the city-centered land development phenomenon upon urban and regional economic growth and spatial inequality. The study area will be focused on the Guangzhou Municipality-a rapidly expanding city-region where phenomenal land development has been widely recognized and the influence of marketization and globalization strongly felt. The overall objective is to probe into the social and political origins of the process of massive urban land development unfolding in China in the recent decade, which should generate important findings to facilitate the ongoing scholarly enquiry into Chinese urbanization and improve the planning and management of China’s land use. |
| Project Title: | Administrative change and regional development in globalizing southern China: New patterns and practices in Guangdong Province |
| Investigator(s): | Lin GCS |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 12/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| In the recent decade of increased globalization, intensified market competition among regional economies in China has given rise to new local strategies and practices of regional development. In Guangdong Province of southern China where market reforms and globalization have been pursued earlier and faster than elsewhere in the country, a new pattern of regional development has emerged in which many municipal governments made major administrative changes to expand their jurisdictional boundary, incorporate suburban counties into the urban districts, and form large city-regions. This practice was initiated in Guangzhou in 2000 and has soon been followed by Foshan, Jiangmen, and Huizhou two years later. Similar patterns and practices can be found in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, and many other Chinese city-regions. As a consequence, the economic landscape of Chinese regional development has been profoundly re-countered and transformed. This ongoing process of administrative change and regional development has posed new challenges to planners and policy makers for management and sustainable regional economic development. It has also raised new theoretical questions concerning the nature, dynamics, and operating mechanism of regional development in a transitional socialist economy undergoing marketization and globalization. What is the motivation for Chinese municipal governments to engage in the unprecedented and often forceful annexation of their suburban county economies? Who are responsible for these changes and what is the actual process through which these changes are made? What has been the cost and benefits of this new practice? Who have been the winners and losers of these changes? To what extent has this new practice of regional development shaped the growth and redistribution of regional economic activities? What about their consequences on regional inequality and social stability? Conceptually and theoretically, how does the new Chinese experience deviate from and challenge the perceived notion and conventional wisdom about the nature and dynamics of regional development? Thus far, little research has been done to document and explain the new Chinese pattern and process of regional development. The research project proposed here has the following three objectives, namely to: 1) examine the new pattern and process of regional development in Guangdong Province since the year 2000; 2) investigate the social and political origins of the practice of administrative change and regional growth; 3) evaluate the economic and geographic consequences of the new practice of regional growth engaged by municipal governments in Guangdong. An up-to-date study of the dynamics of regional development in southern China will hopefully generate significant theoretical insights into the special nature of regional development in a transitional socialist economy. It will also provide an useful empirical base for planning, management, and policy making to promote the growth and transformation of the Chinese regional economy in an economically efficient, socially stable, and environmentally sustainable manner. |
| Project Title: | Joint initiatives between UK and Hong Kong higher education institutions - an examination of student and employer perspectives |
| Investigator(s): | Lin GCS |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | ESRC/RGC JRS |
| Start Date: | 06/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) To examine joint partnerships between UK-Hong Kong HEIs from the perspective of the students currently enrolled on a joint UK-Hong Kong degree programme. 2) To examine joint UK-Hong Kong partnerships between UK-Hong Kong HEIs from the perspective of graduates that have successfully completed a joint UK-Hong Kong degree programme and have some subsequent experience of entering the local (or international) labour market. 3) To examine joint UK-Hong Kong partnerships between UK-Hong Kong HEIs from the perspective of employers based in Hong Kong with experience of employing individuals from a range of educational backgrounds including those that have completed a joint UK-Hong Kong degree programme. 4) To examine joint UK-Hong Kong partnerships between UK-Hong Kong HEIs from the perspective of service providers (key individuals based in Kong and the UK at the respective partner HEIs with an instrumental role in either the initial setting up of these programmes or in the actual delivery of these programmes). |
| Project Title: | Urban Land Development and Local Public Finance in Coastal China: A Comparative Study of Guangdong and Jiangsu, 1996-2006 |
| Investigator(s): | Lin GCS |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 12/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| One of the most striking features that characterized the growth and transformation of the Chinese economy in the recent decade has been an accelerate urbanization of its population and dramatic expansion of the urban land as a consequence of market reforms and globalization. The process of urbanization has taken place initially in the countryside where economic reforms originated. Since the 1990s, a new wave of city-centered land development has emerged in which large cities, after a long lag behind their rural counterpart, re-asserted their leading position in the national and regional economy as well as the process of land development. Between 1995 and 2005, large and extralarge cities increased dramatically from 75 to 118, whereas small and medium-sized cities dropped from 565 to 543. During the same period of time, China's total urban built-up area expanded from 20,465 to 32,520 square kilometers or by nearly 60 percent. Interestingly, this dramatic expansion of cities, especially large cities, has taken place at a time when the central government instituted in 1994 a "tax-sharing system" (fen shui zhi) to claim a larger share of local revenue while reducing its financial input in local developmental affairs. Why have China’s large cities been able to expand rapidly despite a major fiscal retrenchment? How has this new process of large-city-led urbanization been financed? What does this peculiar phenomenon tell us about the nature and dynamics of China’s ever-changing urbanization processes? Phenomenal urban expansion at the expense of rural land has helped strengthen the competitiveness of large cities, but it has been accompanied by an escalation of land disputes, peasants’ protests, and riots. A survey conducted in 2005 and involving 1,962 farmer respondents in 17 provinces found that incidents of land takings had increased more than 15 times during the past 10 years and they continued to accelerate. In the first nine months of 2006, China reported a total of 17,900 cases of “rural mass incidents” in which 385,000 farmers protested against the government. The majority of these incidents, nearly 80 percent, were related to illegal land-takings. It was estimated that over 40 million farmers had lost their land because of urban expansion and that 70 percent of the complaints lodged from farmers in the past five years had been due to land expropriation. This new wave of city-centered land development has raised serious concerns over China’s long term interests in vigorous economic growth, social stability, and environmental sustainability. It has presented new challenges to planners and decision makers for the formulation and implementation of innovative policies, which have in turn demanded for the knowledge and understanding of the nature and dynamics of this ongoing process. There is a pressing need for serious investigations of the causes and consequences of China’s latest phenomenon of city-centered land development. Recent theoretical advancement in the studies of China’s urbanization has been based primarily upon the assessment of rural-urban migration, the growth and restructuring of the new Chinese cities under globalization, and, more recently, changes in state-market relations and the new urban politics. Relatively less has been written to elucidate the relationship between urban land development and municipal finance. On the other hand, the existing literature on China’s land has tended to treat land development in the urban and rural sectors in a separate manner. Meanwhile, studies of China’s fiscal reforms and public finance have focused on the formal budgetary and extrabudgetary relation between central and local governments without paying adequate attention to the “hidden” role played by land development in local public finance. There exist noticeable gaps in both the theoretical literature on urban/regional growth and empirical studies of China’s land development. Against the empirical and theoretical backdrop identified above, this proposed research intends to: 1) identify the extent and structural composition of China's urban land expansion since the 1990s focusing on the urban-rural interface; 2) investigate the social and political origins of China’s ongoing process of city-centered land development, with a special emphasis placed on the inter-relationship between land development and local public finance; and 3) evaluate the consequences of the urban land development upon regional economic growth and spatial inequality. The study area will be the two coastal provinces of Guangdong and Jiangsu where urban land development and fiscal reforms have been pursued earlier than elsewhere in the country. The time period will be the decade of 1996-2006 for which systematic and comparable data are available for collection and analysis. Building on my extensive research experiences and a well-established social network conducive to field investigation, this proposed project will contribute new knowledge on the dynamics of China's urban development, fill noticeable gaps in the existing literature, and benefit innovative planning and policy making. A detailed study of urban development and local public finance in two leading coastal provinces can help shed significant light for other Chinese regions that are at the beginning of reforms and development. Results of this case study will be used for both publications in leading international scholarly outlets and presentation to relevant government agencies responsible for planning, land use management, and sustainable urban and regional growth. |
| Project Title: | China's new dynamics of urbanization: Land development and municipal finance in the Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou city-regions |
| Investigator(s): | Lin GCS |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 12/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) Identify the pattern and process of urban land development since the 1990s; 2) Investigate the relationship between land development and municipal finance; 3) Evaluate the consequences of urban land expansion on uneven regional development. |
