AL Urban

1. AL Urban Revision

3. View of Environmentalists • Long Valley is of very high ecological value and its loss is not replaceable; • the proposed location of the spur line will lead to fragmentation of the habitat, which is a well-established cause of the collapse of natural habitats; • the loss of Long Valley will deprive the Hong Kong community of a great asset for the viewing of birds and other facets of nature co-existing in harmony with the traditional way of life in the New Territories;

4. View of Environmentalists • the destruction of the Long Valley habitat will be a major blow to the maintenance of biodiversity which is one of the eight key guiding principles in the Government's committed policy on sustainable development; • alternative routes avoiding the Long Valley are available for the spur line and prospects are that these alternatives are cheaper to build;

5. View of Environmentalists • development potential exists for Long Valley to benefit the Hong Kong community as a whole through the maximization of its ecological value and transforming it into a resource for biodiversity conservation, public education, tourism and job creation. • the Planning and Development Studies on North East and North West New Territories are still going on and public consultation has yet to complete, making it in appropriate to fix the location of the spur line • the Environmental Impact Assessment of the project should be carried out before decision

6. View of Local Residents • the anticipation of urban encroachment of the area is already strong • the economic situation of the farmers is poor and it is difficult to maintain farming business • construction of Lok Ma Chau Spur Line will bring compensation to them • communication and infrastructure of the area will be improved • the land value and potential of development of the area will become high • associated development and economic benefit will be brought

7. Railways as Backbone • Railway is a form of mass transit system which is environmental friendly and efficient. • The carrying capacity of railway is high. • Railway provides efficient transport of high speed and security. • The rapid growth in population and urban decay cause the need to decentralize population and further extend the urban development to the rural areas. • The network can facilitate the development of the strategic growth areas in the new Territories and development and redevelopment in the Metro area

8. Railways as Backbone • Implementing the network expansion will facilitate closer economic and social linkages between Hong Kong and the Mainland. • The network will be able to meet the growing cross-boundary demand, which is forecast to increase by over 3 times by 2016. • The investments in the railway network will yield an economic return from the development of areas along the railways.

9. Impact on Land Use & Population re-distribution • the accessibility of the western part of the New Territories will become much higher • it encourages the decentralization of population and economic activities • the population of the Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wei new towns will increase • the land value of the western New Territories will become higher.

10. Impact on Land Use & Population re-distribution • Farming activities will fade out in the areas along the West Rail • Area of abandoned land will increase. • Residential area and commercial area will be developed along the West Rail, especially near the major stations

11. Using examples from a city of your choice, illustrate how distance and land rent help to explain the land use patterns of the city. Discuss why using bid rent mechanism along cannot explain the spatial patterns of present-day urban land use.

12. Bid-rent mechanism • -  land is most expensive at the centre of the city because competition is the keenest in this most accessible part of the city, and because land here is the most scarce • -  accessibility decreases according to the distance from city centre • -   as the demand for land decreases away from the centre, and as land become more plentiful, so bid rent falls (distance decay function) • bid rent refers how much a person / a business is prepared to pay for a unit of land

13. Bid-rent mechanism • -  different land sues show different bid-rent curves because land uses differ in terms of bidding power on the land market and of their demand on accessibility / tolerance of increasing distance from the centre • - high order retailing business demands high accessibility and affords high rent, therefore, they offer high bid rent for central location but bid rent decreases rapidly according to distance from city centre

14. Bid-rent mechanism • -residential land use do not need too high accessibility and the bid-rent curve then is much more gentle • the land use offering higher rent will outbid other land uses

15. Bid Rent ($) Commercial Industrial Residential Commercial City Centre Distance from centre (km) Residential Industrial

16. Other Factors • - government planning measures such as new town development and urban renewal • - commercial activities’ tendency to cluster / agglomeration • - historical remnants in land use • - the development of new transportation network, e.g. MTR • urban expansion e.g. evolution of new peak

17. The major objective of urban renewal is to improve the urban environment and urban layout by replacing old and run-down areas with new development which is properly planned and provided with adequate transport and other infrastructure and community facilities. In the process of redevelopment, the problems of social disruption should be minimized. With a city of your choice, discuss how urban renewal can help to solve urban problems, especially the housing problems. Suggest ways to balance the needs and interest of different groups in the society.

18. Function of Urban Renewal • -thinner the population density of the inner urban – decentralization of population can solve the over-crowding problem • improve the living environment – more open space, green area, and community facilities are provided • get rid of the worn-out buildings which impose danger of collapse to the residents • refresh the poor looking of the old developed areas so to improve the impression of the city as a whole

19. Function of Urban Renewal • -increase accessibility and improve traffic problems by road-widening, redesign of street pattern and more parking space • provide more land for developers, then more economic activities can be found • redistribution of population – low income class may be resettled and better new buildings and better living environment will attract higher social classes to live in the area. The socio-economic status of the area becomes higher and a balanced community can be attained.

