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Collection, as the first stage of the recycling process, and pre-processing to increase waste stream purity constitute key operations for achieving high recycling rates and a closed loop in the circular economy. For wastepaper recycling in Hong Kong, it is the semi-formal-informal recycling (SFIR) sector that plays a central role in both stages. This study analyses the so far little explored SFIR stakeholder network in Hong Kong and sheds light on value chains, recovered waste paper quantities and the impact of policies on the sector. The findings show that SFIR stakeholders reclaim 55.6 t/recycling station/month of wastepaper and thereby achieve about a 5.7 times higher reclaim rate than the formal-private recycling system. Critical to this achievement is the SFIR transaction network, which enables its stakeholders to develop a value chain and thereby generate an added value of around 1900 HKD (243.9 USD/t) for wastepaper. Given limited circular structures in Hong Kong, financial subsidies are critical to sustain the SFIR's operations over the short-term. However, over the long-term legalization and integration of its stakeholders are necessary to ensure an economically and socially sustainable wastepaper recovery system in Hong Kong. [Display omitted] • Qualitative & quantitative analysis of the semi-formal-informal recycling (SFIR) sector. • The SFIR's wastepaper value chain achieves a cumulative added value of 1900 HKD/t. • The SFIR recovered 5.7 times higher capacities than the formal system in 2021. • Financial support can enhance the SFIR sector's recovery capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the multi-actor making of the ruralscape in Hong Kong. I critically adopt the theoretical framework of Ingold's concepts of walking to understand how different "wayfarers", including but not limited to farmers, residents, land activists, agriculture learners, researchers, journalists, leisure practitioners and government officials, walk to make a multi-sensorial landscape. This paper encapsulates the observation outcomes of multiple times of walking by different individuals and groups recorded during my ethnographic fieldwork between 2008 and 2021. I shed light on the local practices and perspectives of hang cyun (walking in villages) and hang tin (walking in fields) to illustrate my observations. By analyzing the wayfarers' walking experiences and embodied movements, I consider the ruralscape as a vibrant space where people configure its meanings and materialize their lifestyle. The wayfarers' embodied experiences reflect the continuity and changes of a rural Hong Kong. Their making of ruralscape helps alleviate people's anxiety and enhance people's hope concerning the current Hong Kong society that faces food safety issues, environmental degradation, social class disparity and spoon-feeding education. I consider that being an agent who exercises his/her subjectivity during the walking in the ruralscape, a wayfarer makes the ruralscape meaningful in various aspects. My explanation contributes to the theoretical discussion of embodied movement and space making particular to the construction of a politicized nature telling us stories of (in)equality, (in)justice, and hope (lessness). • Walking is a political and socio-economic process that produces a multi-sensorial ruralscape. • Embodied movement and space making alleviates anxiety and enhances hope in rural Hong Kong. • Actor-actant interactions in Hong Kong's ruralscape entails stories of (in)equality, (in)justice, and hope (lessness). • People configure meanings and materialize lifestyle in walking in villages and fields. • Wayfarers's experiences reflect the continuity and changes of social movement, education, and agro-economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Around 1.4 million sales transaction data of 25 years were used in this study. • In 1991–2015, sale-related renovation waste could reach up to 4.46 MT. • A self-reporting levy is proposed to refine the waste and policing cost estimate. • More informed market forces may help address latent renovation-inducing factors. Using data of 1.4 million non-aggregate, publicly available, private residential property resale transactions for Hong Kong from 1991 to 2015, this paper addresses a public policy question raised by Demsetz from a Coasian angle. It estimates the impact of a less explored but ecologically problematic realm of renovation waste upon change of ownership of property units in a highly commodified property market. The estimate shows the extent and possibly high cost of the government in addressing negative externalities. Informed by the findings, this paper puts forward the recommendation of a prepaid lump sum waste monitoring levy, which is reimbursable upon self-reporting of waste generation. The collected information, when made open to the public, may help market forces to address poor building quality which causes legitimate major renovations and encourage better workmanship for future edifices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel blockchain-based tool is proposed for MRV of carbon emissions. • It ensures the traceability, immutability and transparency of carbon emission data. • It is successfully used in life cycle carbon audit in Hong Kong's building sector. • It supports the implementation of the HKGBC carbon emissions regulatory framework. The Hong Kong Green Building Council introduced the Climate Change Framework for the Built Environment, aimed at enhancing the monitoring and management of life cycle carbon emissions within the building industry. In response to this initiative, this paper presents a novel blockchain-based carbon audit tool designed to facilitate the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of embodied carbon in Hong Kong's building sector. Specifically, a consortium blockchain is utilized for system development in this study. The proposed blockchain system records the information pertaining to each stage of the building's life cycle, which is uploaded for storage. The system ensures the traceability, immutability, and transparency of the recorded information. To test and verify the system, it was initially applied to manage and audit the embodied carbon in Hong Kong's building sector in 2020. We anticipate our findings will provide a viable tool for MRV of building life cycle carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • This study identifies illegal dumping behaviors by using big data analytics. • This study proposes an Illegal Dumping Filter to identify illegal dumping cases from the big data. • This study explains a major driver, i.e., long wait time, to illegal dumping. • This study identifies 546 suspected trucks from over 9 million waste disposal records. • A three-step big data-enabled urban crime identification methodology is proposed. Abstract Illegal dumping, referring to the intentional and criminal abandonment of waste in unauthorized areas, has long plagued governments and environmental agencies worldwide. Despite the tremendous resources spent to combat it, the surreptitious nature of illegal dumping indicates the extreme difficulty in its identification. In 2006, the Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme (CWDCS) was implemented, regulating that all construction waste must be disposed of at government waste facilities if not otherwise properly reused or recycled. While the CWDCS has significantly improved construction waste management in Hong Kong, it has also triggered illegal dumping problems. Inspired by the success of big data in combating urban crime, this paper aims to identify illegal dumping cases by mining a publicly available data set containing more than 9 million waste disposal records from 2011 to 2017. Using behavioral indicators and up-to-date big data analytics, possible drivers for illegal dumping (e.g., long queuing times) were identified. The analytical results also produced a list of 546 waste hauling trucks suspected of involvement in illegal dumping. This paper contributes to the understanding of illegal dumping behavior and joins the global research community in exploring the value of big data, particularly for combating urban crime. It also presents a three-step big data-enabled urban crime identification methodology comprising 'Behavior characterization', 'Big data analytical model development', and 'Model training, calibration, and evaluation'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper forms a rejoinder to the paper by Luo & Zhai (‘“I will never go to Hong Kong again!” How the secondary crisis communication of “Occupy Central” on Weibo shifted to a tourism boycott’). It discusses claims Luo and Zhai (2017) make about negative impacts of Occupy Central protests on tourism sector in Hong Kong and debates application of sentiment analysis to censored social media platforms. The rejoinder concludes that there is no clear evidence that there has been a negative impact of Occupy Central on Hong Kong tourism. It also urges tourism academics to be more critical regarding the sources of information for their studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the development of Hong Kong's cultural economy and its translation into urban space. On the one hand it focuses on recent economic development and planning strategies to develop a post-colonial identity based on the international cachet of attracting creative industries. On the other hand, it considers the development of grassroots initiatives that herald the potential articulation of Hong Kong as a culturally dense global city. These grassroots initiatives are analyzed from the perspective of their problematic relationship with urban space, and how urban planning both supports and hinders cultural development. The paper argues that top-down planning is in large part catalytic, yet at the same time can run counter to the development of genuine artistic expression. It stresses the importance of ‘middleground’ actors in facilitating the development of spaces for artistic creation, particularly in their productive interlocking with different forms of artistic expression and public policy initiatives. The middleground can be conceived of as a relational space produced by various processes, actors and structures operating at different scales between institutional actors and the interests of ‘underground’ creativity. The article concludes by problematizing the role of middleground actors and underlines the value of ‘unpacking’ the middleground in order to account for the contested and negotiated processes it embodies. Renewed attention to these processes will contribute to enhancing the development of sites of artistic expression in Hong Kong and other emergent contemporary contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc worldwide. To mitigate the spread of the virus, societies around the world implemented various social control measures and restrictions on mobility. Traditional work practices were upended, leading to a widespread adoption of telecommuting in many cities, effectively turning urban spaces into expansive work-from-home laboratories. The exchange of digitized documents, virtual conversations, and online transactions replaced physical movements and face-to-face communication, allowing for the continuation of productive activities. This shift to telecommuting raises important questions about the impact on traditional business practices and power dynamics in the workplace. It also prompts us to examine how new communication and surveillance tools facilitate collaboration and enhance worker productivity. Furthermore, it is essential to understand how employees navigate and adapt to the opportunities and limitations presented in a teleworking environment. To gain insights into these issues, this paper focuses on the experiences of work-from-home employees in the community of Tin Shui Wai in Hong Kong, using the concept of governmobility as an analytical framework. The findings reveal that telecommuting is enabled by innovative social interaction mechanisms, changes in power dynamics, and the implementation of new discourse and surveillance methods, all of which are contingent on specific work and life conditions. The various experiences of telecommuting, such as working in a home office, in virtual workspaces, and using on-body devices, demonstrate adaptable responses to the emerging opportunities and constraints of telecommuting. These experiences illuminate the intricate ways in which work and life intertwine in both physical and temporal dimensions. • Exploring the mechanisms of governmobility in telecommuting during the Covid-19 pandemic. • Theorizing diverse telecommuting practices and experiences. • Discussing the prospects of telecommuting in the post-Covid world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electricity consumption in cities is steadily increasing. Using a life cycle approach and fuel mix data from power companies’ sustainability reports, this paper analyzes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity consumption in Hong Kong. The results show that coal contributed on an average 74.3 percent, liquefied natural gas 25.1 percent, and oil 0.6 percent of the thermal energy consumed for generating electricity in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2015. Besides, Hong Kong imported an average of 7.96 billion kWh per year net electricity from a nuclear power plant in Shenzhen. During this period, GHG emissions from annual electricity consumption ranged between 27.0 and 34.1 million tons (MT) and the emission factor ranged between 702 and 792 g CO 2 -eq/kWh. Hong Kong’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased steadily from USD 176 billion in 2002 to USD 297 billion by 2015. As a result, Hong Kong’s electricity productivity increased from 4.62 to 6.75 USD/kWh while GHG emission from electricity consumption per GDP decreased from 0.153 to 0.104 MT CO 2 -eq/USD billion. Hong Kong’s annual electricity consumption was predicted over the short-term period (2016–2020) and medium term (up to year 2030). Electricity consumption is likely to increase to 44.63 billion kWh by 2030 while GHG emissions from electricity consumption would increase to 33.92 MT of CO 2 -eq. The implications are discussed at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores two questions facing the use of the concept of the 'good farmer' in rural studies: what are the most appropriate methods to understand good farming; and what is the relevance of the concept in non-western countries? The paper explores these issues in the context of pig farmers' biosecurity decisions and daily disease management practices in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Specifically, we argue that to broaden the relevance of the good farming concept, we need to devise specific methodologies to capture the relational practices among farmers, non-human life forms and substances that construct the 'good farmer' meaning in different cultural contexts. Firstly, we consider the language of 'good farming', its possible translations, potential meanings and alternative phrases used amongst Chinese-speaking farmers. Secondly, we develop a farmer-oriented methodology to analyse how these locally specific translations of good farming are constructed and used in relation to the management of animal disease. Drawing on 12 farmers' mapping and their interview discussion, we develop a narrated mapping methodology in which the creation of farm maps acts as a device to illustrate and talk about biosecurity and good farming. This visual method triangulates the graphical data with subsequent interview data of farmers' maps. From this we show how the idea of the 'diligent farmer' has much stronger resonance in Hong Kong than good farming. Farm maps identify specific symbols of diligence, highlighting values of productivism, environmentalism and social relationships. The mapping methodology also reveals the performative work involved in becoming a diligent farmer. In conclusion, the paper considers the broader methodological implications for the concept of good farming, suggesting that cultural linguistic differences need to be recognised in the concept, and arguing for further methodological advancement. • The methodological and linguistic basis of the 'good farmer' and 'good farming' are questioned. • Visual narrated mapping methodology is developed to explore 'good farming' and 'good farmer'. • Language of 'good farming' and 'good farmer' varied in non-Western contexts. • The role of 'diligence' and 'diligent farming' is a useful theoretical lens to explore farm biosecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a rich body of research on face-work, how it is performed in online edu-social groups remains under-explored. Drawing on posts and comments of Facebook groups created for courses at a university in Hong Kong, together with interviews with students, tutors, and the lecturer, this article examines how code-switching is deployed as a powerful discursive resource in the performance of face-work. Notwithstanding English being the medium of instruction of the courses, code-switching is noticeable. Focusing on these participants' practices, our analysis discovers that code-switching serves primarily to signal the breakdown of the expectedly formal academic participation frame and the switch to an informal frame. Multiple layers of action frames are collaboratively and constantly designed and redesigned in these 'social network-educational spaces' (Chau and Lee, 2017), where the formal-informal, public-private, and academic-social boundaries become indistinct. Closer analysis within and across the spaces further reveals that norms of appropriateness of code-switching to achieve informality and solidarity may vary depending on a combination of individual, contextual, and temporal factors. In addition to contributing to existing literature on code-switching and face-work on Facebook, the article offers practical implications for understanding the increasingly informalized discourses in institutional contexts. • Code-switching is a face-work strategy to achieve informality and express solidarity in social network-educational spaces. • Norms