| Project Title: | 2010 Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting Urban China in Transformation: Globalizing economy, stratifying society, and restless space |
| Investigator(s): | Lin GCS |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 04/2010 |
| Completion Date: | 04/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lin G.C.S., A Quiet Revolution? The Growth of the Tertiary Economic Sector and Urban Transformation in Globalizing Guangzhou Metropolis, In: Yuan Ren, Chen Xiangming and Dieter Lapple (eds.), The Era of Global City-Regions. Shanghai, Fudan University Press, 2009, 136-163. |
| Lin G.C.S., China's Ongoing Urban Transformation: Managing the State-Society Relation, In: Yuan Zhi-Gang (ed.), Shanghai Forum 2008 Highlight. Shanghai, Shanghai People's Press, 2009, 136-175. |
| Lin G.C.S., Decentering Geography in a Globalizing World, World Regional Studies. Shanghai, Science Press, 2009, 18(4): 1-16 (in Chinese). |
| Lin G.C.S., Playing with Words or Playing with Numbers? The Arts and Science of Research in Contemporary Economic Geography, In: Liu Weidong et. al. (eds.), Geographical Review. Beijing, Commercial Press, 2009, 55-60 (in Chinese). |
| Lin G.C.S. and Wang C., Technological Innovation in China's High-Tech Sector: Insights from a 2008 Survey of the Integrated Circuit Design Industry in Shanghai, Eurasian Geography and Economics. USA, Bellwether, 2009, 50(4): 404-424. |
| Lin G.C.S., The Pearl River Delta, In: C.Y. Jim (ed.), New Geography of Hong Kong. Hong Kong, Cosmos Books, 2010, 161-193. |
| Lin G.C.S., Understanding Land Development Problems in Globalizing China, Eurasian Geography and Economics. Columbia, USA, Bellwether, 2010, 51(1): 80-103. |
| Researcher : Lo YH |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lo Y.H., MPhil Thesis on An Exploratory Study of the Multiple Values and Roles of Urban Green Spaces in Hong Kong. Awarded Li Ka Shing Prize 2007-2008 and Dr Stephen Hui Prize for Best MPhil Thesis 2008, 2009. |
| Lo Y.H. and Jim C.Y., Recreational Behaviours and Motives for Conservation of Urban Green Spaces in a Compact City, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 2010, 9: 113-120. |
| Researcher : Loo BPY |
| Project Title: | An Analysis of Bicycle Crashes in Hong Kong: Where? How? And What? |
| Investigator(s): | Loo BPY |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 11/2007 |
| Completion Date: | 07/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| The proposed project aims to conduct a comprehensive and systematic analysis of injury-inflicting bicycle crashes in Hong Kong. A bicycle crash is defined as a road crash which involves at least one bicycle. In other words, bicycle-vehicle, bicycle-pedestrian and bicycle-object crashes are within the scope of this study. According to the Road Traffic Ordinance, any road crash involving injury to any person, whether the driver, passenger or pedestrian, or to any animal must be reported to the Hong Kong Police. Therefore, the Traffic Accident Database System (TRADS) represents an appropriate database for the analysis. However, research worldwide has also suggested that under-reporting of injury-inflicting crashes to the Police is not uncommon (Amoros, Martin and Laumon, 2006; Aptel et al., 1999; James, 1991). Hence, hospital-based traffic casualty databases not only provide valuable medical information about the injury pattern but also include crashes which were not reported to the Police (Austin, 1992; Barancik and Fife, 1985; Bulls and Roberts, 1973; Lopez et al, 2000; Rosman, 2001; Thorson and Sande, 1969). Since 2004, the hospital-based Road Casualty Information Database (RoCIS) was established in Hong Kong on a trial basis. RoCIS allows road safety researchers to conduct more in-depth epistemological studies about the traffic casualties and to estimate the degree of under-reporting to the Police in Hong Kong. Among all road users, under-reporting was known to be particularly serious among the cyclists (Langley, Dow and Stephenson, 2003). In Hong Kong, the reporting rate for cyclists was estimated to be 33.0% only in 2004 (Loo and Tsui, 2007). This research makes use of the two complementary road crash databases in Hong Kong, that is, TRADS and RoCIS, to analyze the patterns of bicycle crashes in Hong Kong. The aims are to enrich the literature on bicycle safety, which is getting increasingly important in the development of sustainable urban transportation, and to give insights and recommendations to improve bicycle safety in Hong Kong. More specifically, it has the following objectives: (1) Conduct the first scientific spatial analysis of bicycle crashes in Hong Kong. In particular, did bicycle crashes mainly happen in the new towns and the rural areas only? To what extent were the urban areas not affected by bicycle crashes? In relation, did most bicycle crashes happen on bicycle tracks or areas near them, as cyclists tried to access to or egress from the bicycle tracks? If so, measures to improve bicycle safety, including publicity programmes, should focus on cyclists using bicycle tracks. Moreover, efforts to establish a more accessible and well-connected bicycle tracks within the new towns and the rural areas should receive high priority. (2) Analyze the circumstances leading to bicycle crashes. Were most injury-inflicting bicycle crashes involving vehicles, other bicycles, pedestrians or objects? Were they mainly head-on, rear-end, other types of crashes? In terms of the major contributory factors, were human or non-human factors more important? Were the cyclists or other major road users mainly at fault in causing the bicycle crashes? Such valuable information can inform policy-makers about the most effective ways of improving bicycle safety. (3) Conduct an epistemological study on the injury patterns of cyclist casualties. Were most cyclist casualties teenagers, as suggested by some overseas studies (de Lapparent, 2005; Karkhaneh et al, forthcoming)? If so, the current school road safety programme should strengthen the improvement on bicycle safety. If not, who were the major victims? How is age related to the injury patterns of the bicycle casualties and the final outcomes, particularly, permanent disabilities and deaths? (4) Develop a structured and comprehensive data model to predict serious injury and fatal bicycle crashes by making use of the results of the above analyses on the spatial pattern, crash circumstances and epistemological study. The model should help the formulation of a prioritized bicycle safety programme to save life, to reduce human sufferings, and to minimize the cost inflicted on the society as a whole. By meeting the above four objectives, the researcher would be in better position to understand the bicycle crash problem and to suggest ways to improve bicycle safety. References are listed under “Methodology”. |
| Project Title: | Research on Hot Zones: Facing the Theoretical and Methodological Challenges |
| Investigator(s): | Loo BPY |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 01/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| To improve road safety through further developing and refining the methodology for identifying dangerous road sections called hot zones. To address the theoretical and methodological issues associated with the wider adoption of the hot zone terminology and methodology by road safety administrations worldwide. To contribute to road safety in Hong Kong through the identification of hazardous road sections for systematic analysis, investigation and treatment. |
| Project Title: | Rail-based Transit-oriented Development: Urban Structure and Geographical Characteristics |
| Investigator(s): | Loo BPY |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 01/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) Refine and contribute to the literature on transit-oriented development (TOD), which is often put forward as an alternative to automobile-oriented development in western societies; 2) Develop a comprehensive framework for characterizing rail-based transit-oriented development (RTOD); 3) Identify the relevant government policies; 4) Identify the geographical (including land use, population and employment) characteristics which have an impact on RTOD in Hong Kong; 5) Systematically evaluate the impact of RTOD on the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainable urban transport in Hong Kong; 6) Pinpoint the pros and cons of having RTOD, especially in relation to the city’s development and people’s livelihood in Hong Kong and; 7) Evaluate the feasibility of and the desirability of transferring the RTOD model to other large metropolitan cities, especially in the People’s Republic of China. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Chow C.B., Kwong J.T.H., Leung M., Lai A.S.F. and Loo B.P.Y., Development of an Integrated Traffic Injury Database in Kwai Tsing, A Final Report for the project funded by the Health Care and Promotion Fund (HCPF). 2010. |
| Loo B.P.Y., An Overview of Transport Geography in China, Journal of Transport Geography. Elsevier, 2009, 17: 419-420. |
| Loo B.P.Y., Challenges of Airports in Multi-airport Regions (MARs), In: P.B. Larauge and M.E. Castille , Airports: Performance, Risks, and Problems. New York, Nova Science, 2009, 189-197. |
| Loo B.P.Y., China's Telecommunications Revolution, Pacific Affairs. Vancouver, University of British Columbia, 2009, 82: 330-332. |
| Loo B.P.Y., Cross-boundary Container Truck Congestion: The Case of the Hong Kong-Pearl River Delta Region, Transportation. Springer, 2010, 37: 257-274. |
| Loo B.P.Y., Identification of Hot Zones in Kwai Tsing: GIS Methodology, Traffic Safety Promotion: Primary and Secondary Prevention, Organized by Trauma Center, Princess Margaret Hospital, HKSAR, Co-organized by WHO Collaboration Centre on Community Safety Promotion, Division of Social Medicine, Karolinska Instituet, Stockholm, Sweden, Department of Geography, The University of Hong Kong, HKSAR, Kwai Tsing Safe Community and Healthy City Association, HKSAR. 2009. |
| Loo B.P.Y., Member of Editorial Board (07/2009 - now), Journal of Transport Geography. ELSEVIER, 2009. |
| Loo B.P.Y., Member of Editorial Board, Journal of Urban Technology. Routledge, 2010. |
| Loo B.P.Y. and Cheng H.T., Rail-based Transit-oriented Development in Metropolitan Cities: Potentials at Brown and Green Sites, Urban Affairs Association 40th Conference: Sustaining Cities in a Time of Globalization: Social, Economic and Political Realities, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 10-13, 2010. |
| Loo B.P.Y., Rewinding the Clock: Tracing the Geography of Traffic Casualties, Hong Kong Forensic Science Society, Invited Talk at AGM and Annual Dinner, 27th November, 2009. 2009. |
| Loo B.P.Y., Transport, Urban, In: Kitchin R, Thrift N., International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Oxford, Elsevier, 2009, 1: 464-469. |
| Loo B.P.Y., Ho H.W., Wong S.C. and Zhang P., Using the Continuum Equilibrium Approach to Solve Airport Competition Problems: Computational and Application Issues, In: Li Weigang, Alexandre G. de Barros and Italo Romani de Oliveira, Computational Models, Software Engineering and Advanced Technologies in Air Transportation: Next Generation Applications. New York, IGI Global, 2010, 88-108. |
| Researcher : Low CT |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Hart M.A., Sailor D.J. and Low C.T., Quantifying the urbanization characteristics associated with peak urban temperatures., 10th Asian Urbanization Conference. Asian Urban Research Association, 2009. |
| Lai P.C., Wong W.C., Low C.T., Wong M. and Chan M.H., A Small-Area Study of Environmental Risk Assessment of Outdoor Falls, Journal of Medical Systems. United States, Springer, 2010, 00. |
| Lai P.C., Wong M., Chan M.H., Wong W.C. and Low C.T., An Ecological Study Of Physical Environmental Risk Factors For Elderly Falls In An Urban Setting Of Hong Kong, Science of the Total Environment. US, Elsevier, 2009, 407(24): 6157-6165. |
