Times Square's renting out of the piazza for private gain, Cheung Kong's policing of its pond, the lack of seating in Pacific Place's Park Court, the encroachment by bars on the roof of Two IFC, Henderson's failure to provide 24-hour access to the podium of the Metro Harbourview. These are all mere symptoms of the real problem: these spaces should never have been classified as public open space in the first place.
The government happily counts these areas within private developments as 'public open space' in an attempt to meet the required minimum provision of 2 sq metres of open space per person, as set out in Hong Kong's Planning Standards and Guidelines. The motivation? Pure greed in the form of land premiums, rates and rentals. By including these spaces in private developments, other land is freed up for sale. And the cost of the design and upkeep of public space is transferred to the private sector.
Developers happily oblige, as they are compensated with extra floor area. They can also design and manage these spaces in line with their interests, rather than suffer the overmanagement by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department or the abysmal undermanagement by the Highways Department.
By exploiting every possibility to increase revenue by selling land - but refusing to create new street-level space for pedestrians - Hong Kong has failed to keep pace with its increasing density. The city now has a shortfall of open space, circulation space and pedestrian connections in all urban areas. We should be raising the minimum amount of open space required to cater for an ageing population, a doubling of leisure time (with Saturdays off), increasing tourist arrivals, and the general call for a better quality of life.
Not only does the public suffer, but the 'open space' within private developments is a substandard replacement. After all, how 'open' is a podium garden? How 'public' is space managed by private interests?
The solutions are quite straightforward. First, more land must be freed up for true public open space at street level. Oversized lots on the land sales list should be split up.