of appropriateness of code-switching vary depending on individual, contextual, and temporal factors. • This paper contributes to the strand of literature on face-work with a focus on online discourse in a multilingual setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is the first study to investigate the impacts of housing attributes and environmental variables on housing rental price and the-time-on- market (TOM) of sub-divided units (SDUs) in Hong Kong via statistical method. A two stage least square (2SLS) method is introduced in this paper to solve the simultaneous problem of housing rental price and TOM, which overcomes the shortcoming of estimation bias in previous studies. The findings suggest that the size of the SDUs, distance to MTR stations, vicinity to primary school, accessibility to community facilities and park are the major concerns for tenants living in SDUs. These significant results provide valuable information to the urban planners and public housing committee of Hong Kong for a better development of the public housing in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We focus on three locations in the Asia-Pacific region—Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Singapore. • We analyze the impact of variations in research and development (R&D) spending on total factor productivity (TFP) growth. • In each of the three cases, we compare and contrast the role of public and private R&D in boosting TFP growth as well as the pattern of causality between public and private R&D and the capacity of both types of R&D to generate economic spillovers. • We show that the impact of both private and public R&D varies across the three cases, with significant but limited outcomes for TFP growth in the case of Hong Kong, no significant growth in Shenzhen, but strong and positively significant growth in Singapore. In this paper, we focus on three locations in the Asia-Pacific region—Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Singapore—to analyse the impact of variations in research and development (R&D) spending on total factor productivity (TFP) growth. In each of the three cases, we compare and contrast the role of public and private R&D in boosting TFP growth as well as the pattern of causality involving public and private R&D and the capacity of both types of R&D to generate economic spillovers. Our results show that the impact of both public and private R&D varies across the three cases, with significant but limited outcomes for TFP growth in the case of Hong Kong, no significant growth in Shenzhen, but strong and positively significant growth in Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing literature on the relationship between urban green space (UGS) use and mental health of older people was mainly conducted before the widespread adoption of digital technologies in daily life. In particular, the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has fostered the use of mobile applications (apps) at a time city dwellers, including older people, were required to stay home. Drawing upon the insights from emerging literature on the changing relationship between UGS use and mental health of older people in the digital era in urban and gerontological studies, this paper offers a vivid mixed-method to investigate whether mobile app use has supplemented or substituted UGS visits and activities that further influence on the mental health of older people. This is achieved by conducting 360 questionnaire surveys in elderly community centers amid the pandemic and 23 semi-structured interviews in local neighbourhood parks after the pandemic by the authors. Results demonstrates mobile app use frequency may moderate the proximity-mental health relationship, but only among the older people with lower mental health levels. Among this sub-group, digital consumption app use frequency weakens the proximity-mental health relationship on marginal significance, which illustrates digital consumption apps may substitute the role of urban parks on improving older people's mental health. Furthermore, digital communication and recreation mobile app use frequency strengthens the proximity-mental health relationship on marginal significance, which suggests these mobile apps may supplement the role of urban parks on improving older people's mental health, particularly during the pandemic. The research pleas for more research on how digitalization of everyday activities is transforming the use of UGS such as neighbourhood parks and subsequent impact on the mental health of older people in the widespread adoption of digital technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trends and determinants of young adults' living arrangements across a wide range of societies have been a hot topic in multi–disciplinary literature on contemporary youth transitions and urban and housing studies. Extant literature has identified both macro–structural and micro–individual factors to explain the living arrangements of young adults in developed and developing societies. Empirical studies to assess their relative contribution to the spatial and temporal heterogeneity in young people's transition to adulthood, however, remain scarce. This paper attempts to fill this research gap by conducting a case study of Hong Kong young adults. Through descriptive and regression analyses of the population census data in 1991, 2001, and 2011, the paper identifies a declining trend in independent living arrangements in Hong Kong over the past two decades. Such change has been found to be associated with a compositional shift of young adults in their socio-economic characteristics in terms of place of birth, ethnicity, educational attainment, and income and employment status. Further decomposition analysis revealed that over 80% of the change could be attributed to urban institutional and policy contexts beyond the control of young individuals. The pursuit of residential independence among young adults has become an increasingly challenging task in this Asian's world city because of the worsening structural and institutional environments in the 2000s. The case study highlighted the selective nature of Hong Kong's welfare regime, which prioritizes the extension of assistance and benefits to the elderly at the relative neglect of the demand of young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental performance of organizations is an increasing focus in cleaner production. This paper explores how the importance and performance of environmental practices were perceived among professional-level employees in Hong Kong, China. Based on a literature review on sustainable development and environmental management, we developed a structured questionnaire to measure respondents' perceptions towards environmental practices. Using responses from 348 professional-level employees in Hong Kong organizations, we employed importance-performance analysis for identifying some improvement opportunities. In addition, we applied exploratory factor analysis to identify the underlying environmental factors based on the importance ratings. Results of the study demonstrated that the performance of environmental practices was strongly associated with perceived importance of environmental practices. As environmental practices, it was found that Hong Kong organizations and employees primarily focused on saving paper and energy resources. However, they are not embracing the concept of green value chain and have yet to engage their suppliers to go green. This paper contributes to identify the key internal and external factors of environmental practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the antipoverty effect of public rental housing (PRH) in Hong Kong based on a comparison of estimated imputed rents from PRH through regression-based and stratified rental equivalence methods. Empirical analysis shows that stratified equivalence method tended to generate a larger effect of poverty rate reduction and smaller effect of poverty gap reduction than regression-based method. The study identified a trend towards upwardly biased estimate of public imputed rent in the implementation of stratified equivalence method in Hong Kong where limited strata was available for the estimation. The development of antipoverty measures may be misguided if the stratified equivalence method is used in its current form in Hong Kong. The paper suggests that the choice of estimation method has important implications for evaluating the pros and cons of PRH from both poverty reduction and budgetary perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a number of ports in Hong Kong and mainland China are grouped and the concentration ratio and Herfindahl-Hirschman index of the container throughputs are calculated to analyze the changes in the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong. By tracing the trajectory of the barycenter of the standard deviation ellipse of the annual container throughputs, we can analyze whether port transportation is shifting away from Hong Kong towards mainland China. The impacts of underlying policies of mainland China and Hong Kong on