| Researcher : Mak ASH |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lai P.C., Kwong K.H. and Mak A.S.H., Assessing The Applicability And Effectiveness Of 3d Visualisation In Environmental Impact Assessment, Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design. UK, Pion, 2010, 37: 221-233. |
| Lai P.C., Mak A.S.H., So F.M., Leung S.T.S. and Kwong K.H., Modelling Voter Behaviours by Geographic Information Technology: A Case of Hong Kong in 2004, Annals of GIS. United Kingdom, Taylor and Francis, 2010, 16(1): 15-25. |
| Researcher : Mak KL |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Mak K.L. and Tao T.C.H., Community Participation in Sustainable Tourism: A Case Study of Tai O, Hong Kong, Annual Meeting of The Association of American Geographers (AAG), Washington D.C., USA, On-line proceedings. 2010. |
| Mak K.L., Community Participation in Sustainable Tourism: A Case Study of Tai O, Hong Kong, Association of American Geographers' Annual Meeting , Washington, D.C., April 14-18, 2010. |
| Researcher : Mak KL |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Mak K.L. and Tao T.C.H., Community Participation in Sustainable Tourism: A Case Study of Tai O, Hong Kong, Annual Meeting of The Association of American Geographers (AAG), Washington D.C., USA, On-line proceedings. 2010. |
| Mak K.L., Community Participation in Sustainable Tourism: A Case Study of Tai O, Hong Kong, Association of American Geographers' Annual Meeting , Washington, D.C., April 14-18, 2010. |
| Researcher : Ng CN |
| Project Title: | A study of the urban-rural interaction and ecological consequences of urban growth in cities of the Pearl River Delta, China |
| Investigator(s): | Ng CN |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 01/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| To examine the landscape pattern of the PRD region, with special attention to urban-rural dynamics and its differences among the cities. To investigate urban-rural interactions linked to urban structure and its ecological processes. To simulate the future landscape evolution of city clusters in PRD using the SLEUTH model. To establish empirical relationships between urbanization and landscape dynamics, with an aim to enhance regional landscape integrity of the PRD region. |
| Project Title: | One River, Two Systems - the changing landscape ecology of Shenzhen River Catchment |
| Investigator(s): | Ng CN |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 05/2009 |
| Completion Date: | 08/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| The Shenzhen River originates near Niuweiling in the Wulong Mountains. It flows from northwest to southwest passing through Mankamto, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau, and finally drains into the Inner Deep Bay. The river forms the border between Hong Kong SAR and the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The river’s major tributaries include the Shawan and Buji Rivers on Shenzhen side, and the Ping Yuen and Indus Rivers on the Hong Kong side. The drainage pattern of the river is dendritic. The catchment area covers 312.5 km2, of which 60% lies on the Shenzhen side and 40% in the New Territories of Hong Kong. The estuarian area, including Mai Po Marsh, Fotian and Inner Deep Bay, is a wetland of international importance under the RAMSAR convention. The northern side of Shenzhen River has been undergoing rapidly urbanisation since the establishment of the SEZ in 1980, while the southern side remains largely rural with some new development areas near railway line and cross-boundary facilities. The significant differences in the rate and scale of urbanisation between the two sides makes Shenzhen River a very interesting site for cross-border and landscapy analysis. The primary aims of this proposed study are to investigate landscape change in the Shenzhen River catchment based on landscape ecology theory, to distinguish the influences of cross-boundary interactions, to investigate the impacts of various land use policies and specific driving forces on land-use changes, to evaluate the impacts of urbanization on the rural landscape and wildlife habitats in the catchment, and to assess the potential ecological impacts of some current planning scenarios from a catchment planning perspective. Key issues include: - How has the landscape pattern of land use changed in the Shenzhen River catchment since the establishment of Shenzhen SEZ? What are the major factors contributing to landscape change in this catchment? - How do the changes and driving forces of landscape changes resemble or differ between the two sides of the boundary? - How have the changes affect environmental variables along the boundary areas, the urban rural gradient, and in the whole catchment? What kind of landscape metrics can describe these changes? - What are the major impacts of the changes on the ecologically sensitive sites, such as wetlands and woodlands? - What are the key environment factors for achieving sustainable development of the Shenzhen River catchment? The objectives of the present project are: - to examine the land use/cover changes of the Shenzhen River catchment over the past three decades; - to understand landscape pattern of the catchment in general, with special attention to cross-border interaction and urban-rural dynamics, and their similarities and differences between the two sides of the boundary; - to investigate cross-boundary interactions and propose a set of spatial metrics that is linked to urban structure and its ecological process; - to link landscape patterns to major environmental variables, and identify ecologically important landscape; - to investigate the impacts of urbanisation and land-use changes on those identified ecologically important landscapes; and - to assess the potential ecological impacts of some current planning scenarios from a strategic catchment planning perspective. |
| Project Title: | A Review of the effectiveness of Environmental Impact Assessment Process in Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Ng CN |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 02/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| April 2008 marked the 10th anniversary of the implementation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Ordinance in Hong Kong. As most of the approved development projects within this period have either entered or completed their construction phases by now, it is high time to review the overall effectiveness and limitations of this important environmental management tool, and investigate additional measures that may improve its performance in future. As reflected in recent annual meetings of the International Association for Impact Assessment, the effectiveness issues of EIA process under different jurisdictions have also attracted considerable attention of researchers and practitioners in different parts of the world. Although EIA was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1979, it was until 31 January 1996 that the EIA Ordinance was passed, and then came into operation on 1 April 1998. The Ordinance provides statutory control over the environmental impacts of major new development projects in the territory. By the end of 2007 a total of 113 EIA reports were approved by the Director of Environmental Protection (the authority). Projects with a total estimated cost of over HK$340 billion covering approximately 150 km of roads, 80 km of railways, 670 ha of development project sites, 100 km of drainage works, 20 km of power lines, one power station and 164 ha of airport decommissioning space had gone through the statutory EIA process. Over 1.5 million people and more than 1,000 ha of ecologically important areas have been protected from excessive environmental impacts (EPD 2008) Overall speaking the EIA process in Hong Kong is highly transparent and some pioneering concepts for public engagement have been introduced, some of which represent international best practice. The EIA process has undoubtedly resulted in protecting the environment from impacts of development projects. It has also led to a general increase in public awareness of the impact assessment process as well as to increased levels of professionalism on the part of project proponents and their consultants. Nonetheless, problems remain. Some of these problems are more generic and institutional, and some are more related to implementation and enforcement. For example, concerns have been raised on the issue of the enforcement of the Environmental Permit conditions, which relies largely on self-monitoring. Their efficacy, therefore, is questionable. (Leverett et al 2007) The present proposed project attempts to review the effectiveness and limitations of the current EIA process in HK. Through examining the EIA and Environmental Monitoring and Audits (EM&A) reports, reviewing public submissions, case studies, interviewing major stakeholders and site investigation, it is feasible to achieve a comprehensive evaluation of the overall performance of the system. It will also reveal major deficiencies and limitations of the present process, and will suggest methods or measures to address them. Several major development projects, including some highly controversial ones, will be chosen for the case studies, which will provide us with more in-depth analysis of the practical application of the process and to examine implementation issues. Effectiveness of EIA normally refers to how well the approved mitigation measures work in maintaining our environmental quality above acceptable level. The performance of EIA may vary and result in different practices and environmental implications. At the minimum, EIA provides a systematic process for identifying, predicting and mitigating the adverse environmental, ecological and social effects of development projects and activities. More optimally, it should become an integrated, planning-oriented approach to ensure development proposals and decisions be consistent with sustainability principles, and take account, wherever necessary, of cumulative effects and scio-economic, human health and other factors (Glasson et al 1994) Sadler (1996) stated that there were numerous formal and systematic reviews of EIA’s effectiveness internationally, and these reviews the performance of EIA mainly judged in the following three modes, namely a. achievement of substantive purposes; b. contribution to decision making c. application of provision and principles These three objectives of EIA effectiveness review are adopted in this study as a reference. Accordingly, more well-defined objectives relevant to Hong Kong are defined as follows: 1. Does the EIA result in environmental protection? Are impacts minimised and mitigated as predicted by EIA reports? Are there any major implementation gap between the EIA reports and the actual practice at the work sites? 2. Does EIA assist project re-design, provide information relevant to approval and condition setting, and lead to new policy values? 3. Do EIAs follow or conform to procedural, methodological and administrative guidelines? 4. Is the public participation adequate? Are stakeholders and the public well informed during the EIA process? 5. In what way can the current system be improved? The case studies can also be used in teaching courses on EIA and environmental management. References: Environmental Protection Department (EPD) (2008) EIAO website http://www.epd.gov.hk/eia/english/register/aeiara/all.html Glasson, J. Therivel, R. and Cladwick, A. (1994) Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment: principles and procedures, process, practice and prospects, 2nd editions, 496 pp. Leverett, B. Hopkinson, L. Loh, C. and Turnbull, K. (2007) Idling Engine: Hong Kong’s Environmental Policy in a Ten-year Stall, 1997-2007, Hong Kong, Civic Exchange. Sadler, B. (1996) International study of the effectiveness of environmental assessment. Report of the EIA Process Strengthening Workshop, Canberra, 4-7 April 1995 |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Ng C.N., An Evaluation of Effectiveness of HK’s EIA Process – how public being engaged, Conference Proceeding of the 30th Annual Meeting of the International Association for Impact Assessment, 6-11 April 2010, Geneva, Switzerland. 2010. |
| Ng C.N., Justice of the Peace, 太平紳士, The Hong Kong SAR Government. 香港特區政府, 2009. |
| Ng C.N. and Xi Y., Land Use and Landscape Changes in Shenzhen River Catchment and Its Impacts on the Local Environment: A Preliminary Study, 10th Asian Urbanization Conference, 16-19 August 2009, Hong Kong. 2009. |
| Ng C.N. and Xie Y., Transdisciplinary analysis and evaluation of dynamic landscape fragmentation and ecological network: a study of Shenzhen River cross-border catchment, 2010 Annual Meeting of Association of American Geographers, 14-18 April 2010, Washington DC. . 2010. |
| Researcher : Shan X |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Shan X., PhD Thesis on Urban Greenspaces in Guangzhou (China): Attitude, Preference, Use Pattern and Assessment, 2009. |
| Researcher : So FM |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lai P.C., Mak A.S.H., So F.M., Leung S.T.S. and Kwong K.H., Modelling Voter Behaviours by Geographic Information Technology: A Case of Hong Kong in 2004, Annals of GIS. United Kingdom, Taylor and Francis, 2010, 16(1): 15-25. |
| Researcher : Tao TCH |
| Project Title: | Livelihood impacts of tourism enterprises in indigenous communities: Case studies from Taiwan |
| Investigator(s): | Tao TCH |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 02/2008 |
| Completion Date: | 04/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| A conventional development evaluation usually focuses on the impacts on beneficiaries as the intended target of the tourism development. Impacts on local residents who do not participate in tourism-related activities are often ignored yet they may be critical to the overall development of a community and an ongoing tourism enterprise (Ashley et al, 1999). Tourism competes for the use of scarce resources, such as land, water, labour, energy and time. If tourism-related activities consume resources that are required by other members of the community, it can undermine social cohesion, outweighing benefits to the direct participants. Alternatively, if the enterprise generates a number of spin-off jobs and other enterprises, this can be a major input to the local community. If conflicts or jealousy between participants and non-participants are exacerbated, communal management of resources and the sharing of benefits can be undermined, outweighing any tourism incentives generated for participants. Such managerial and benefit-distribution arrangements have a long history in indigenous communities (Tao, 2006). Tourism scholars usually focusing on tourism impacts on participants because they abstract tourism from the broader context in which it occurs in order to focus on their specialization. However, if the links between tourism and other sectors are not adequately addressed, then understanding is likely to be partial. Being aware of the gap in the literature, the author applied a sustainable livelihood framework (SL) to examine interrelationship between tourism and other sectors in two indigenous communities (i.e., Shanmei and Chashan) in Taiwan and showed that SL is a useful analytical and practical tool for guiding development studies (Tao, 2006). As a result of fieldwork conducted in 2005 and 2006, the author established an understanding of how residents in the two communities constructed their livelihoods, how tourism has been incorporated into the livelihoods, and positive and negative consequences of tourism as perceived by participants in tourism enterprises. It was found that tourism-related activities only occupied up to one third (29.8%) of the whole spectrum of economic activities in Shamei after its development for 20 years and one fifth (21%) in Chashan after 8 years. The majority of residents did not conduct tourism-related activities. These are termed non-participants. A small number of ex-participants were once involved in tourism but are no longer. It is important to understand the reasons behind this. This proposed project is an extension of the applicant’s doctoral research. The applicant will examine non-participants’ and ex-participants’ perceptions of tourism as positive (opportunities, benefits, and/or advantages), negative (threats, costs, and/or disadvantages), or neutral through the addressing the following five objectives: 1. To identify if and how the tourism enterprise constrains or expands the range of activities open to non-participants. 2. To examine if and how tourism enterprise affects the assets available to non-participants and how they are managed. 3. To investigate the common interests and conflicts between participants and non-participants. 4. To examine if tourism affects external institutions and organizations and, if so, how these changes affect other residents. 5. To explore why ex-participants left (or were pushed) out of tourism. References: Ashley, C., Elliott, J., Sikoyo, G. and Hanlon, K. (1999, November). Handbook for assessing the economic and livelihood impacts of wildlife enterprises. Kenya: African Wildlife Foundation. Tao, T. C.-H. (2006). Tourism as a livelihood strategy in indigenous communities: Case studies from Taiwan. Department of Geography, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. |
| Project Title: | A SWOT Analysis of Tourism in Hong Kong and its implications to tourism policy |
| Investigator(s): | Tao TCH |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Hui Oi Chow Trust Fund - General Award |
| Start Date: | 11/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| Tourism is one of the four pillar industries in Hong Kong. It has been one of the driving forces of Hong Kong’s economic growth, providing impetus to growth of other sector, and creating employment (Census and Statistics Department, 2007). According to the statistics released by the Census and Statistics Department (2005), the total tourism value added at current prices has increased from 27,700 million in 2001 to 42,700 million in 2005. In addition, according to the Tourism Commission of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (2007), visitor arrivals increased from 16,566,382 in 2002 to 25,251,124 in 2006. World Tourism Organization (WTO) forecasted that over the next 25 years up to 2020, China will become the top visitor destination worldwide, while Hong Kong will become one of the major destinations and be ranked fifth among top ten (Hong Kong Tourist Association, 2000) Because tourism is of sufficient economic importance in Hong Kong, it is necessary to identify what can be done to further strengthen the position of the city as a top tourist destination. Equally important is to sustain a long-term tourism development by finding a balance of being economic viable, maintains cultural integrity and social cohesion, and preserve the physical environment. This requires guidance and involvement of Hong Kong SAR government by establishing and implementing tourism policies in a wide range of aspects. However, the government has devoted insufficient attention to formulate a comprehensive and long-term policy for tourism development. To facilitate this to happen, it is necessary to assess the present status of and prospects for tourism in Hong Kong. Through this proposed project, the evaluation will be undertaken through application of SWOT analysis (the evaluation of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). It is a widely used method of evaluation employed in the business and planning worlds, including tourism planning, but there is little documentation on SWOT analysis in the academic tourism literature (Wall, 2002). Strengths and weaknesses are internal to the entity under evaluation whereas opportunities and threats refer to the broad context or environment in which the entity operates (Lawhead et al, 1992). As such, the former are more likely to be under the control of the entity than the latter, although the latter are no less important than the former in influencing the well-being of the enterprise. Judgment is exercised in assigning a particular phenomenon to an analytical category and, furthermore, the same phenomenon may occur in more than one category for its implications maybe, at the same time, both positive and negative (Wall, in press). For example, a remote location may be at a disadvantage because of difficulty of access, but that same phenomenon may be positive attribute for those wishing to get off the beaten track and experience a pristine environment. The generated information will have a number of implications to tourism policy in Hong Kong. The research has the following three major objectives: 1. To assess the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing Hong Kong tourism industry 2. To generate policy implications for Hong Kong SAR government to develop a long-term sustainable tourism policy. 3. To extend the utility of SWOT analysis as a useful means of undertaking both academic research and practical work. References: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department (June 2007). The four key industries in the Hong Kong economy. Retrieved on February 20, 2008. http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hong_kong_statistics/four_key_industries/index_t.jsp Hong Kong Tourist Association (2000). Tourism in Hong Kong: global prospects, regional perspectives and strategic issues. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Tourist Association. Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department (2005). Statistical table 188: Value added of the four key industries. Retrieved on Feb. 21, 2008. http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hong_kong_statistics/statistical_tables/index.jsp?charsetID=1&subjectID=12&tableID=188 Lawhead, T., Veglad, P. and Thomas P. (1992). Ecotourism in the pacific. Workshop: Summary of Proceedings and Outcomes. In E. Hay (Ed.). Ecotourism business in the Pacific: Promoting a sustainable experience. Environmental Science Occasional Publication 8. Auckland: University of Auckland. Pp.179-186. The Tourism Commission of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau (November 2007). Tourism Performance. Retrieved on February 22, 2008. http://www.tourism.gov.hk/english/statistics/statistics_perform.html Wall, G. (2002). A SWOT analysis of tourism in Baoting, Hainan, China. International Journal of Tourism Science (Korea), 2, 1, 37-48. Wall, G. and Collins-Kreiner, N. (in press). Evaluating tourism potential: a SWOT analysis of the Western Negev, Israel, Tourism. |
| Project Title: | Tourism as a form of livelihood diversification: A case study from Lautau, Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Tao TCH |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 03/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Lantau, the biggest island in Hong Kong, has long been recognized for its values of conservation and recreation (Lantau Development Task Force, 2004). Hong Kong government has issued the Concept Plan for Lantau with an overall planning concept that major economic infrastructure and urban development in North Lantau, while protecting the other parts of Lantau for conservation of ecological sensitive environment and sustainable recreation and tourism. In addition to environmental protection, the Executive Summary of the revised plan after pubic consultations in 2005 further addressed that “in accordance with the overall planning concept of balanced development and conservation, priority will be accorded to those projects that can stimulate the local economy and improve people’s livelihood (Lantau Development Task Force, 2005). "Facelift of Mui Wo” was proposed under the Concept Plan for Lantau by the Government in late 2004 with an aim to enhance the recreational potential of the area. The stated planning objective of the Facelift is to create a “leisure historic rural township” for “local residents and visitors to enjoy the natural beauties and rustic culture of the area of foot or by cycle” (Sai Kung & Islands District Planning Office, Planning Department, 2006). Nonetheless, major facelifting proposals addressed only infrastructure improvement and construction, such as Beautification of Mui Wo Old Town and Enhancement of Mui Wo Town Square without mentioning improvement of local people’s livelihoods and wellbeing or environmental conservation (Sai Kung & Islands District Planning Office, Planning Department, 2006). This makes us wonder why we want tourism development in southern Lantau in the first place. Towns, villages, cities are what they are today because of their geography, culture and people. They have evolved because of the ideas, needs, work and wishes of their people. They are alive because they provide a human environ and because, through the dwellers’ ‘businesses’ and relationship with adjacent places, they are ‘economically sustainable entities’ (Living Islands Movement (LIM), 2007). Mui Wo was once such an entity. In previous times, it was an economy based upon fishing, farming and, for a short while, silver mining. Today, The Mui Wo area has about 5,000 people of whom about half are from indigenous families. The rest are Hong Kong citizen ‘settlers’ who mostly work outside of Mui Wo. The older families derive a living from shops and a little farming as well as, for the property-owning minority, accommodation rental to both residents and to weekend visitors (LIM, 2007). The economy of Mui Wo has been in decline for about three decades: fishing and farming, the core of Mui Wo’s economy, are all but gone. In more recent times, it benefited from visitors by ferry travelling to the rest of Lantau. But the busses from Tung Chung, and now the cable car, have diverted much of this traffic; the new road will make it even worse. Those heading for other parts of Lantau have little reason to stay over or come back. Its rich culture, history and ecology are not widely known about and its places of beauty go largely unseen (LIM, 2007). The previous public consultations about future direction of Mui Wo, leading up to the present plan, were totally devoid of considerations of the deeper questions of what makes a community and its socio/economic viability. A better design might be aim to try to re-create, from within, a “rural sustainable community” rather than a facelift based upon exogenous notion (LIM, 2007). Tourism has been considered as a development option by many rural communities. However, development is multi-faceted. Tourism may be a development option but it is not a panacea for all the problems that a community faces as most government officials think (Tao, 2006). Tourism is a new activity for local people, and perceived as risky. As a result, tourism does not completely replace other economic activities. If rural communities decide to incorporate tourism as one of their livelihoods, tourism will be livelihood diversification. But tourism may or may not fit well into local people’s livelihoods. I am interested in knowing Mui Wo residents’ perspectives on how does tourism fit (or not fit) and how can it be integrated. Therefore, the following research question was generated. What is the role that tourism is playing in Mui Wo’s livelihood strategies in Hong Kong using the sustainable livelihood framework (SL) ? (see Figure 1 in Section VII: Research plan and methodology) Accordingly, a number of objectives have been developed to achieve the purpose of the study: 1. To identify how and why tourism development has been introduced in Mui Wo; 2. To develop an overall understanding of how people construct their livelihoods (by investigating the livelihoods of Mui Wo) 3. To examine if and how tourism has been incorporated into the livelihoods 4. To identify participants and non-participants of tourism enterprises and examine the extent to which tourism development and/or consequences have been experienced by participants and non-participants as positive (opportunities, benefits, and /or advantages), negative (threats, costs, and /or disadvantages) or neutral. References: Lantau Development Task Force, Sai Kung and Islands District Planning Office, Planning Department, Hong Kong (2004). Concept plan for Lantau. http://www.pland.gov.hk/lantau/en/revised/index.html. Retrieved on 28 July, 2008 Lantau Development Task Force, Sai Kung and Islands District Planning Office, Planning Department, Hong Kong (2005). Concept plan for Lantau: Revised concept plan. http://www.pland.gov.hk/lantau/en/revised/concept.html. Retrieved on 27 July, 2008 LIM Living Islands Movement (2007). “Facelift for Mui Wo”: Response of Living Islands Movement to the government’s paper. http://www.livingislands.org.hk/archive/combined.pdf. Retrieved on 27 July 2008. Sai Kung & Islands District Planning Office, Planning Department, Hong Kong (2006). Facelift of Mui Wo: Land use concept plans. http://www.pland.gov.hk/mui_wo/en/plan/index.htm. Retrieved on 26 July, 2008. Tao, T. C.-H. (2006). Tourism as a livelihood strategy in indigenous communities: Case studies from Taiwan. Department of Geography, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. |
| Project Title: | The 15th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management Traditional knowledge and its innovation for sustainable ecotourism - A case study from Taiwan. |
| Investigator(s): | Tao TCH |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 07/2009 |
| Completion Date: | 07/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Mak K.L. and Tao T.C.H., Community Participation in Sustainable Tourism: A Case Study of Tai O, Hong Kong, Annual Meeting of The Association of American Geographers (AAG), Washington D.C., USA, On-line proceedings. 2010. |
| Tao T.C.H., Cultural and Sustainable Livelihoods, The First Asian Conference of Ethnobiology, International Society of Ethnobiology, Taichung, Taiwan . 2009. |
| Tao T.C.H., Wall G. and Wismer S., Culture and Sustainable Livelihoods, In: Editorial Board, Human Ecology (SSCI, 5 year impact factor: 1.7. Section "Anthropology": Rank 14 of 58; Section "Environmental Studies": Rank 16 of 52). Delhi, India, Kamla-Raj Enterprises, 2010, 29: 1-21. |
| Tao T.C.H., Tourism as a Livelihood Diversification Strategy in an Aboriginal Community in Taiwan, 12th International Congress of Ethnobiology, Tofino, B.C., Canada, On-line proceedings. 2010. |
| Tao T.C.H., Traditional Knowledge and its Innovation For Sustainable Ecotourism: Case Study From Taiwan, 15th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Vienna, Austria,. 2009, CD-ROM. |
| Tao T.C.H., Traditional Knowledge and its Innovation for Sustainable Ecotourism: A Case Study from Taiwan, Asian Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research. Philippines, Rex Publishing Co., 2009, 3(2): 42-56. |
| Researcher : Wang C |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lin G.C.S. and Wang C., Technological Innovation in China's High-Tech Sector: Insights from a 2008 Survey of the Integrated Circuit Design Industry in Shanghai, Eurasian Geography and Economics. USA, Bellwether, 2009, 50(4): 404-424. |
| Researcher : Wang JJ |
| Project Title: | 8th Recent Advances in Retailing and Services Science Conference Rapid Relocation of Retail Business in a Fast Growing City: A Case Study of Shenzhen, China |
| Investigator(s): | Wang JJ |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 06/2001 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Project Title: | 98th Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers Port Competition and Governance in China: A Case Study of Shanghai and Ningbo |
| Investigator(s): | Wang JJ |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 03/2002 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Project Title: | Service differentiation as a strategy for regional ports integration: a case study of Pearl River Delta |
| Investigator(s): | Wang JJ |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 11/2003 |
| Abstract: |
| To investigate and test the hypothesis that due to the fact that various port operators in the Pearl River Delta - Hong Kong region (PRD-HK) purposely differentiate themselves to avoid direct competition within the region, an integrated regional port system is in the making; to reveal the mechanisms that facilitate this integration and the barriers that obstruct it. |
| Project Title: | IGU Conference 2006 The Spatial Jump of Terminals as a Competing Means for Being Global: The Development Dilemma in Coastal China |
| Investigator(s): | Wang JJ |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 07/2006 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Project Title: | A Geographical Analysis of Global Value-added Logistics (GVAL) Service Providers in Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Wang JJ |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Hui Oi Chow Trust Fund - General Award |
| Start Date: | 08/2008 |
| Completion Date: | 07/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Hong Kong has been in a restructuring process when more and more interactions take place with the Pearl River Delta, a huge and fast growing manufacturing base for the global economy. One substantive change I found in my recent study (Wang ,2007) is the role of port and airport in handling the trade. Ten years ago, the maritime transport along handled more than 50% of total trade in its value (mainly re-export). But today, the three major transport modes, i.e., air, land and maritime, play an equal role, each handling one-third of the total value of trade, indicating a rising importance of airport, and a slowdown of maritime/port business, largely due to the development of new gateways in South China, particularly in Shenzhen. Another fact revealed in the same study is that for the first time, the contribution of logistics service providers (LSPs) to the local GDP becomes more than that from container terminals or the airport alone, indicating the importance of logistics sector as a whole in Hong Kong. However, very limited studies can be found in the existing literature on the LSPs in Hong Kong, due largely to the fact that in the past, most LSPs here were small or medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which were considered as of little economic and political impact on the overall development in Hong Kong. It is the time for change, and research on the LSPs in Hong Kong becomes imperative. Hong Kong is defined by Hall et al (1998, 2005) as a Class II world city. Among the top two classes of world cities, Hong Kong is one of a few that have both world-class port and airport. When a city is of a role to play as a global logistics hub or supply chain management center, both port and airport may share some common users, i.e., the logistics service providers, LSPs) who need to be well networked with and physically close to both port and airport in a region. Proximity to port and airport therefore should be considered as a competitive advantage for developing a cluster of global value added logistics services, regardless of expensive labor and land cost. This advantage however has not been studied in the existing literature of ‘linked cities in global netowrks’( for example, Sassen 2002) , due to the fact that GVAL and their LSPs are not taken into consideration in urban studies nor by business research (for exmaple, Enright, Schott & Associates Limited, 2002). I therefore propose a research project to examine the features of GVAL services and its providers in Hong Kong. We notice that while some logistics services providers (LSPs) have moved or planned to move their services to Shenzhen and other gateways in the Mainland, other LSPs remain in Hong Kong, using both port and airport locally, taking advantage of the international sea-air dual gateway platform. This idea, however, has never been tested by academic research, due to the conventional division of air and maritime transport research. Indeed, port and airport as two nodal transport platforms have always been studied separately, for port is considered for large volume, time-definite shipments, while airport is for small volume, time-critical deliveries. Port has been studied always as a shipping component with maritime transport systems while airport is with air transport systems. Will these LSPs in Hong Kong for GVAL sustain? How do they differ from those that have moved away? Are they gateway dependent? Do they have similar structure in terms of the networks they provide to serve various global supply chains? When they grow in scale, are they becoming more foot-loose or they are solidly enbedded in Hong Kong's economy and depended on the local business environment? The objective of this research is to answer these questions by establishing a relational model that is capable to assocaite the structural characteristics of these dual-gateway GVAL providers with their contributions and 'territorial enbeddedness'' to the local economy. References: Enright, Schott & Associates Limited (2002) Hong Kong's competitiveness : a multidimensional approach. Phase I, International views of Hong Kong's competitiveness, report prepared by Enright, Scott & Associates Limited. Hall, Peter (1984) World Cities (3rd Edition) London : Weidenfeld and Nicolson Sassen, Saskia (ed) (2002) Global Networks, Linked Cities, New York : London : Routledge. Wang, James (2007) Hong Kong in Transition from a Hub Port City to a Global Supply Chain Management Center, a paper presented at International Conference on Port Proximity, Institute of Transport and Maritime Management Antwerp (ITMMA) of University of Antwerp. Dec 5, 2007. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Wang J.J., From a hub port city to a global supply chain management center: a case study of Hong Kong, Journal of Transport Geography. 2009. |
| Wang J.J., Liu Q. and Lu X., On the Implementation of Accessible Transport System in Urban Villages -- A case study of Shenzhen Futian District , Transed 2010 International Conference. 2010, 1-11. |
| Wang J.J., Ports and their Cities in China: Development and Interactions. 中国港口城市的互动与发展, Nanjing, China, Southeast University Publishing House, 2010, 1-141. |
| Wang J.J., Luo P. and Luo C., Study on Inland Waterway Transport Development in the Greater Pearl River Delta Region. 大珠江三角洲内河航运发展研究, Hong Kong, Planning Department of Hong Kong SAR Government, 2010, 1-160. |
| Wang J.J. and NG A..., The Geographical Connecedness of Chinese Ports with Foreland Markets: A New Trend?, Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie. 2010. |
| Researcher : Wong HT |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Wong H.T. and Lai P.C., Time Series Forecasts of Monthly Ambulance Calls in Hong Kong, 10th Asian Urbanization Conference. 2009. |
| Researcher : Xie Y |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Ng C.N. and Xie Y., Transdisciplinary analysis and evaluation of dynamic landscape fragmentation and ecological network: a study of Shenzhen River cross-border catchment, 2010 Annual Meeting of Association of American Geographers, 14-18 April 2010, Washington DC. . 2010. |
| Researcher : Zhang D |
| Project Title: | Travertine (tufa) deposit at waterfall sites: a field study on hydraulic changes and associated hydrochemical evolution in the Chinese and Jamaican karst rivers |
| Investigator(s): | Zhang D |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Low Budget High Impact Programme |
| Start Date: | 11/2001 |
| Abstract: |
| To examine the saturation index of CaCo3 of river waters in karst areas of China and Jamaica, which is a basic condition for travertine deposition.; to measure the chemical concentration evolution of CaCO3 and CO2 along the river sections with and without waterfalls and cascades, to investigate whether the concentration changes only occur at waterfall sites; to estimate how important of water effects in causing waterfall travertine deposition by theoretical analysis and field investigations. |
| Project Title: | Global warming, glacier retreat and economic development of the Yulong Mountain area, Lijiang,Yunnan |
| Investigator(s): | Zhang D |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Hui Oi Chow Trust Fund - General Award |
| Start Date: | 01/2004 |
| Abstract: |
| To identify the glacial retreat caused by global warming and its impact on local economy. |
| Project Title: | Climate Change and War-peace Cycles in Eurasia in the Recent Human History |
| Investigator(s): | Zhang D |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | General Research Fund (GRF) |
| Start Date: | 08/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| 1) Find out the spatio-temporal pattern and dynamics of the warfare in historical societies and scrutinize how they had changed over time. 2) Adopt quantitative methods to assess how far the outbreak of social unrest in historical societies was triggered by the ecological stress engendered by climate change. 3) Based on research findings to give theoretical insights and suggest a new perspective in elucidating world history. |
| Project Title: | Research Output Prize |
| Investigator(s): | Zhang D, Lee F |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Research Output Prize (in Faculty) |
| Start Date: | 10/2008 |
| Abstract: |
| To identify and recognize the best research outputs in different faculties. |
| Project Title: | Long-term Climate Change and the Seventeenth-Century General Crisis in Europe |
| Investigator(s): | Zhang D |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 04/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Contemporary historians have depicted a systemic “general crisis” in Europe in the seventeenth century, which is typified by economic distress, political unrest, and population decline from one end of the continent to the other (Goldstone, 1988; Goldstone, 1991; Parker, 2001; Parker and Smith, 1978). The seventeenth-century general crisis is between the two relatively prosperous periods in European history – Renaissance and Enlightenment. The crisis time span is considered as AD1590s–1660s (Fischer, 1996; Parker and Smith, 1978), while some scholars believe that the crisis should begin in the AD1560s when insistent inflation started (Aston, 1966). During the crisis, the prices of food and fuel inflated so severely that the real wages of artisans and laborers lagged much behind the costs of living. The poor starved to death and food riots broke out everywhere in Europe. Epidemics became rampant among the starved people. A major economic collapse occurred in AD1610–1622 (Goldstone, 1991). Afterwards, political upheavals broken out in Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Bavaria, Austria, Sweden, Russia, Persia, Turkey, and so on in the AD1630s–1640s (Atwell, 1990). Consequently, long-term regression in Europe’s economy and population decline followed. Seventeenth-century general crisis is one of the most important events in European history. Despite its historical significance, however, there was and there is still no agreement to its ultimate cause. Hobsbawm (Hobsbawm, 1954a; Hobsbawm, 1954b) argued that the feudal economy had overextended itself during the booming long sixteenth century. By the end of that period, however, the feudal elements fatally obstructed growth. Such a broad and deep retrogression resulted in general socio-political crises in the seventeenth century, which headed European societies towards capitalist production. According to Trevor-Roper (1959), the seventeenth-century phenomenon represents a crisis “of the relation of the state to society”, which was induced by confrontations between a puritanically minded opposition (the “country”) and a parasitic bureaucracy created by the Renaissance state during the boom of the sixteenth century. Mousnier (1971) and Steensgaard (1978) reflect that the crisis rooted in the increased fiscal demands due to the growth of state power (in terms of the size and provisions of armies). This hit all groups of society and generated peasant revolts. Elsewhere, Goldstone (Goldstone, 1988; Goldstone, 1991) attributed a concatenation of government bankruptcies, elite discontent, and popular rebellions in absolutist agrarian states across Europe to price revolution, which was driven by long-term demographic pressure. The above socio-economic theories are diversified concerning the causation of the crisis. On the other hand, those theories share two important drawbacks. Firstly, they are developed by the qualitative scrutiny of narrow historic examples, and that quantitative evidence is almost absent. Thereby, their correctness remains questionable. Secondly, the socio-economic context presumed by those theories is unlikely to be common in various European states. This is because the socio-economic situations of various states in Europe (in terms of their stages of civilization, cultural background, and resource endowment) were quite different in the early modern period. In short, those theories cannot explain the synchronistic social disorder across the European continent. Fischer (1996) indicates that the ultimate explanation for the problems at hand requires another approach that could combine the strengths and correct the weaknesses of those theories. Any new explanation should integrate ecological, demographic, social, monetarist, and economic factors. Inspired by Fischer, the PI proposes a new theory to explain the seventeenth-century general crisis. The PI’s proposed theory differs from the abovementioned theories in a sense that it brings the factor of climate change into consideration. “Long-term” climate change is the only factor that affects all regions simultaneously. It is very likely to be the ultimate cause accounting for the widespread chaos across the European continent. The PI’s proposed theory is that the pre-industrial European economy was primarily dominated by agricultural production. Agriculture was determined by climate, whereas low temperature could shorten the length of growing seasons and reduce the amount of arable land. Since everyone in early modern Europe was dependent on agriculture, a proportion variously estimated at 80–95% being directly dependent, climate change could not fail to be serious. Human societies might have purposeful adjustments to meet the challenges brought by a cold climate, including migration, economic transformation, technological innovation, inter-regional trade, and other peaceful means of resource redistribution. Yet, the socio-economic context of pre-industrial Europe ruled out these options. For instance, the well-established political boundaries among nations made mass migration from poorer to richer lands unfeasible. Result of the mass migration was usually armed conflicts (Reuveny, 2007). Economic transformation is a costly and time-consuming process involving substantial cultural, technological and social changes. Besides, the speed of technological innovation and its transfer were relatively slow in pre-industrial era (Wood, 1998), which could not compensate the rapid agricultural shrinkage brought by climate change. Inter-regional trade would not help much to alleviate the impact of the long-term climate change because its associated agricultural shrinkage was often a continental- or even hemispheric-wide phenomenon. Finally, the national and international institutions in Europe were not well equipped to buffer the long-term and prevalent food stress during the time. Therefore, in the face of climate-induced agricultural production shrinkage, human miseries such as wars, social disturbance, famine, epidemics and economic hardship became more pertinent in bringing human societies back to ecological equilibrium. It should be noted that temperature dropped significantly in Europe in AD1560–1650, which was also the coldest era in the Little Ice Age (c. AD1450–1900). Given the limitations of the pre-industrial European states in buffering the climate-induced food stress, the seventeenth-century general crisis in Europe was resulted. In this research project, the PI will base on (1) a large amount of fine-grained paleo-climate reconstructions and historical socio-economic datasets and (2) various quantitative methods to “scientifically” substantiate the above proposed theory. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Lee F. and Zhang D., Natural Disasters in Northwestern China, AD1270-1949, Climate Research. Amelinghausen, Inter-Research, 2010, 41(3): 245-257. |
