Daily activity space and exposure: A comparative study of Hong Kong's public and private housing residents' segregation in daily life

Abstract

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.