the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong are also revealed. The analyses show that the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong has experienced three development stages: rapid growth from the 1970s-1990s, solid growth from 2000 to 2005, and sluggish growth from 2006 to 2015. • The concentration ratio and Herfindahl-Hirschman index of the container throughputs are analyzed for a port group consisting Hong Kong port and a number of ports in mainland China. • The growth and down of the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong are described. • The impacts of underlying policies of mainland China and Hong Kong on the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong are revealed. • It is found that port transportation is shifting away from Hong Kong towards mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores capacities, benefits and potential for a circular economy on waste plastic beverage containers in Hong Kong. Regarding existing circular capacities, we show that a pilot subsidy for selected recyclers achieved a plastic bottle recovery rate of 3 %. Its extension to all active recyclers would raise the recovery rate to 23 %. The analysis of circular benefits uses a dynamic life-cycle assessment along the Shared Socio-economic Pathways. It demonstrates that replacing single-use containers with reusable ones would achieve substantial impact reductions, e.g. 81 % for CO 2 and 88 % for PM2.5 amongst others. When assessing potential for a circular transition in beverage container management, mapping stakeholder interests shows that the government's expressed preference for recycling is not shared by other groups. Rather, societal and corporate stakeholders' strong preference for refuse and reuse solutions underscores that higher-ranking circular approaches like a plastic tax or even a selective ban would enjoy public support. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communities are faced with the conundrum of what to do with obsolete industrial buildings. Revitalization through adaptive reuse is seen as one option, with many buildings being converted to hotels. This paper analyses the policy by the Hong Kong government to encourage adaptive reuse of under-utilized high rise industrial buildings. It was launched over 20 years ago, with hotel conversion permitted since 2000. To date, though, few successful hotel redevelopments have occurred. Through in-depth interviews with key informants, secondary data analysis, and multiple site visits, the paper analyses why the policy has failed. Informants identified four broad themes, including core weaknesses of the policy itself, pragmatic development complications, building-specific reasons and various contextual issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Prefabrication has been increasingly used in buildings. It is recognised as a solution to reduce waste arising during design and construction phases. However, there is little emphasis on life cycle design issues for prefabricated buildings located in dense high-rise building environments. The purpose of this paper is to review the application and identify benefits and impediments of design for deconstruction and Industrialised, Flexible and Demountable building systems when applied to precast concrete construction. The paper presents the results of a comprehensive literature review, and two case studies of recently completed institutional buildings using prefabrication. The literature review shows that, so far, design for deconstruction is not a common practice in the building industry. The case studies showed some limitations such as the dense urban environment conditions and limited site area. The promotion of a closed-loop material cycle is critical to contribute to sustainability thus minimising CO2 emissions, natural resources consumption. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The integration of cross-border regions involves at least three dimensions, i.e., economic integration, institutional integration and social integration. The relationship and the gaps among these processes of integration need detailed studies in the context of increasing number of cross-border regions. The empirical focus of this paper is the cross-boundary integration of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, two major cities that have played a pivotal role in China's urbanization, development and internationalization over the last three decades. It is revealed that economic integration prevails in the Hong Kong–Shenzhen integrated region. Economic integration has necessitated the institutional integration which in turn attempts to facilitate economic integration. But both economic and institutional integration cannot change the pace of social integration. Social integration lags significantly behind economic and institutional integration. Brunet-Jailly's main hypothesis of the theory of borderland studies is only partially valid in Hong Kong–Shenzhen region. The paper concludes that Hong Kong–Shenzhen has not yet become a twin city. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper explores the practices Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students engage in to learn German and the values they attach to these practices for their ‘selves’. The findings discussed in this paper are part of an empirical study investigating the motivation to learn German amongst Hong Kong Chinese university students who studied German as a major programme. The study employs a Foucauldian ethical perspective which regards learning as contributing to the process of self-formation to broaden the view on language learners' motivation. The data were collected through interviews and diary entries over a period of two academic terms and analysed following a discourse-oriented approach based on the four axes of self-formation as defined by Foucault. This paper focuses on a selection of five research participants examining the deeper dimensions of their engagement with the language outside class. The findings indicate that the activities students engaged in to learn and apply German assisted them in living their lives differently and creating for themselves a world in which they could strive towards their ethical ideals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper focuses on ageing non-heterosexual migrants, an understudied group, in order to contribute to two emerging strands of research literature in ageing studies: ageing migrants and non-heterosexual ageing. This paper draws on the narrative of a 60-year-old partnered gay man, Oliver, who is originally from the UK and had lived in Hong Kong for more than 20 years at the time of the interview. Oliver's experiences as an ageing non-heterosexual migrant embody both privilege and vulnerability. For him, white privilege acts as a shield against homophobia and ageism. However, although he feels cultural and social belonging to Hong Kong, his same-sex relationship is not legally recognised in Hong Kong. This produces anxiety about future care and end-of-life concerns for him and his Asian partner, as he decides between staying in Hong Kong and returning home to the UK for greater legal recognition of his same-sex relationship. Such findings highlight diversity among ageing migrants, and coexistence of privilege and vulnerability in the lives of non-heterosexuals who age outside of their country of origin. This paper also contributes to the literature on non-heterosexual ageing by adding an understudied diasporic perspective, and on sexual migration by highlighting the life course perspective to show that sexual minority migrants' experience is stratified by age. This paper argues that global sexual citizenship is an increasingly relevant theoretical concept in an era of unequal sexual rights development around the world. Social policies have largely overlooked the later life concerns of ageing non-heterosexual migrants, where a lack of legal recognition of their same-sex relationship has them left without policy protection. • Older migrants are a diverse group, and among them there are non-heterosexuals. • Ageing non-heterosexual migrants face issues about legal recognition of their relationships. • Researchers and policy makers need to pay attention to ageing non-heterosexual migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Air pollution problems caused from the development of infrastructures are getting serious, in which air flow is reduced and heat is trapped among high-rise buildings. In order to mitigate these problems, various methods have been developed in previous studies. Extensive green roof has been identified as one of the most important means to mitigate these problems and implement sustainable development principles in the building features. Governments world-wide have been introducing various policies and regulations for promoting extensive green roof particularly for building projects. However, the existing buildings in many large cities such as Hong Kong display few extensive green roof features. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities with many high-rise buildings. This paper examines the major barriers encountered in promoting extensive green roof systems for the existing buildings in Hong Kong. Case study approach is adopted to investigate how and why the barriers can hinder the implementation of extensive green roof features. Research results show that lack of promotion and incentives from governments and the increase maintenance cost are identified as the top barriers to the implementation. The paper concludes by providing further suggestions and actions that can help mitigate these existing barriers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The use of structural steelwork (SS) for buildings continues to grow worldwide owing to its sustainability benefits. However, the market share of SS in the building sector of Hong Kong greatly lags behind other markets. This paper focuses on providing a comprehensive understanding of the issues that greatly drive or inhibit SS adoption in Hong Kong from a project lifecycle perspective. The methodology encompasses both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 professionals from developer, structural engineering consultant, main contractor, steel specialist contractor, and steel stockholder companies. The results identified 12 driving factors and 25 barriers affecting SS adoption in Hong Kong. A questionnaire survey with 118 practitioners was carried out to identify the most important driving factors and barriers. The results revealed that "increased speed of construction" and "must-have requirements" were the two most important driving factors; while "shortage of skilled labor", "shortage of supervisors working directly under main contractors", "high construction costs", "shortage of experienced designers and draughtsmen", and "lack of education, training, and design experience on structural steelwork" were the five most critical barriers. This may imply that education and training are needed to improve knowledge and skills of professionals and workers, and thus to ensure an adequate supply of manpower. The findings of this study not only contribute to the existing body of knowledge on SS practices but also provide valuable references for helping practitioners and policymakers to promote sustainable construction methods within the building sector. • Increased speed of construction and must-have requirements are important drivers. • Manpower shortages in the design and construction phases are critical barriers. • High construction cost also inhibits the use of structural steelwork. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

precipitation and evaporation are two vital components of water cycle, and Hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes are important tracers in water, which are very sensitive to changes in the climate and the water cycle. Rayleigh Fractionation equation is usually applied to calculate isotope distributions in order to quantify the precipitation and evaporation processes. It is reasonable to explain the evaporation process using the Rayleigh fractionation equation. However, the composition of hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes in the precipitation will change due to the effects of dynamic fractionation and dilution during raindrop fall. In this case, it is not feasible to rely entirely on the Rayleigh fractionation equation. In this paper, atmospheric precipitation isotopes data recorded during 1996–2016 in Hong Kong from the Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) are analyzed, including local meteoric water line (LMWL), deuterium-excess (d), temperature effect and rainfall amount effect. The results indicate that precipitation is affected by secondary evaporation and dilution effects. In addition, the stable isotope composition in precipitation is the result of temperature and precipitation. Due to the effects of these two effects, changes of isotope composition in precipitation are not always consistent. When the rainfall density is very large, the temperature effect is covered up and the temperature is inversely related to the isotope composition of precipitation. In contrast, when the rainfall density is small, the temperature is positively related to the isotope composition of precipitation. Therefore, it is suggested to consider the rainfall density while studying the relationship between the isotope composition of precipitation and the local climate. These finds can provide some enlightenments and references on how to investigate the changing pattern of isotope composition in precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper explores if Hong Kong public universities take advantage of the current information and communication technologies (ICT) for online social responsibility (SR) reporting. Content analysis of the university website was the principal method for data collection. The results indicate that Hong Kong Universities assign great importance to SR, and generally perform well for online SR reporting through the application of ICT, in terms of varied "perspectives" and "items". This study is exploratory in nature, and makes contributions to the existing literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A holistic approach to enhancing health among people living with HIV is needed. • An existential-phenomenological framework can respond to existential conflicts. • The effects of an expressive arts group therapy are identified by this mixed-methods study. People living with HIV (PLHIV) are likely to encounter existential conflicts, while stigma is a major stressor leading to poorer psychological well-being and social isolation. Aside from medical treatment, diverse psychotherapeutic approaches that guide PLHIV to reconstruct a meaningful life are needed. This paper reports on the process and efficacy of an eight-session, existential expressive arts group therapy program developed for PLHIV in Hong Kong. Eight HIV-positive male participants were recruited and completed the therapy. Using an existential-phenomenological framework, the therapy aimed to facilitate participants to make existential meaning from a creative process, which in turn help them overcome challenges and enhance their well-being in the domains of physical health, psychological health and social relationships. A mixed-methods study design was employed. Qualitative data were obtained through clinical observation by the therapist intern, participants' written reflection, and semi-structured interviews with the participants. Quality of life, affects, and group cohesion were measured by self-report questionnaires. The results showed that most participants found a way to make existential meaning and benefited from increased quality of life and creativity. They displayed significant improvement in the physical health domain of the quality of life (Z = −1.980, p =.048, r = 0.50) and positive affect (Z = −2.103, p =.035, r = 0.53). The findings contribute to the field of HIV care using an integrated arts approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Micro-flats of less than 40 m2 have more than doubled in Hong Kong from 2012 to 2016. • Survey with micro-flat residents reveals low average living space per capita, although this is compensated by more affordable rent/price. • Half of the respondents in suburban micro-flats are homeowners, reflecting the strong pull of homeownership in the city. • Facilitating supply of suburban micro-flats through land sale conditions may provide more options for households not inclined towards renting. Abstract Although housing sizes in Hong Kong have typically been smaller than those in other places, micro-flats of less than 40 square metres have become more prevalent in recent years. Many of these micro-flats have been built in the main urban area, although some are found in suburban areas as well. This paper explores possible factors behind the growth of micro-flats, including demographic trends, affordability problems and government land sale policies. Furthermore, micro-flats may not necessarily be perceived as problematic by actual users, since small housing size might be compensated by other factors such as affordability and proximity to amenities. Thus, the study also involved survey interviews with residents of recently completed micro-flats, to investigate their socio-economic background and their perceptions of living space. The findings reveal that per capita living space of micro-flat residents is indeed low, especially for larger households with three or more people. Furthermore, half of the respondents in suburban micro-flats are homeowners, reflecting the strong pull of homeownership versus private renting. The findings point towards the merits of facilitating supply of suburban micro-flats through land sale policies, to provide more affordable options for households less inclined towards long-term renting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the critical challenges encountered in the transformation process of Hong Kong from a freight transport hub city to a knowledge-based global supply chain management center (GSCMC). The exploration involves an examination of the structural issues of the logistics industry in Hong Kong within the framework of global value chains (GVC). A questionnaire survey and a series of interviews were conducted to reveal the essential problems that the key parties of the Hong Kong logistics industry face if the transition of Hong Kong into a GSCMC is to be successful in all segments of the industry. Through a categorical analysis of logistics segments, the hurdles to the GSCMC as well as the institutional measures are also discussed in this paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Unlike most developed jurisdictions around the world, Hong Kong has not yet adopted a general competition law. However, starting in the 1990s, the city developed a ‘sector-specific’ competition law regime for the telecommunications sector, but in recent years, the effectiveness of such a regime has been challenged. In response, in March 2006, the government issued a consultation paper proposing the adoption of a unified Communications Authority and a unified Communications Ordinance. Then, in May 2008, another consultation paper was issued advocating the introduction of a general competition law. Thus, Hong Kong is moving away from the existing ‘sector-specific’ competition law in its telecommunication regulation. This article traces the development of the ‘sector-specific’ competition law regime and evaluates its limitations. It then considers the government proposals for the establishment of a unified regulator and a unified law for the entire communications sector. It also assesses whether these proposals of regulatory consolidation can improve competition in the local telecommunications sector. Finally, it argues that the current ‘sector-specific’ regulatory regime has become increasingly ineffective in regulating competition in the Hong Kong telecommunications sector, which can only be remedied by the introduction of a general competition law as advocated by the government in its latest consultation paper. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The complementary processes of globalization and regionalization have resulted in the proliferation of cross-boundary regions in the world since the 1980s. Existing studies have primarily concentrated at supranational paradigms or nation-based level of analysis in some specific regions, such as European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Association (NAFTA) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), etc. This paper presents a salient sub-national cross-boundary region under “one country, two systems” in China, taking the Pearl River Delta (“the PRD” hereafter) and Hong Kong as a case. It argues that the PRD and Hong Kong have been evolving into a cross-boundary region, as a result of intensified socio-economic interaction between them over the past two decades. Previous studies have identified the role of Hong Kong as the largest source of foreign investment and entrêpot during the process of the dramatic economic development of the PRD in the 1980s and the mid-1990s. However, the changes of their relationship after Hong Kong returned to the Chinese sovereignty in 1997 are still poorly understood and analyzed. The paper attempts to update and fill the gap in the literature with the investigation of the transformation of the cross-boundary interaction between the PRD and Hong Kong in the post-1997 period. Particular attentions are paid to the paradigm shift and evolving patterns of the PRD-Hong Kong cross-boundary region under the unique framework of “one country, two systems”. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper critically examines the discourse of the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, Tung Chee-hwa, during his first five-year period of office, following the return of Hong Kong from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Based on a large corpus of primarily speeches, but also interviews, press conferences and other pronouncements, and a parallel corpus of media reports and commentary, the analysis demonstrates that, in the interests of a smooth handover and the policy of “one country, two systems”, Tung’s discourse, in its basic configuration, mirrors that of the last British colonial Governor, Chris Patten. However, there are certain notable variations; in particular, there is a new emphasis on the need for a knowledge-based economy, the importance of Chinese values and identification with China, and a downplaying of democratic development. As did a previous article on Patten [Discourse Soc. 8 (4) (1997a) 493], the present paper focuses on four discursive strategies: the transformation of old political genres and the creation of new ones, presupposition, the use of indexicals, and lexical structuring and reiteration. The paper is presented as a case study of an attempt by a political leader to develop a communal/political identity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Nearly 60% of electrical energy use in Hong Kong is for space conditioning during summer months. The paper investigates the impact of design-related variables on outdoor micro level daytime heat island effect in residential developments in Hong Kong. The paper hypothesizes that the differences in outdoor temperatures within and between residential developments can be explained by the impact of design-related variables on the overall environment. Case studies of three large housing estates reveal urban heat island effect (UHI) in the order of 1.5 °C within an estate, and 1.0 °C between estates. The results indicate that energy efficient designs can be achieved by manipulating surface albedo, sky view factor and total height to floor area ratio (building massing) while maximizing cross ventilation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Hotel business in Hong Kong has been badly affected by the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) since March 2003. Medical reports suggest that a direct contact with the secretion or respiratory droplets from a patient through a short distance is very likely to be the possible way of transmitting the disease. World Health Organization (WHO), hence, has advised international travellers to avoid visiting several regions that have the most number of SARS cases, including Hong Kong. Since then, the number of hotel guests has largely dropped to a level that Hong Kong has never experienced before. As a totally new experience to the hotel industry in Hong Kong and elsewhere, hoteliers basically do not have enough knowledge to respond to epidemic crisis. In view of the lack of published articles in the hospitality literature that examine the issue, this paper investigates the impact of the SARS outbreak on the hotel industry in Hong Kong. In addition, this paper addresses the issue of SARS crisis management in risk identification, assessment and alleviation. The paper is expected to benefit the entire hotel industry from better understanding and planning to face the mysterious illness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Previous studies documented inconsistent findings of cohort differences in attitudes toward migrants. Some research has shown that younger people tend to be more welcoming toward migrants compared to older people; however, other research has shown the opposite. This suggests that the way different generations perceive migrants may depend on the specific local contexts in which they live. In this paper, we compared attitudes toward migrants in Hong Kong and Shanghai under the "one country, two systems" framework, using comparable data from the Hong Kong Panel Study of Social Dynamics and Shanghai Urban Neighborhood Survey. We found a sharp contrast in the attitudes toward migrants between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Compared to older people, young people in Shanghai were more friendly to migrants, yet young people in Hong Kong were more resistant to migrants. Our study identified disparities of generational gaps in attitudes toward migrants of the same ethnicity within one country. The relatively more positive attitudes toward migrants of younger cohorts (compared to people born before 1960) in Shanghai could be explained by educational level and life satisfaction. The relatively more negative attitudes toward migrants in Hong Kong could be explained by identity. Our empirical analyses suggest that local contexts matter in explaining generational gaps in attitudes toward migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study of water use in 17 hotels in Hong Kong. An overview of water use in these hotels is first presented, and this is followed by a detailed analysis of water use in one of the hotels studied, where a number of operational factors that may potentially influence the water use in a hotel have been examined. These included the laundry load, number of guests, number of food covers made, and outdoor air temperature. A multiple variable regression analysis indicated that the laundry load, number of guests and number of food covers made would collectively affect the water use in a hotel in Hong Kong. In this paper, the difficulties in assessing water use in hotel