| Lee F., Zhang D. and Fok L., Temperature, Aridity Thresholds, and Population Growth Dynamics in China Over the Last Millennium, Climate Research. Amelinghausen: Inter-Research, 2009, 39(2): 131-147. |
| Lee F. and Zhang D., What Drove the Secular Population Cycles in Historical Agrarian China?, Climate Research. Amelinghausen, Inter-Research, 2010, 42: 235-246. |
| 杜 ......, 李 保.生., Zhang D., 牛 東.風., 溫 小.浩., 陳 德.牛., 歐 先.交., 楊 藝., 司 月.君. and 趙 欣.楠., 薩拉烏蘇河流域MGS5層段CaCO3記錄的末次間冰期東亞季風與沙漠環境演化, 自然科學進展. Beijing, Science Press, 2009, 19(11): 1187-1193. |
| Researcher : Zhao SX |
| Project Title: | International joint center China's globalization and spatial transformation studies |
| Investigator(s): | Zhao SX |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | The University of Hong Kong Foundation Seed Grant |
| Start Date: | 04/2002 |
| Abstract: |
| To carry out international joint center China's globalization and spatial transformation studies. |
| Project Title: | Dynamic Changes, Polarization and Spatial Paths of Foreign Direct Investment in China |
| Investigator(s): | Zhao SX |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Small Project Funding |
| Start Date: | 01/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| Since the open-door policy in 1978, and particularly since the early 1990s when China confirmed its “socialist” marketization reform, China has experienced a rapid influx of foreign investment. In recent years, China has become the largest receiver of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amongst the world’s developing countries, and the second largest receiver of FDI in the whole world, just next to USA. Chinese FDI inflows in 2005 reached $72 billion US dollars (UNCTAD, 2006). FDI has contributed significantly to the Chinese economic development - FDI not only provides capital and technology, it also helps China integrate with globalizing trends. The spatial and sectoral distribution of FDI in China has changed dramatically in the past decades. The first change is the shift in FDI location concentration. FDI was originally concentrated in Pearl River Delta (PRD) and other Southern Coastal provinces. In recent years, this has shifted to Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Bohai Economic Rim (BER). Nowadays, Guangdong and Jiangsu are the major two cores of attracting foreign investment in China. The second change is the vast amount of FDI put into Chinese manufacturing sector, making China well-known as the “World Factory of Manufacturing”. However, the investment environment has subtle changes since the scientific development concept launched by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China – Hu Jintao and his administration. The concept is the current official guiding socio-economic ideology of the Communist Party of China incorporating sustainable development, social welfare, a person-centered society, and, finally, increased harmony in society. Since 1978, the open-door policies had left a large portion of the Chinese population behind while the coastal region was prospering, and caused a list of social problems: endemic official corruption, a huge and growing gulf between rich and poor, widening disparities between rural and urban areas as well as chronic unemployment, an appalling record of industrial disasters and severe pollution. The idea of concept was to thrash out an approach to the Country’s increasingly serious social problems and general instability, and therefore Mr. Hu and his administration shifts the focus of the official agenda from “economic growth” to “social harmony” and places greater emphasis on a person-centered society and the social costs of development rather than the path of economic growth when establishing policies. In order to build up a stable social and reinforce environmental protection, several coastal provinces (especially in Guangdong) are raising their minimum wage and stepping up efforts to implement a social security system, and strengthening its control of the production activities of “high energy consumption, high pollution and resource consumption” since the second half of 2006. Consequently, labor costs that comprise wages, social security contributions and other welfare benefits have increased by some 25% in the past two years, and utilities costs have also gone up in the past two years. In fact that foreign manufactures, especially those Hong Kong traders, have already reached the limit in accommodating rising production costs, some of them even moved their capital to other more competitive locations that have lower costs, such as Vietnam, India, etc. Under the scientific development concept, the new developing trend in China is widely separated from the past thirty years’ experience. Foreign investors have to accommodate themselves to face the changing environment, and this study would be a brand-new perspective to them. To be the largest emerging economy in the world, China is undergoing industrial upgrading, transformation and relocation from coastal areas to interior regions. Based on a small and medium scale FDI survey in PRD, YRD and BER, this project aims: 1) to investigate what environment-specific factors determine where FDI locate their manufacturing or servcie base in a transitional economy; 2) to examine the determining factors of foreign investment and their dynamic paths by different kinds of FDI in the Chinese economy; and 3) to explore the most important factors or driving forces behind the formation and development of FDI under the current official guiding socio-economic ideology - the scientific development concept, with a focus on the analysis of dynamic changes, polarization and spatial paths. For the first objective, after detecting and identifying the determinant factors, we go further to establish a theoretical framework or principal dimensions that FDI consider in their Investment Location Decision (ILD) making in transitional China. The second objective is to examine the different roles of these determining factors in influencing the FDI to make ILD, with particular reference to China’s three major metropolitan regions, PRD, YRD and BER. The third objective will study the reasons why scientific development concept is serving as a foundation for current industrial upgrading and transformation in China, and to investigate the concept how to influence the dynamic changes, polarization and spatial paths of FDI in China. Specifically, three interrelated research questions are set in this study: Firstly, how does foreign capital make ILD and what are their investment locational concerns? Secondly, do these locational concerns reflect distinct dimensions based on theoretical accounts? Finally, why these theoretical or historical factors/dimensions do not suitable for the current foreign investors to make ILD in PRD, YRD and BER? |
| Project Title: | Innovation Park & its Strategic Location and Cross-border Development |
| Investigator(s): | Zhao SX |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Applied Research |
| Start Date: | 06/2009 |
| Abstract: |
| For more than three decades from the 1960s, Hong Kong has also successfully transformed itself from a light industrial hub in to a centre of finance, logistics, trade, tourism and information technology and enjoyed rapid economic growth and prosperity, thanks in large part to our entrepreneurial spirit and our prime location as a gateway to China. Hong Kong’s per capita GDP reached US$27,000 in 1997, which was 19 per cent higher than that of the United Kingdom and was only lower than that of the United States by 11 per cent. But over the past decade or so, Hong Kong has lagged behind the UK and the US, with our per capita GDP dropping from US$27,000 to US$25,000, while that of the UK rose to US$36,000 and that of the US reached US$42,000. Why have we been left behind? Are we losing our competitive edge in the face of rapid economic growth and liberalization in the Mainland and intensified competition from our neighbours? Last year, TIME Magazine coined the term “Nylonkong” that raised hotly debate in Hong Kong in the first half of the year, but a global financial crisis (Century Financial Tsunami) that near stopped everything about discussion on enhancing the competitiveness of our commercial and financial sectors with the rest of the world. As a matter of fact, the financial crisis is only a breaking point, when Hong Kong’s economy was during in resurgence, Hong Kong people has began to concern about could Hong Kong rely solely on its banking and finance industries and businesses with mainland market to sustain prosperity, and doubt that whether the border retarded Hong Kong’s development. Also, to add to the woes of the HKSAR as a competitive cluster, there is a lack of committed and capable agents of structural transformation to nurture, develop and maintain new advantage. Many of the biggest home-grow corporations, already gaining world-class status, seem to be more interested in their own cross-border, regional or global business strategies than in maintaining the coherence of the Hong Kong economy, while most of the medium and small-sized manufacturing enterprises in the core of the Pearl River Delta have been officially assessed there to be excessively based on processing and technologically outmoded. Politically sensitive government officials, although aware of the onerous tasks they have to face in guiding the SAR, are becoming less interested in shouldering difficult responsibilities. Hence, even though the way out of industrial restructuring and transformation that has been intensely discussed in Hong Kong, the actual and possible approach is still waiting for scholars to explore the real context while the Hong Kong government became conscious that to develop innovation and creative industries with Shenzhen that would be a one of the feasible options. Similarly, Shenzhen is same like other coastal cities in China that faces stiff challenges from industrial upgrading, transformation and relocation. In the past decades, China’s competitiveness, economic development and rapid GDP growth relied mainly on its production costs in raw materials, land and labor. The business nature of most corporations are still OEM and export-orientated, despite there are efforts in seeking to start ODM and OBM businesses. What filled the market today are Western consumer products for which Chinese manufacturers have to pay high royalties for patented designs and technologies. For decades China stays at the lower end of the value chain, performing as a “world factory”, it not a “world sweatshop”, utilized by foreign global companies at the dispensation of excessive