Universal Access Fest

Process

Concept Evolution

The original impetus for this proposal was a simple problem statement rooted in deficits. The final iteration, on the other hand, reflects a desire to build local capacity by leveraging the power of existing neighborhood institutions and networks — thus moving from a purely needs-based approach and toward an asset-based development framework; from a barrier-free access paradigm and toward one of universal accessibility and human rights; from a tech-driven approach in which age and mobility are seen as limitations to be overcome, and toward approach focused on promoting autonomy, empowerment, and supporting human capabilities; and finally, from discrete, project-specific interventions and toward a more holistic approach centered on the concepts of equity and accessibility.


Literature Review

To better comprehend Kwun Tong’s local specificities, I consulted a host of academic literature on key topics related to public housing, residential satisfaction among older adults, accessibility planning, and participatory design.


Public Housing in Focus


The first strand of literature explores the linkages between older adult public housing tenants’ sense of residential satisfaction and their physical environments at various scales of dwelling (the home, the neighborhood, the community). This topic was explored with the aim of grounding the proposed interventions in sites of sociability and institutions that anchor community life in Kwun Tong.

Within the “structural domain” of dwelling (Phillips et al 2004) — the immediate environment provided by the home — a well established body of literature affirms that Hong Kong residents have a strong preference for aging in place. Living in public housing, in particular, is highly associated with residential satisfaction among older adults (Hiu 2014). Aging in place, however, is challenged by drivers of displacement such as urban renewal, which disproportionately targets older areas with high concentrations of public housing and older residents (Chiu 2006). These findings underscore the importance of appropriate home design and comprehensive community care facilities in public housing estates, as well as mechanisms to ensure residents’ ability to “stay put” (i.e. affordability and tenure security mechanisms).

Within the “formal” domain (i.e. community facilities) (Phillips et al 2004), outdoor communal spaces provide important opportunities for social connection among elderly residents of housing estates (Huang). Likewise, residents display a strong local preference for proximity to amenities, social inclusion, and high-quality facilities (Yung 2016). However, the realization, frequency, and duration of social activities in public space is contingent on a favorable environment. Access to these public spaces is often complicated by Kwun Tong’s hilly topography, where steep slopes not only hinder mobility and enjoyment of access to community life but also pose serious hazards (Chang et al. 2019, Welage and Liu, 2011).

Finally, within the “informal” domain (networks of social support) (Phillips et al. 2004), elderly social inclusion facilities are strongly related to reduced depression, with even more positive impact among older persons living in low-income neighborhoods (Miao 2017). Social exclusion indicators, however, appear among the oldest segment of the elderly population, who despite hardship express a strong will to “stay put” in view of affective relations cultivated over time that translates into resilience and a capacity for adaptation (Sun et al. 2018). These findings underscore the importance of social inclusion initiatives given the relations between mental health and wellbeing among this segment of the population. Meanwhile, as the digital realm becomes an increasingly prevalent site of sociability (Wong et al. 2005), 2019 data showed that only 62% of older adults (65+) had used the Internet one or more times in the past year — compared to 92% of the general population. While usership is increasing, relatively low digital penetration among older adults, who are disproportionately lower-income with respect to the general population, must be understood in the context of structural barriers to access including the cost of computers, high-speed internet, and adequate training (Kwong 2015).

Participatory Process in Focus

The second strand of literature probes participatory processes in the Hong Kong context. Ngau Tau Kok — selected as the first pilot site for the present project — stands out in the literature as perhaps the most successful community-led redevelopment process in Hong Kong in that it not only prioritized the original residents’ right to stay put but also successfully translated residents’ demands and needs into the estate’s final design (Lee 2010). As Hui (2013) describes, “the urban redevelopment of the Ngau Tau Kok estates can be seen as a representative case of how to rebuild a public housing neighborhood for [the] local community. Through phased reconstruction and ‘resettlement in the same estate,’ the original community, including elderly people, was successfully resettled in the same housing area… the sense of community was not only maintained but also strengthened through the process of redevelopment.”

That said, the case of the Ngau Tau Kok estates emerges as an outlier in an urban redevelopment context in which it is less common for residents to play an agenda-setting role. Critically, in the case of Ngau Tau Kok, contestation and organized protest paved the way to key victories for tenants (Lee 2010).

Still, the redevelopment of the Ngau Tau Kok estates remained a Housing Authority-initiated project (Hui 2013). While the Housing Authority has taken a deliberate turn toward a more deeply participatory mode of action in the past two decades — from informing and consulting toward higher levels of community partnership, as manifested in initiatives like the Estate Management Advisory Committee (EMAC) scheme — there remains work to be done, moving from “reactive” to “proactive” engagement and from project-specific to continuous engagement.


Nonetheless, the experience of Ngau Tau Kok stands in stark contrast to the tokenistic mode of consultation that remains prevalent in the context of the redevelopment of Hong Kong’s older urban areas. For instance, Martinez Lopez and Yip (2014) document the case of the Kowloon East redevelopment, citing activists’ concerns over the workshops’ biased design, the vested economic interests at play, the lack of accessible public information, the one-sided nature of the workshops as an opportunity to “sell” the project, “pre-made” decisions, and the exclusion of non-institutional actors, among other concerns.

The institutional memory, learning, capacity-building cultivated by the Ngau Tau Kok experience renders it an interesting point of entry into discussions on how to bridge old and new physical spaces and technologies with priority for the inclusion and active participation of longtime residents, at the same time contributing to the strengthening of a sense of local identity and pride around Kwun Tong’s public housing estates.