buildings are briefly discussed. It is recommended that a water management programme be established in order to achieve both operational cost saving and environmental protection, and the key elements of such a water management programme based on experiences in Hong Kong hotels are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sensitivity of housing demand to income changes has important implications for the evolution of housing affordability and the behavior of urban households. In Hong Kong, investigations into this issue have shown the increasing importance of the private rental housing market, which is regarded as suboptimal and to contribute to gentrification and inequality problems. Using microdata from four waves of Hong Kong census data between 1996 and 2011, this paper aims to estimate the income elasticity of demand for private rental housing. A permanent income model was adopted to isolate permanent income and transitory income at household level. Then, the Heckman two-stage procedure was used to correct selection bias and the quantile regression (QR) approach was used to investigate the heterogeneity of demand elasticities across different tiers of housing expenditure. The empirical results showed that the permanent income elasticities fell within a range of 0.536–0.698 and transitory income shock had a positive and significant impact on the demand for rental housing. Moreover, a U shape of permanent income elasticity across the whole distribution of housing expenditure was revealed. Households in both the upper and lower tiers were more sensitive to permanent income changes, with the higher tier of households being more sensitive to transitory income shocks. These findings not only shed light on the long-term movement and cross-sectional heterogeneity of housing demand in the private rental housing market, but also have implications for studies of the rental housing demand in other developed cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Territories Small House Policy in Hong Kong has been controversial, in that the interests of male indigenous villagers in terms of housing are prioritized at the expense of the rest of the population. This colonial-era policy, currently under the protection of the Basic Law, has profound implications on how rural land outside the village environs should be used, particularly so when development pressures are mounting. How planning control decisions on small house applications are made under these conditions, thus, becomes an important and timely policy research topic. This paper, thus, studies these decisions in Greenbelt zone (GB), Agriculture zone (AGR), and Unspecified zone (UNSP), between January 1st, 1990 and June 30th, 2017, using non-aggregate planning statistics. The findings show that the Town Planning Board (TPB) is more likely to reject small house applications that propose a larger site area for each small house in AGR and GB zones, but not those that essentially propose a small-scale small house development (i.e. up to 5 houses). Also, land-use policies in these three zones are found to vary geographically. Further, the TPB’s decisions are flexible in that they are subject to other exogenous factors, such as housing policies and housing market conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the consumption effects of an electricity rate increase triggered by an electricity decarbonization policy's implementation. Underscoring its real-world relevance is the policy's net impact on CO 2 emissions, the sum of (a) the supply-side impact attributable to using generation resources with low emissions to displace those with high emissions, and (b) the demand-side impact caused by energy consumption changes in response to the electricity rate increase. For Hong Kong, the changes in (b) are decreases in electricity consumption and increases in town gas consumption. Using a sample of monthly data for the period of 1981–2016, we document the low price responsiveness of Hong Kong's electricity and town gas demands by customer class (residential, commercial and industrial). Hence, the 40% projected electricity rate increase due to Hong Kong's adopted electricity decarbonization policy may only have a small demand-side impact on CO 2 emissions. Finally, the electricity demands' low price responsiveness has two important policy implications. First, Hong Kong's demand-side-management should rely more on energy-efficiency improvements than price-induced consumption reductions. Second, restructuring Hong Kong's electricity industry to introduce wholesale competition should consider the potential for large electricity price spikes and market power abuse in connection to price-inelastic electricity demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there is a body of literature on the explanation of homelessness in Western contexts, rough sleeping is understudied in non-Western societies. Based on a multi-dimensional precarity framework, this quantitative study employed data from the largest study of the homeless population in Hong Kong in 2021, comparing the rough and non-rough sleepers. Descriptive statistics and logistic regressions were used to investigate the association between rough sleeping, economic, housing, and health precarity. The results showed that lack of employment, food insecurity, and the incidence of chronic diseases were less risky for sleeping rough, compared with non-rough sleeping. Moreover, the analysis suggests that unemployment, mental health issues, repeated homelessness, and the lack of relationships with social work professionals appear to be the risk factors. This paper makes three significant contributions. First, it conceptually expands the conceptualization of rough sleeping and homelessness in relation to varying dimensions of precarity, formulating a framework connecting structural forces and individual experiences. Second, it extends the empirical findings of rough sleeping to a non-Western context. Third, it informs a multi-faceted intervention approach to rough sleeping by addressing the multi-dimensional precarity. • Middle-old age, lower educational level, employment insecurity, unstable mental health and repeated homeless were risk factors for rough sleeping. • Formal community support, compared with family relations, was a stronger protective factor in preventing rough sleeping. • Experiencing two aspects of food insecurity, perceived and objective food inadequacy, tend to have lower risk of rough sleeping. • People with physical health issues and chronic illness had lower risk to be homeless in HK's cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to gain a clearer understanding of Hong Kong's state-led urban renewal, its justification and value effects, with a concentrate on the redevelopment of occupied dwellings into new residences. This study revisits the establishment of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and analyzes key differences in how this agency differs from its predecessor. The theoretical analysis shows that the problem of multi-ownership has played a key role in fostering the pattern of urban renewal in Hong Kong. Given this we propose that the political power of resumption (i.e., taking or eminent domain) critically shapes the URA's low-cost advantage in land assembly and forms the basis that carves a niche for state-led redevelopment. This proposition is tested by estimating externalities of transforming Tong Lau —Hong Kong's unique type of historical strata titled housing—to residences fitting to the modern building structure using difference-in-differences techniques. Findings reveal significant and prolonged effects of urban renewal projects on nearby housing prices. This paper implores researchers and policy-makers to pay attention to residential renewal and questions about why a redevelopment project should be led by the public sector. • This paper investigates the role of government in urban renewal. • The paper concentrates on tong lau —multi-owned buildings in Hong Kong. • Thesis of this paper follows an abductive strategy and is empirically corroborated. • The study generates implications to a broader context beyond the focal case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns on historic buildings emerged with accelerating urbanization and increasing population of Hong Kong have been raised by the public since 1970s, this has recently been increasing concerned due to several failures of historic buildings conservation cases. Comparing Hong Kong and Macau, both with similar geographical locations and histories, Macau seems made better efforts on historic building conservation especially after 2005. This paper aims to identify the differences in histories, mechanisms and policies of heritage conservation in Hong Kong and Macau, and thus suggests measures to Hong Kong and Macau for improving historic building conservation systems. Case studies are used to explore the differences between Hong Kong and Macau and its implications to historic conservation development. It is found that Hong Kong and Macau have many differences in legislation development, organizational hierarchies, protection scopes, protection and reuse methods. Macau has laid more emphasis on the development of tourism by conservation and reuse of cultural heritage while Hong Kong tends to introduce modern technologies in forming the combination of modern world and historic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hong Kong's planning control system, despite its critical importance in the land development process, has usually been overlooked in housing policy debates. In particular, the system's innate flexibilities give rise to questions as to whether the Town Planning Board's (TPB) planning control decisions are under the influence of 1) interests of large property developers; 2) government housing policy objectives; and 3) market conditions. In this light, this paper examines the TPB's decisions on applications for housing development in three residential statutory zones since January 1990: R(A) zone (i.e. a zone designated primarily for high-density residential development), R(B) zone (i.e. a zone established primarily for medium-density residential development), and R(C) zone (i.e. a zone intended primarily for low-density residential development). A total of 390 cases are studied. The findings show that the TPB's planning control decisions are subject to market conditions for R(A) zone, and skewed towards the interests of large property developers for R(C) zone. Yet, the decisions for all three zones are not in line with the government's housing policy objectives. Besides, the TPB, while being more receptive towards more intensified residential developments in R(B) zone, is usually against them in R(C) zone. Also found for R(C) zone is that, the TPB is more likely to approve development in urban areas and in new towns, and that it has taken a more pro-development stance since Hong Kong's handover to China. Interestingly, in this zone, while requests for higher site coverage are treated more favourably, the same cannot be said about requests for higher allowable plot ratio or the relaxation of building heights. Policy implications are then discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban greening has rapidly emerged as a key urban climate change adaptation strategy. Urban greening is thought to confer manifold socio-ecological benefits upon residents in towns and cities. Yet proponents of urban greening have seldom considered how people’s support for greening policies may be shaped by weather and climate. This paper reports the results of exploratory research examining public expectations of adverse weather changes and people’s attitudes toward the functional benefits of urban trees and green space. Results of a questionnaire survey of 800 residents of Hong Kong indicate a positive relationship. Respondents tended to rate functional benefits as more important if they anticipated adverse weather changes in the near future, namely, rising temperatures, more tropical cyclones and prolonged rain. This subjective weather effect is more salient when these weather changes are perceived as a threat to one’s daily life. We found urban greenery is assigned a higher value by individuals concerned about exposure and vulnerability to climatic stressors. Affinity for greening appears to be related to how weather and climatic variability is perceived. This observation is informed by a broader geographic perspective, which construes weather and climate as part of the spatial environment in which urban nature is apprehended and comprehended. An explanation for our findings is that increasingly volatile weather can potentially reshape urban residents’ interactions with nature, based on perceived relief and/or protection from climate-related threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The steep natural terrain in Hong Kong, combined with deep weathering profile and high seasonal rainfall, is highly susceptible to rain-induced, shallow landslides. With over 35 years of practice in landslide risk management, Hong Kong has progressively built up a series of important databases that facilitate conducting novel technical development work related to natural terrain landslides. Amongst others, there is a dense network of raingauges that provides state-of-the-art rainfall records, a high-resolution inventory of historical landslides and a LIDAR-based digital terrain model for the natural terrain. This paper discusses the previous landslide susceptibility map for natural terrain in Hong Kong and its limitations, and then presents a new territory-wide rainfall-based landslide susceptibility analysis that takes cognizance of the effects of slope angle and bedrock geology. The year-based susceptibility model correlates landslide density with normalized maximum rolling 24-hour rainfall. Twenty-four terrain units, comprising eight classes of slope angle and three classes of bedrock geology are considered. For each terrain unit, a year-based correlation between normalized maximum rolling 24-hour rainfall and landslide density is obtained. Global adjustment factors are recommended to transform the year-based correlation to the storm-based correlation. The potential applications of the outcomes of the landslide susceptibility analysis are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the booming economy and increasing population, the accumulation of waste has become an increasingly arduous issue and has aroused the attention from all sectors of society. Hong Kong which has a relative high daily per capita domestic waste generation rate in Asia has not yet established a comprehensive waste management system. This paper conducts a review of waste management approaches and models. Researchers highlight that mathematical models provide useful information for decision-makers to select appropriate choices and save cost. It is suggested to consider municipal solid waste management in a holistic view and improve the utilization of waste management infrastructures. A mathematical model which adopts integer linear programming and mixed integer programming has been developed for Hong Kong municipal solid waste management. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to simulate different scenarios which provide decision-makers important information for establishing Hong Kong waste management system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Balancing a conflict between cultural heritage and development is an important topic for our society around the world. In many countries, historic buildings are well-preserved for economically viable uses. Lui Seng Chun is a Grade 1 historic building in Hong Kong. It is not only has collective memory for local residents, but also requires particular expertise and care. To encourage cultural tourism and ensure a good adaptive reuse of Lui Seng Chun project, the government has invited non-profit making organizations with charitable status and relevant experience to operate the building through applying the “Revitalizing historic buildings through partnership scheme”. This historic building can be allocated for cultural or commercial uses. Therefore, this paper explores public opinions on governmental measures and the introduction of conservation and revitalization of historic buildings as well as their comments on the reuse plan of the Lui Seng Chun project by conducting a questionnaire survey. Learning from the Lui Seng Chun project, the government should makes effort for protecting our heritage assets and considering public wants, a balance between development and heritage conservation can be achieved as a win-win situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences in individuals' exposure to social/physical environment in daily life or activity–space segregation have aroused renewed interests in socio-spatial separation in geography and urban studies. However, there are not many empirical studies that comprehensively assess activity–space segregation perhaps due to the scarcity of detailed data to define and characterize activity space. This paper aims to help fill in this gap by contributing an empirical study in Hong Kong. We compare the daily life experiences of public and private housing residents in terms of activity space and exposure to people in their daily life. We find that inhabitants of public housing in Hong Kong are disadvantaged in many ways. Public housing residents' lower socio-economic status, smaller homes, and lower car ownership distinguish them from inhabitants of private housing. We also find that the activity spaces of these residents are not necessarily smaller than those of private housing residents. Public housing residents in fact have more extensive activity spaces and spend more time out of the home. However, their activity spaces are socio-economically different from those of private housing residents. They are more likely exposed to people similar to themselves than private housing residents. This study offers some important empirical evidence on activity–space segregation as well as improves the understanding about socio-spatial distance between public and private housing residents of Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]