Right to the city and community facility planning for elderly: The case of urban renewal district in Hong Kong

Abstract

The concept of right to the city has attracted increasing attention in urban planning area. However, many cities are far from providing equitable resources. The questions of what is, who has the right, and how it has been affected during urban renewal process have not been fully examined. Although access to public services is widely recognized as an important right, whether elderly’s right to community facilities in urban renewal district has been addressed sufficiently still remains questionable. This study builds a conceptual framework to understand the factors affecting elderly’s right to community facilities in an urban renewal district. Through focus group meetings held in three neighborhoods in Kwun Tong district and spatial analysis, elderly’s perception and the provision of community facilities were ascertained. The findings reveal how inequitable provision of community facilities, gentrification caused by transit-oriented development mode and insufficient mobility services have affected elderly’s right to access community facilities and deprived their rights. Urban renewal, as an important urban planning strategy, has not effectively remedied the inequality in access to public goods. The study recommends strategic planning policies to enhance equitable right to the city in the planning for building a more age-friendly community in urban renewal district.