20. Function of Urban Renewal • Land use planning – land use zoning policy can be adopted in the process of renewal. Offensive land use can be relocated or isolated. Different land uses will be separated.

21. Interests and needs of different social groups • -The landlords demand for higher compensation and acquire land ownership after redevelopment. • The old residents of the area want to preserve the social bonds and neighborhood relationships. The small business owners do have fear of loss small business. They want to have resettlement in the same district. They are reluctant to leave.

22. -The lower income class has fear of loss of existing employment opportunities. They are unwilling to pay for higher rents after redevelopment and they are unable to afford the higher living expenses after redevelopment. Higher compensation is demanded. • Land developers want to raise the economic potential of the area. Therefore, improvement of accessibility, land and facilities for economic activities are important. They also emphasis on the balance on cost and benefit on redevelopment.

23. -Town planners emphasis on a balanced community and land use zoning. The lowering of population density is also important. Adequate open space and green area should be kept. • Environmentalists emphasis on the maintenance of urban ecological balance. The preservation of historical landmarks and buildings is important. The social life and tradition of the community should also be considered. • The government officers concern the time and cost of land acquisition. The problems involved in the process of redevelopment such as traffic congestion and pollution should be settled.

24. Possible solutions • Legislative arrangements to facilitate land acquisition from the minority of inaccessible landlords or those resistant to give up their property. • Offering of more attractive packages to landlords ( e.g. compensation in the form of other properties) • Low cost public housing or government-subsidized private housing provided for tenants affected in the same district

25. Possible solutions • Initial costs of redevelopment from public funds or tax incomes • Subsequent incomes from land or property sales can cover the costs • Encouragement of private investment • Setting up of special body, e.g. Urban Renewal Authority • Setting up consultative body involving representatives from different interest groups

26. ‘Under the complicated situation in the real world, the applicability of central place theory in explaining the spatial organization of urban settlements is not high. However, some of its underlying ideas do uphold .'With reference to a case of your choice, discuss how far can the central place theory help to explain the spatial pattern of urban centres. Assess the importance of other factors that affect the spatial pattern.

27. Discussion The central place theory claims that urban centres over a region forms a hierarchical pattern. Urban centres fall into discrete classes and the number of higher order centres is smaller than low order centres. The number of central places in each order will follow a constant ratio(K-value).

28. Discussion Some of the ideas of the central place theory is true to the real world, such as the higher the order of service/good, the more the threshold population it needs the higher order of service/good, the logerid the distance which consumers are willing to travel to purchase the good

29. Discussion the more number of service/goods, the more are the population being served. However, the urban settlement in the real world does not always follow a hierarchical pattern. The ratio between the classes does not follow the K-value. In some countries / regions, a very large primate city will develop.

30. Explanation The two key concepts in central place theory, market threshold and range of goods, do uphold in real world. Market threshold refers to the minimum population to support the business of a firm providing certain kind of good/service. Range of good refers to the maximum distance customers are willing to travel to obtain certain kind of good or service.

31. Explanation Market threshold and range of good are high related to the order of goods/service. Higher order good/service which is more costly durable possesses greater market threshold and range of good. Therefore, higher order centres which have larger market areas process larger population and longer range of goods. We can find higher order functions together with low order function there.

32. Explanation However, some of the assumptions of the theory are logical inconsistent. population is not evenly distributed there is variation in relief and other physical conditions in different direction from city centre • therefore transport cost is not direct proportional to distance and there is more than one mode of transport • consumers do not always visit the nearest central place • the suppliers cannot be monopoly, there exists different forms of competition

33. Evaulation Market threshold in the real world is greatly affected by uneven distribution of population and difference in purchasing power and shopping behaviours of customer. Range of goods changes according to the development of transport network and modern transport and storage technology, and even modern marketing techniques. Not all the urban centres developed because of the demand of central functions. They may develop basing on the special feature such as the presence of minerals and recreation resource. Historical factors may also the pattern of urban network.

34. Evaulation Modern transport development will lower the cost and time of traveling. This is highly related to the concept of range of goods. The range of goods will greatly lengthened if efficient transport network is available. High car ownership and modern storage technology enable bulk-purchase and multi-purpose trips. These will lead to fade out of low order central places which will change the number, size and spacing of central place. The urban hierarchy would be upset eventually. .

35. Evaulation Modern industrial development favours large scale operation and agglomeration. It will encourage concentration of population and economic activities. This will also lead to the rise of megalopolis, conurbation and city belts. The regular pattern of central places according to Christallar’s urban hierarchy would be upset. Policy of government also affects the spatial pattern of central places.