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The author's Ed.D. thesis, submitted in 2008, was entitled "The Lifelong Learning Sector and the Development of Hong Kong as a Regional Education Hub: Is Government Policy Rhetoric or Reality?" This article reviews the original arguments put forward in that thesis and looks at developments in the six years since 2008 in terms of whether there has been any substantial change to the conclusions reached earlier. The original research question was to determine to what extent the education hub policy was rhetoric, and to what extent an achievable reality is feasible, particularly in the lifelong learning sector in Hong Kong (HK). This was further categorized into seven sub-questions which included: (i) the manner in which the policy was developed; (ii) definitions of the lifelong learning sector in HK; (iii) the factors that will affect the policy becoming a reality; (iv) to what extent government policy was based on a realistic assessment of existing provision of higher education and lifelong learning in HK, including the selffinanced sector and its partnerships with overseas universities; (v) the tension between marketization and regulation; (vi) issues concerning HK's relationship with Mainland China higher education, particularly in the Pearl River Delta Region; (vii) finally, contextualization of HK's aspiration to become an educational hub in the context of the region and the global trade in educational services. Underpinning the research was a framework of the political economy of education, and particularly human capital theory and social capital theory. The conclusions were supported with the collection and analysis of data from the Annual Reports from the Non-Local Higher Education Registry, a survey of overseas institutions offering programmes in HK, structured in-depth interviews with experts in the field and policy analysis of government processes in developing the education hub policy. The overall conclusion was that: "HK is a long way behind the major global players in the export of education and in attracting overseas students. It is also behind other aspiring hubs in the region. It may have a capacity to develop a niche role but it is unlikely, given present policies, to become a major player." This paper focuses on the developments over the past 6 years, with a particular emphasis on the above conclusion in terms of whether there has been significant change or progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on land use planning topics, including "Historical Amnesia: New Urbanism and the City of Tomorrow," "More Than Sector Theory: Homer Hoyt's Contributions to Planning Knowledge" and "Methodology for the Survival Analysis of Urban Building Stocks."

In March 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged that the situation in the Chinese countryside is desperate and claimed new resources would be devoted to healthcare and education. This announcement should have pleased architects of the Chinese 'learning initiative' who are building learning cities and villages. The authors describe why learning villages are needed, show how to build one, describe innovative work in Shuang Yu village and make a case for emphasising 'social' (as well as 'human') capital in learning villages. With this in mind they analyse what it means to move from an orthodox 'teaching' to a 'learning' model. Chinese people have suffered too much and most now want peace and a good life. But, their future is threatened by environmental collapse and gaps dividing glittering cities from an impoverished countryside. Learning is at the centre of all available remedies to these problems. Not more exams, skills training, formal education or punishment. China needs a learning society, and, in the countryside, learning villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]