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Emily Hung

At a pocket-sized park in the midst of a Hong Kong residential area in Sheung Wan, a group of architects from Chinese University put up a bright-red bookshelf and stocked it with used books.
Since it popped up four weeks ago, residents have been coming by to browse, pick up a book, or leave one of their own for others.
Some just hang out by the 1.7-metre (5.5-foot) tall bookshelf, which is built like a staircase they can sit on.
The scene is a contrast to what the place was like before.

A team led by Francesco Rossini, an associate professor at the university’s school of architecture, observed the 398 sq ft space at Chung Wo Lane over several months and spotted only a handful of people turning up each week.
But the arrival of the book exchange station drew between 50 and 70 visitors in the first two weeks, with positive feedback from those who came.
How revitalised Hong Kong park is using design to bring a community together
“The result is very encouraging,” said Rossini, who is in charge of the “CWLane Reading Space” pilot project.
Just a minute’s walk from the PMQ creative hub, the park is managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and is among dozens of underused public spaces his team identified in the Central and Western district.
Rossini said authorities ought to observe and understand the needs of people to come up with a plan to upgrade the city’s “dysfunctional public open spaces” and do something for the community.
With the government pledging to create more places to live for Hongkongers, he and other experts called for more efforts to revitalise underused and neglected public open spaces.

In the long run, however, they wanted the government to update the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, to take the needs of the community into consideration in the planning process.
The guidelines state that each person in the city’s urban areas should be provided with two square metres (21.5 sq ft) of open space.
This will be increased to 38 sq ft under the Hong Kong 2030+ development strategy for the city beyond 2030 put up by development authorities.
Rossini said many open spaces were “just square metres for counting” because of the rigid application of planning rules.

The Chung Wo Lane site, which was the least used among the 27 public open spaces observed by his team, was fenced up and had only one bench.
“The fence is a huge limitation because people passing by are somehow not encouraged to enter,” he said. “The only possible activity is to sit down … and the bench only allows one way of sitting.”
Inspired by a free book stand in the neighbourhood and the signature ladder streets in Central and Western district, his team decided to create a spot where people could sit comfortably and exchange used books.
The material for the wooden structure, which was assembled and tested at the university, cost about HK$25,000 (US$3,201), Rossini said.
‘Space to breathe’: Hong Kong’s ‘third places’ offer cultural sanctuary to residents
He added that he hoped the initiative would spark discussion on ways to use public spaces and revamp those that were underused.
“This could be one of a thousand possibilities, and the next step would be understanding how something permanent could be put in place, to make the space more usable,” he said.
With the pilot project ending on November 20, Rossini is looking for a new location to house the structure, and planning two more space revitalisation projects in the area.
Professor Ng Mee-kam, director of the university’s urban studies programme, said poorly designed public spaces were more common in old neighbourhoods.
Upgrading these spaces would be helpful, especially when the views of the community were taken into account.

But she said updating planning policies was important to ensure that such spaces served their purpose.
“Public open spaces should not only serve as a place to rest but also help promote the well-being of the community by bringing people together, letting members of the community meet and socialise,” she said.
“As a quite developed city, Hong Kong should also look at the qualities of its public open spaces, like their location, design, greening and sociability … and also if the space can help revitalise the economy at a community level.”
Dr Sampson Wong Yu-hin, a lecturer at the university’s department of geography and resource management, said the popularity of public spaces also depended on whether there was a culture to use them.
Hong Kong to revamp areas for 83,000 public rental households with ‘well-being’ design
He noted that in recent years, the bold revamp of some public spaces by authorities had gained wide public attention. A small park on Portland Street in Yau Ma Tei, for example, was turned into a bright pink oasis “but quick fixes cannot solve the problem”.
“People need to talk about spaces, and we need to encourage people to use them, but such discussions have been limited,” he said.
He preferred a bottom-up approach, with people taking ownership of spaces they liked, using and telling others about them, though he felt it was also meaningful for authorities to encourage this.
“Public spaces often reflect the health of the city, as you can see if people love their home, and enjoy using the spaces they have together,” he said.


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Hong Kong society

Reviving Hong Kong’s public spaces: bright red bookshelf breathes life into pocket-sized park, showing potential of overlooked spots

The bright-red book exchange station stocked with used books is built like a staircase. Photo:  Edmond So

Associate Professor Francesco Rossini says authorities need to upgrade the city’s “dysfunctional public open spaces”. Photo: Edmond So

The 398 sq ft space at Chung Wo Lane before the book exchange station was set up. Photo: Handout

Architects from Chinese University in the process of building the staircase bookshelf. Photo: Handout

The bookshelf was inspired by signature ladder streets in the Central and Western district. Photo: Edmond So

‘Space to breathe’: vacant premises turned into ‘third places’ by Hong Kong NGOs, landlords offer residents cultural sanctuary to mingle, make friends, relax

Architect Sarah Mui saw an opportunity to make use of the Yau Kee Hop space when she met the landlord, who was exploring ways to use it as a hub for social connection. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Josephine Tsui has visited the former roast meat shop Yau Kee Hop a few times since early August to catch a movie, attend a dialogue or learn a handicraft. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Co-founder of One Bite Social Sarah Mui and programme manager Stephanie Cheung at Project House in Sheung Wan. Photo: Jonathan Wong

James Chong, founder of Rolling Books, says people are encouraged to use the community space for hosting workshops. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Asta Wong recently started running gardening workshops at the community space. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Community partnership designer at SVHK Eve Au (left) with head of impact community Harmony Li. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Hong Kong Urban Renewal Authority project to redevelop hidden park and 9 tenement buildings will revitalise ageing Sai Ying Pun district

The Urban Renewal Authority will redevelop nine tenement buildings and a park in Sai Ying Pun.
Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Queen’s Road West and Kwai Heung Street in Sai Ying Pun. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Ms Lee works at a congee shop at 271 Queen’s Road West in Sai Ying Pun. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

A damaged ceiling is seen in a flat in one of the nine tenement buildings the Urban Renewal Authority is planning to  redevelop. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Mr Tam and Ms Man, resident and owner of a flat in a building in Kwai Heung Street are photographed at home in Sai Ying Pun. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

News

Hong Kong

Society

Chinese University team shows how ‘dysfunctional open spaces’ can be transformed to draw people together
Architects, urban experts call for more efforts to revitalise city’s many underused public open spaces


Chinese University team shows how ‘dysfunctional open spaces’ can be transformed to draw people together.


Hong Kong property

Hong Kong culture

Reviving Hong Kong’s public spaces: bright red bookshelf breathes life into pocket-sized park, showing potential of overlooked spots

Chinese University team shows how ‘dysfunctional open spaces’ can be transformed to draw people together Architects, urban experts call for more efforts to revitalise city’s many underused public open spaces

Chinese University team shows how ‘dysfunctional open spaces’ can be transformed to draw people together

Architects, urban experts call for more efforts to revitalise city’s many underused public open spaces