energy consumption and pollution. Nevertheless, this “follower/imitator” practice for quick market success that is only discouraging and crippling China’s own innovation competitiveness in longer term - China today is a “world manufacturing giant” but an “innovation dwarf”. Furthermore, in order to build up a stable society and reinforce environmental protection since the scientific development concept launched by the General Secretary of the CPC – Hu Jintao and his administration, several coastal provinces (especially in Guangdong) are raising their minimum wage and stepping up efforts to implement a social security system, and strengthening its control of the production activities of “high energy consumption, high pollution and resource consumption” since the second half of 2006. Consequently, labor costs in Shenzhen that comprise wages, social security contributions and other welfare benefits have increased by some 25% in the past two years, and utilities costs have also gone up in the past two years. Those traditional industries, especially low value-added and cost sensitive manufacturing, have already reached the limit in accommodating rising production costs, and even moved from Shenzhen under the official pressure. The municipal government of Shenzhen is trying to nurture the development of innovation and creative industries by implementing preferential policies like special tax exemption and lower land use fee for sustaining its economic development in accordance with the concept proposed by Mr. Hu, but turn out that the impetus to economy is insufficient. Consequently, Shenzhen expected cooperation with Hong Kong to develop innovation and creative industries that can break through the dilemma of economic development and upgrade the city’s status and competitiveness. To be one of the most important economic co-operations between two cities in China, a border Innovation Park could serve as an experimental site for practicing new development models under cross-border development. Based on small and medium scale of industrial and locational surveys in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, this project aims: 1) to design the platform and mechanism that form the Innovation Park; 2) to investigate what environment-specific factors determine where the border Innovation Park shall be located; 3) to examine what synergic effect of the border Innovation Park in stimulating Hong Kong and Shenzhen’s economic growth; and 4) to explore the most important factors or driving forces behind the formation and development of Innovation Park under cross-border development and the current official guiding socio-economic ideology, with a focus on the analysis of strategic location, and industrial and economic co-operations. |
| Project Title: | 2010 Annual Meeting, American Association of Geographers Competitions of Global Financial Centres: Determinants and the Rise of Financial Centres in China and Hong Kong |
| Investigator(s): | Zhao SX |
| Department: | School of Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | URC/CRCG - Conference Grants for Teaching Staff |
| Start Date: | 04/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| N/A |
| Project Title: | Comparative Study of Regulatory Regimes and Financial Centers among Anglo-American, Continental European, and Japanese Systems and Reference to Hong Kong and China |
| Investigator(s): | Zhao SX |
| Department: | Geography |
| Source(s) of Funding: | Seed Funding Programme for Basic Research |
| Start Date: | 05/2010 |
| Abstract: |
| The global financial crisis is regarded as the quickest and most extensively contagious financial crisis since the Great Depression. It has destroyed several Global Fortune 500 companies, put tremendous stress on the world’s largest publicly traded companies and has tested the policy-making abilities of the world’s largest central banks. It has required countries to use radical and drastic government measures to rescue the paralyzed financial sector beyond traditional Keynesian methods of cutting interest rates and quantitative easing. The crisis seems to have triggered a new phase in the ongoing reconstruction of the global financial center network and landscape. Chinese cities, such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing, are likely to become beneficiaries of the crisis, as China continues to amass robust economic growth and influence on the world economy and politics. History shows that great financial centers confer significant global clout on the countries where they are located. As the United States and many other countries economies plunge into recession and perhaps some heading to an all out depression, scholars and policy makers worldwide are attempting to identify what is fundamentally wrong with the current regional and global financial systems and what reforms must be initiated to strengthen their transparency, supervision and regulatory regimes. It is generally well known that financial innovation through the mortgage backed security (MBS), complex derivatives such as credit default swaps (CDS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), excessive leveraging by financial institutions from hedge funds to the largest commercial banks and even the extremely high executive pay levels are attributed to the root of the current crisis. However, the deep-seated causes are much farther reaching in terms of both geographical scope and prospective reconstruction of the global financial architecture. As the events of the crisis continue to unfold, it is inevitable for one to raise the seemingly obsolete question again: is there any perfect model for financial architecture, supervision and regulation? The financial crisis of 2009 has highlighted the United Kingdom's dependence on the financial sector as it and the United States have been the most dramatically hit, China have not had to intervene in the financial sector anywhere near as much as the UK and US, as its financial system is not fully open to the outside world. China’s development in the past two decades has demonstrated growing interaction with the global economy and the transformation of its spatial economy. At the regional level, the “big-three” economic regions, the Pearl River Delta (PRD), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the Bohai Rim Region (BRR), accounted for 42 per cent of the national GDP, 77 per cent of the country’s foreign trade, and 86 per cent of China’s total inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2008. At the city level, several mega-cities, like Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, are undergoing gradual but significant functional transformations from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy, where they function primarily as core areas through providing upstream services like producer-services to their regions (i.e. PRD, BRR, and YRD). Recently, the central government is aiming to develop Shanghai into an International Financial Centre (IFC) in accordance with the country's economic strength and the international status of the Renminbi by 2020. The other cities that are top in the Chinese roster of urban competitiveness like Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are striving to develop unique financial services and platforms, such as the over-the-counter (OTC) trading, Second-board market, etc. Now, China has basically formed a financial system under the regulation, control and supervision of the central bank, with its state banks as the mainstay, featuring the separation of policy-related finance and commercial finance, the cooperation of various financial institutions in major cities with mutually complementary functions. China’s financial centres are emerging in the global financial network, but they are restricted by China’s financial system and markets are not fully open and immature. The main tasks are to establish standardized corporate governance, maintain fair, efficient, transparent and orderly financial market and industry, and provide protection for minority shareholders of the listing companies in accordance with international standards. The experience of responses to financial crisis among Anglo-American, Continental European, and Japanese systems, such as how to avoid systemic failure in the financial system, and maintain a path to financial stability and healthy financial innovation, is valuable and beneficial for the China’s financial centres to take a place in the global financial network, especially Shanghai, where is heading to develop into the IFC. Hong Kong, as an important offshore fund-raising and stock-trading platform for Mainland enterprises, its financial system had fallen less than the US and UK, which is because the supervisory body has reinforced in monitoring the impact of the global financial crisis on banks’ asset quality, liquidity. Building on the experience from the crisis, Hong Kong should tap into emerging markets and collaborate with China’s emerging financial centres to diversify its financial sector as an important economic pillar. The proposed project aims to: 1. To study comprehensively the comparative advantages and disadvantages of different regimes for financial regulations and supervisory bodies across the world, typical of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Hong Kong; 2. To analyze the development of financial centres in different regulatory regimes; 3. To examine the economics and reasons that led to the geographical pattern of financial regulations and supervisions from a geography of finance and corporate governance perspectives; 4. To explore the importance and role of “geography” in designing a future global financial system of governance and the reference for Hong Kong and China’s financial centres. |
| List of Research Outputs |
| Zhao S.X. and Zhang L., City branding and the Olympic effect: the case of Beijing, Cities. Great Britain, Pergamon, 2009, 26(5): 245-254. |
| Zhao S.X. and Christopher S., Emerging financial centers in Mainland China and Southeast Asian, In: Francois Gipouloux , International Trading and Financial Hubs in East and Southeast Asia: Historical and Comparative Perspectives. UK, Routledge, 2009. |
| Zhao S.X., Global Competition of Financial Centres and the Rise of Chinese Financial centres, International Workshop of Urban Geography invited by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 2009. |
| Zhao S.X., Global Financial Centers Competition and its impact on the formation of Mega-city Regions in China, Centennial Celebration of the Geographical Society of China Forum invited by the Geographical Society of China. Beijing, 2010. |
| Zhao S.X., Global Financial Centers Growth and Competition and Reference to Shanghai, Opening Ceremony of the Inauguration of Shanghai International Finance Forum invited by Shanghai Municipal Government. 2009. |
| Zhao S.X., Global Financial Centers Growth and Competition and Reference to Shanghai, Shanghai Forum invited by the Fudan University. Shanghai, 2010. |
| Zhao S.X., Shanghai Financial Cooperation with Hong Kong, Closed meeting at the Hong Kong Government Secretariat with Shanghai’s Financial Officials and Experts invited by the Central Policy Unit of Hong Kong Government. 2009. |
| Zhao S.X., 全球金融中心百年競爭的決定成敗因素, Social Sciences in China (Restricted Version). 中国社会科学(内部文稿), Beijing, Social Sciences in China Press, 2010, 21:3: 52-58. |
| Zhao S.X., The Centennial Competition of Global Financial Centers and the Rise of China’s Financial Centers, Regional Studies Association Annual International Conference 2010 invited by Centre for Regional Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Pecs, Hungary, 2010. |
| Zhao S.X., In: Du Debin, World Regional Studies. 世界地理研究, Editorial Office of World Regional Studies, 2010. |
| Zhao S.X., 全球金融中心的百年競爭及中國金融中心的崛起, 世界地理研究, Shanghai, World Regional Studies, 2010, 19:2: 1-11. |