Field Trip On Urban Landscape

1. Field Trip On Urban Landscape

2. Urban Land Use Central Business District (CBD): Taking Central and Western District as an example • Land use characteristics • Land use functions • Characteristics of CBD • Related urban problems • Applications to urban land use models

3. General functions of the CBD (Central): • Downtown • Administrative Zone • Retailing Function • Light Industries • Entertainment • Residential • Parks and Gardens

4. Downtown • Large office blocks are clustered • Headquarters of commercial business such as insurance and financial business, banks can be found Examples: head offices of Bank of China and HSBC

5. 2. Administrative Zone - Various departments of governments or legislative institutions can be found - The Legislative Council in Central

6. 3. Retailing Function - Large department stores and shops which sell high-price luxury goods (high-order goods) - Different types of retailing stores on the first floor arcade in the Prince’s Building include book shops, jewelry, boutiques and the like

7. 4. Entertainment - Clubs, high-class restaurants and bars are found in the district - Bars in Lan Kwai Fong (mainly serve foreigners and the executives in the CBD), and also the Yuppies

8. 5. Residential • Residential land use appears in the inner part of the CBD • Both deteriorating and new-raised residential buildings are found near the Ladder Street A mixed land use is observed in the deteriorating buildings

9. 6. Parks and Gardens • Green, open spaces are provided by parks and gardens • A welcome relief from the bitumen and concrete is created e.g. Charter Garden in Central A park located near the Connaught Road

10. Brief summary of the characteristics of the CBD • Locates in the central area of a city • Areas of maximum accessibility of the city • Great traffic volume • High land value • High order services and functions are provided, etc. • Vertical expansion of buildings indicated by the CBHI & CBII

11. Urban problems in the CBD The mainly urban problems in the CBD (Central) in Hong Kong: • Traffic congestion • Pollution

12. Urban problem:Traffic Congestion • The city center is always congested during the peak hours on weekdays (about 8:00-9:00am and 5:00-7:00pm)  increase the time needed to travel to work • Small city area with a great many buildings  limited road surface  pedestrians may have to compete for the use of the roads / the time of green light for pedestrians is shortened • Inadequate parking space  illegal parking of vehicles along the roads may further worsens the problem

13. Urban problem:Pollution - Exhaust gases(CO2, SO2, NO) and particles emitted by motor vehicles  air pollution - Running motors and horning of vehicles  noise pollution

14. Other urban problems - Lack of open spaces - High urban population densities  crowded - Urban decay in the inner district

15. Applications to land use models

16. Applications to land use models The present urban structure or urban land use patterns in Hong Kong cannot be satisfactorily explained by a single land use model CBD resembles the Concentric Zone Model?  The occurrence of mixed land use zones (e.g. Tai Kok Tsui) CBD resembles the Sector Model?  Insufficient to explain since the residential zones in Hong Kong have not developed along sectors

17. Applications to land use models CBD resembles the Multiple-Nuclei Model? • Recognizes the multiple-nuclear growth of functional zones • Identifies the segregation of residential districts according to classes • Takes into account the gradual expansion or spatial growth of the city

18. Comments

19. THE END Thank you!