Assessing institutional relations in development partnerships: the Land Development Corporation and the Hong Kong Government prior to 1997

This paper interprets and develops contemporary notions of partnership in relation to Hong Kong's Land Development Corporation. It demonstrates how such agencies are likely to become overdependent on their private-sector partners or ineffective in policy delivery, unless endowed with adequate powers and resources. In this context, it suggests that the LDC's capacity to promote urban renewal was undermined particularly by the institutional requirement to assemble redevelopment sites in multiple ownership principally through negotiation. While seeking to explain this weakness in relation to the socio-cultural context of Hong Kong, it warns that, in applying the Western experience of partnership elsewhere, full account must be taken of local circumstances and constraints

What Do Community Benefits Agreements Deliver? Evidence From Los Angeles

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Advocates of community benefits agreements (CBAs) between coalitions of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and real estate developers contend that CBAs promote public accountability and responsiveness to community concerns. This study assesses the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District (LASED) CBA, which scholars and practitioners have described as a model for such agreements. I assess compliance with key provisions of the agreement related to jobs, affordable housing, and parks and recreational facilities. I also assess whether compliance with these provisions has yielded benefits beyond those required under existing laws and regulations. I find that the parties to the agreement have technically complied with many, although arguably not all, of its provisions. But some of the provisions in the CBA are not legally binding, other provisions overlap with requirements that the developer would have had to satisfy even without the CBA, and some reports required by the CBA are unavailable. As a result, outcomes such as living wage jobs and funding for affordable housing units are not clearly attributable to the CBA; other outcomes, such as targeted hiring, are unknown due to a lack of relevant information.Takeaway for practice: Although CBAs may not fulfill all the claims that advocates make on their behalf, they can play important roles in community development by directing public and private spending to underserved neighborhoods. But collecting and verifying the relevant data may be challenging, even if reporting requirements are clearly spelled out in the CBA. As the complexity of a CBA increases, so do the challenges of assessing outcomes and assigning responsibility for those outcomes

Property-led urban renewal in Hong Kong: any place for the community?

The community plays a very limited role in urban governance in pro-growth Hong Kong. Urban renewal is a case in point. The government has relied on market forces in renewing the city. In 1988, the Land Development Corporation (LDC) was set up to facilitate private-public partnerships in redevelopment. Residents were not involved until the project implementation stage, when owners needed to be compensated and tenants rehoused. However, the growing stock of dilapidated buildings, coupled with the collapse of the property market in the late 1990s, contributed to a market failure. The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) was set up in 2000 to replace the LDC and an Urban Renewal Strategy (URS) was published in 2001. This paper argues that the URS is just a redevelopment programme and that it is doubtful whether the URA can overcome problems faced by the LDC. An integrated approach is advocated to tackle urban restructuring, with active involvement from the community. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.

Contribution of urban design to economic sustainability of urban renewal projects in Hong Kong

Urban renewal in Hong Kong plays an important role in stimulating local economy by optimizing development potential of disturbed site and introducing new activities|businesses with large profit margins. However, past and current urban renewal practices put too much emphasis on achieving economic objectives, and overlook the environmental and social needs of the community, which violates the global trend to promote sustainable development in the urban areas. In view of it, this paper has reviewed the property-led| market-led urban renewal approach continuously adopted in Hong Kong, and suggested a more sustainable approach to meet economic objectives. In order to facilitate such approach, this paper has highlighted a list of urban design considerations contributing to sustainable development and identified key design factors improving economic sustainability of the urban renewal projects. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

DETERMINATION OF WATER CONVEYANCE LOSS IN THE AHMETLI REGULATOR IRRIGATION SYSTEM IN THE LOWER GEDIZ BASIN, TURKEY

WOS: 000298345400002Determining the water conveyance loss in large-scale irrigation systems is important not only from the points of view of irrigation programming and optimum allocation of deficit resources, but also for the sustainable operation of the system. The aim of this investigation is to determine the conveyance losses of the concrete-lined main, secondary and tertiary canals in the Right Bank Irrigation System of the Ahmetli Regulator in the Gediz Basin, Turkey. The investigation was carried out according to the inflow-outflow method. Average conveyance losses of the main (0.067 1 s(-1) m(-2)), secondary (0.119 1 s(-1) m(-2)) and tertiary canals (0.030 1 s(-1) m(-2)) were found to be higher than either the average conveyance loss of Turkey or the seepage standard of the Bureau of Reclamation. It may be suggested that associations responsible for maintenance, repair and operation of the system can be supported financially to reduce conveyance loss. Apart from this, application of new technologies with lower cost to the systems will reduce conveyance losses. In addition, the participation of farmers in the maintenance of the network will ensure that the system is used more rationally. In this way, most of the operational problems of the system can be solved. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd