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A sustainability evaluation of government-led urban renewal projects

Grace K.L. Lee and Edwin H.W. Chan
Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Abstract
Purpose This study is founded on an assessment model derived by the authors in previous studies. It aims to identify the applicability of the model by using it to assess the urban design aspects of two local urban renewal projects against a set of pre-determined performance indicators. Design/methodology/approach First of all, a brief on the details of the assessment model is provided. Then, this study introduces how case study can evaluate the effectiveness of the model in assessing the government-led urban renewal projects in the real world. Afterwards, it identies the way of selecting appropriate urban renewal projects for the case study, sets out the process of the assessment, and highlights the assessment results and its implication. Findings The case study conducted here has proved that the assessment model is able to produce reliable and valid assessment results for evaluation of the sustainability performance of local urban renewal projects. In addition to the assessment of the overall performance, the model also helps to identify the deciencies of the renewal projects, and the level of satisfaction of the affected persons and the concerned parties to the renewal projects being assessed. Originality/value By assessing the design of two pre-selected urban renewal projects against individual indicators through case study, it can be ensured that the model derived by the authors in previous studies is theoretically and practically feasible. In addition, this study has demonstrated that the model is able to measure the design quality and the sustainability level of individual urban renewal project in real life context. Keywords Economic sustainability, Urban regions, Government policy, Hong Kong Paper type Case study

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Received January 2008 Accepted June 2008

Facilities Vol. 26 No. 13/14, 2008 pp. 526-541 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0263-2772 DOI 10.1108/02632770810914280

Introduction Nowadays, sustainable development is a common goal of many worldwide urban (re)development policies (Shutkin, 2000; Berke, 2002; Chan and Lee, 2006). To identify the capability of the urban (re)development projects to achieve sustainable development, the objective measurement tools should be found and used for the assessment. However, the majority of sustainability evaluation models are mainly derived for assessing the environmental performance of the projects (CRISP, 2001; kkinen, 2006). Many of them adopt indicator-based approach with quantitative Ha assessment criteria, which fails to recognize the importance of subjective factors and human aspects. In addition, limited assessment or evaluation tools are found available to examine the extent to which the urban renewal projects have generated sustainable outcomes (Hemphill et al., 2004). In view of it, Lee and Chan (2007) have initiated a
This study is supported by research grant provided by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

study to ll this research gap. They have developed an assessment model on the basis of Hong Kong context to evaluate the sustainability level of individual urban renewal project by assessing the design quality of the projects. This research is a follow up study which aims to nd out the applicability of the model by means of case study. Formation of the model The assessment model developed by Lee and Chan (2007) is called Sustainable Urban Renewal Project Assessment Model (SURPAM). It is made of a hierarchy consisting of three major levels, i.e. goal level, objectives level, and design criteria level (Figure 1). The goal level describes the ultimate achievement of the model. It attempts to generate the most sustainable urban renewal design for an area undergoing urban renewal. The objectives level comprised of three aspects namely economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability. The design criteria level consists of 17 criteria which are the most important urban design considerations highlighted in previous studies (Chan and Lee, 2007a; Chan and Lee, 2007b; Chan and Lee, 2008). In recent years, the authors have conducted numbers of studies for the development of the assessment model. At the beginning of the past studies, a total of 46 considerations short-listed from the literature were scrutinized and veried through a pilot test. After that, a questionnaire containing 30 urban design considerations applicable to local context was prepared and a survey was conducted with the help of a number of architects, planners and property development managers who assume prominent role in urban (re)development in Hong Kong as well as a number of selected local citizens. All respondents were asked to rate the importance of individual urban design considerations to the sustainable urban renewal according to a ve-point Likert scale (1 least important while 5 most important). The data collected from the questionnaire survey underwent an exploratory factor analysis and the major components of the hierarchy in the design criteria level were then derived. To provide a clear picture to the readers, the denitions of individual design criteria contained in the third level of the hierarchy are shown in Table I. Apart from the framework of the SURPAM, Lee and Chan (2007) have also illustrated the assessment mechanism of the model. The sustainability level of an urban renewal project is represented by an overall score which is equal to ten or below, and it is calculated by multiplying the nal weight of each design criterion and the score indicating the performance of the project with respect to individual criterion. The overall score of a project is calculated using the formula as shown in equation (1): Pk SjWj Skj; 1

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where Pk is the overall score of an urban renewal project k, Wj is the nal weight of criterion j in third level, Skj is the score of project k on criterion j, and j is the 17 design criteria. Supposing there is a renewal project A going to be conducted in an urban area. The nal score of project A (PA) is equal to W1 SA1 W2 SA2 W17 SA17. In order to calculate the overall score of a project, it is necessary to identify the value of each component in the formula. The nal weights of 17 design criteria (W1 2 W17) have already been generated by Lee and Chan (2007) which is shown in Figure 2. However, the scores of individual criteria (Sk1 2 Sk17) have not yet

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Figure 1. The hierarchy of assessment model developed by Lee and Chan (2007)

Denition 1. Green design It refers to the passive design approach adopted to optimize the use of sunlight for lighting and heating, and air movement for ventilation and cooling of indoor spaces. Appropriate solar orientation, use of thermal mass, proper window placement, installation of wing walls, sunshades or balconies are some common examples of passive design The word local employment denotes job opportunities offered in an area to be developed being close to the place of residence of the citizens It is about the act of keeping and protecting/enhancing the distinctive features of an area. The word local distinctiveness refers to the personality and identity of a place shaped by the combination of its characteristics and qualities, and determined by the perception of the people who live, work, and visit such place. Local distinctiveness is not only about how a place looks and feels; what the people are and what they do; how they earn money and spend it, but also about its architecture, customs and traditions, and events and attractions It refers to the design arrangements that ease the setting up of various commercial enterprises in the form of shop, rm, or company to conduct activities of buying and selling goods and services to earn a livelihood or make a prot It concerns the facilities or buildings that are tailor-made for the people who are old, weak or with physical disabilities. Handrails, ramps and lifts are some typical examples of those facilities while elderly residential care homes, child care centers and disabilities treatment/rehabilitation centers are properties constructed for those in need of help It concerns physical character and conguration of buildings including appearance, density, height, mass, etc. It refers to the non-residential development that is exible enough to respond to future changes in use, lifestyle and demography without substantial alterations of building structures It is related to the required quality of the pedestrian walkways, e.g. streets, pavements, footbridges, etc. and mass transport systems for the pedestrians and public transport users It refers to a new development designed in a manner that complements surrounding neighborhood, and blends in with the scale, architectural style, and other physical characters of the surrounding properties It focuses on the possibility of approaching the open spaces by roads, streets or pedestrian walkways (continued )

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2. Availability of local employment 3. Conservation/improvement of local distinctiveness

4. Provisions facilitating establishment of different businesses

5. Provisions for meeting special needs of the disabled, elderly or children

6. Building form 7. Adaptability of non-domestic development to the changing needs 8. Convenient, efcient and safe environment for pedestrians and public transport users 9. Compatibility with neighborhood

10. Access to open spaces

Table I. The denitions of 17 design criteria

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Denition 11. Access to work 12. Green construction It focuses on the possibility of approaching the working places of the citizens by roads, streets, or pedestrian walkways It is related to the construction measures that minimize the consumption of energy and other natural resources or use them in an effective and efcient way. These include, but are not limited to, reuse and recycling of materials; use of renewable materials, durable products or products with a high content of recycled materials; installation of environmental benign equipment, e.g. energy efcient components, water saving devices, storm/grey water harvesting system, efcient waste recycling/management system, etc. It is about the act/process of returning dilapidated but repairable buildings or structures to a state of utility, through repair, alterations and/additions, renovations, in order to make possible a continuing use of existing properties and improve the health, safety and welfare in them It is about a feeling of belonging that the community members have, a feeling that the members are important to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members needs can be met through their commitment to be together The word open spaces refers to the public or private areas reserved/designed for active and/passive recreational uses, for conservation of the natural environment, or for amenity and visual purposes. Open spaces include, but are not limited to, plazas, gardens, parks, sitting-out areas, waterfront promenades, childrens playgrounds, jogging, cycling circuits, etc. It concerns the opportunities enabling the members of a community to actively contribute to and inuence the development process, and to share the fruits of the development. It also refers to the process of involving the community members in decision-making about public affairs including political, economic, environmental and social issues related to their needs and aspirations The word public facilities refers to the facilities that are essential to support the daily necessity of the community, and to enhance the overall quality of life of the public. Public facilities include, but are not limited to, public buildings, structures, or systems used for functional, institutional, educational, medical, recreational and cultural purposes, e.g. food centers, markets, police ofces, re stations, schools, hospitals, sports, performing venues, etc.

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13. Rehabilitation of repairable properties

14. Sense of community

15. Provision of open spaces

16. Community involvement

17. Provision of public facilities

Table I.

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Figure 2. The nal weights of 17 design criteria

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been conrmed as they vary from project to project depending on the quality of the project design. The quality of an urban renewal project in terms of 17 design criteria cannot be assessed unless a set of performance indicators and a point scoring system are developed. Therefore, the authors have conducted another study to establish a relevant and representative assessment tool for the SURPAM (Lee and Chan, 2008). The assessment tool is composed of 34 indicators for 17 design criteria, i.e. two indicators per each criterion in which both quantitative and qualitative indicators are derived. In order to derive appropriate indicators for individual design criteria in the assessment model, the authors have made reference to different sets of indicators developed worldwide (CRISP, 2001; Bentivegna et al., 2002; Curwell and Deakin, 2002; Andresen kkinen, 2006). In addition to those indicators et al., 2004; Hemphill et al., 2004; Ha developed overseas, this study also examines local standards and assessment models, e.g. Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines; CASET; Comprehensive Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme for Buildings; Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method, and Building Quality Index or Voluntary Building Classication Scheme. Although none of them is fully applicable to assess the extent to which the urban renewal projects in the territory have achieved economic, environmental and social objectives simultaneously, these ndings form a basis for developing the most appropriate indicators for the assessment model. Table II has clearly presented the indicators developed for assessing the design quality of the urban renewal projects against individual criteria. Assessment of the applicability of the model Case study was adopted to investigate the applicability of the SURPAM by assessing the urban design aspects of two local urban renewal projects. It is a form of descriptive research which draws the conclusions about a particular issue after looking intensely at the details of an individual case/subject or a small group pool, and a mix of quantitative and quantitative evidence (Yin, 2003a). Case study examines the interplay of all variables in relation to a specic case in order to deepen the understanding of a concept, an event or a situation as much as possible (Colorado State University, 2007). With the aid of two case study projects, this research could present the assessment mechanism of the model in a clear and simple way, and illustrate how the model could be applied in real life to evaluate the sustainability performance of local urban renewal projects. The case study process was also served as a pilot test to check whether the model was reliable and valid to assess the local projects before it is extensively applied in future. Selection of appropriate urban renewal projects To evaluate the decision model effectively, appropriate case study projects have to be selected. The reliability of the validation process increases with increasing numbers of cases; however, the ndings are strong enough to give a convincing remark with a small number of cases provided that they are carefully selected (Yin, 2003a). In this study, the projects initiated and implemented by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) were chosen. It is because when compared to the projects conducted by the private sector, the details of the URA projects are publicly disclosed and more relevant information is readily available for investigation. In addition, the URA has the

Design criteria Counting-based scale p

Indicators

Measurement scales

1. GBD

Categories Quantitative Qualitative p

Likert-type scale PLUS p

2. ALE Measurement-based scale

Likert-type scale PLUS

3. CLD

Counting-based scale

Likert-type scale p

4. PEB

Counting-based scale

Likert-type scale p Counting-based scale

5. PSN

Likert-type Scale p Measurement-based scale

6. BDF

(a) Incorporation of passive design It measures the extent to which the passive design principles are met in the design of the urban renewal project (b) Quality of passive design It provides a qualitative evaluation on the effectiveness of the passive design in the renewal project (a) Number of jobs created per 1,000 m2 It determines how many jobs can be created per 1,000 m2 on average upon completion of the renewal project (b) Quality of jobs created It evaluates the adequacy, nature and salary of the job opportunities available in the renewal site on the basis of the publics perception (a) Appreciation of local characters It examines the presence of certain characteristics that can dene the distinctiveness of a renewal area (b) Uniqueness of renewed area It measures the extent to which the citizens in the community have a feeling that the area has its own characteristics and positive identity after urban renewal (a) Types of business premises It assesses the availability of different types of business premises in the design of the urban renewal project (b) Quality of shops and services It identies the extent to which the people who may live/work in the renewal area are satised with the range/mix of shops and services available in their community in future (a) Types of provisions for disabled, elderly and children It attempts to nd out what kinds of provisions have been provided for the dependent groups including the disabled, elderly and children in the design of the urban renewal project (b) Adequacy of accessible design and special facilities It evaluates the adequacy of accessible design and special provisions for the dependent groups available in the renewal site from the citizens point of view (a) Density of development within renewal site It measures the development density which is a critical element in shaping the building form and has a crucial effect on the sustainability from different perspectives. (b) Quality of building development It offers a qualitative evaluation on the quality of the building development in terms of visual appropriateness, height, bulk and density Likert-type Scale PLUS p

(continued )

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Table II. The indicators and corresponding point scoring system for SURPAM

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Design criteria Counting-based scale

7. ADN

8. CST

9. CWN

10. AOS

11. ATW

Table II.
Measurement scales Categories Quantitative Qualitative p Likert-type scale p p Scenario-based scale Likert-type scale PLUS p Counting-based scale p Likert-type scale PLUS p Measurement-based scale p Scenario-based scale p Scenario-based scale p Scenario-based scale p (continued )

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Indicators

(a) Capability to cope with future changes It assesses the design capacity of the building and its immediate surrounding area within the non-residential development to permit an acceptable level of exibility adapting to future changes of layout and uses (b) Degree of adaptability It measures the extent of exibility in the non-residential development of the renewal project to allow future expansion, improvement and modication (a) Frequent means of travel (except for work) It attempts to nd out the means of travel (either by public transport or on foot) that will be taken by the citizens frequently when going in and out the renewed community apart from work (b) Quality of pedestrian walkways and public transport facilities It investigates the extent to which the citizens are satised with the convenience, efciency and safety of the pedestrian walkways and public transport systems available for them upon project completion (a) Harmonious environment It assesses whether the development of the renewal project is compatible with surrounding areas in terms of use of color, texture and construction materials; physical design of individual buildings; spatial arrangement of streets and buildings; scale and form of development, and land use zoning (b) Impact of development It provides a qualitative assessment on the compatibility of the renewal project by identifying the perceived impacts of the development on the surrounding areas (a) Average walking distance to the nearest open space It assesses the accessibility to an open place by measuring its direct distance from a reference point (b) Ease of access to open spaces It assesses the extent to which the citizens are satised with the level of access to the open spaces (a) Work traveling habits It aims to nd out the main mode of transport that will be selected by the citizens regularly when they travel to work after urban renewal (b) Average journal time for the citizens to get to work It measures the duration of each journey on average has to be taken by the citizens for traveling from their home to work by means of various types of transport excluding cycling/walking

Design criteria Counting-based scale p

Indicators

Measurement scales

12. GBC

Categories Quantitative Qualitative p

Yes/No Scale p

13. RRP

Measurement-based scale

Likert-type scale

14. SOC

Likert-type scale PLUS

Likert-type Scale p

15. POS

Measurement-based scale Likert-type scale PLUS

16. CYI

Counting-based scale Likert-type scale PLUS

p p

17. APF

Counting-based scale

(a) Incorporation of environmentally friendly practices It identies whether numbers of environmentally friendly practices have been incorporated in the design of the renewal project (b) Quality of environmentally friendly practices It assesses the quality of these practices adopted in a renewal project by comparing it to other project(s) in similar scale (a) Percentage of existing properties being retained It estimates the total percentage of the existing properties being retained in the renewal area (b) Degree of rehabilitation It measures the extent to which the citizens in the community think that the properties being repairable and having their utility values are properly retained and rehabilitated in urban renewal process (a) Social cohesion It examine whether the citizens can maintain close relationship with their old neighbors friends, and existing social groups, and whether they can make new friends after urban renewal and are willing to work for their new community (b) Citizens satisfaction with the local community It attempts to nd out whether the local area is a good place to stay after urban renewal from the citizens point of view (a) Percentage of open spaces being provided It calculates the total percentage of the open spaces being provided in the renewal area (b) Quality of open spaces It identies whether the open spaces provided by the renewal project are adequate and properly located, and of appropriate design (a) Form of involvement It identies the numbers of activities the citizens can participate in during urban renewal (b) Degree of participation It examines the adequacy of the community participation opportunities and the weight of the public views (a) Public facilities within 500 m of accommodation It attempts to nd out what kinds of public facilities have been provided for the citizens within a manageable walking distance in the renewal area, and determine how easy they can gain access to the basic services serving their daily life operation (b) Ease of access to public facilities It evaluates the extent to which the citizens are satised with the level of access to the public facilities after urban renewal Scenario-based scale p p

Source: Lee and Chan (2008)

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Table II.

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social responsibility to provide a satisfactory living environment for the local citizens through urban renewal and it has to follow the Urban Renewal Strategy prepared by the Government which has adopted sustainable development as the guiding principle for the planning and development of Hong Kong. Its mission is in line with the expectation of this research to promote sustainable urban renewal in the territory in future. A total of 53 urban renewal projects have been announced by the URA (the former is the Land Development Corporation) since 1988 in which 23 of them have completed while 30 of them are in progress. In this research, two projects were selected from each of two categories. Two projects instead of a single project were chosen because this arrangement could increase the chances of producing compelling arguments and robust results (Yin, 2003b). Although the SURPAM attempts to assess the extent to which an urban renewal project is able to achieve the sustainable development objectives before implementation, post occupancy evaluation of a completed project in this study is still valuable to prove its applicability. After a preliminary study of 53 projects, it was found that the Queens Terrace in Sheung Wan and the Kwun Tong Town Centre project should be selected. The rationale behind such selection is presented as follows: (1) The scale of most of the projects completed was small and 2/3 of them only had a site area of not more than 2,000 m2. Many urban design criteria highlighted in the model were found not applicable to those small-scale redevelopment projects and thus merely medium to large-sized projects having a site area of at least 8,000 m2 were considered. From the list of 23 completed projects, only four of them namely Langham Place, the Center, Queens Terrace and Tsuen Wan Town Center met the selection criterion. However, the Langham Place and the Center were commercial based projects without any residential elements. In order to have a full evaluation of the decision model, either Queens Terrace or Tsuen Wan Town Centre which covers a wider mix of development should be chosen. As the Tsuen Wan Town Centre was newly built in May 2007, and the pre-sale of ats and leasing of the commercial premises had not yet completed, it is meaningless to conduct post-occupancy evaluation for this project. In view of this, the Queens Terrace was selected as it had completed and been occupied for more than four years. (2) A total of 30 projects were found in progress but the Kwun Tong Town Centre project was selected nally because it was the largest single redevelopment project undertaken by the URA and it had drawn a lot of public attention since announcement. Both practitioners and citizens were familiar with the contents of the project even it had not yet completed. Hence, a detailed introduction and explanation of the project was not required during the assessment process when it was selected as case study. In addition, the Kwun Tung Town Centre project was proposed to have a variety of provisions including commercial and residential developments, leisure and recreational amenities, community facilities, open and landscaped spaces, government ofces, clinics and public transport interchange. This large-scale project is especially applicable to be used for testing the SURPAM which is tailor-made for the assessment of comprehensive urban renewal projects in future. From above, it can be observed that the reason for selection, the scale and the background of two cases are signicantly different, but both of them are the exemplary

case in their category. It is believed that the pre-selected cases can produce contrasting but cogent results when conducting case study. Process of assessing the case study projects The assessment of each case study project on the basis of 34 indicators has to be facilitated by three major groups of people, i.e. the researcher of this study, the designer/person in charge of the projects, and the representatives of the citizens/the residents of the area to be/has been renewed. After gathering all relevant information of the development schemes, I, as the researcher of this study would conduct the desktop study. Based on the actual facts, some of the indicators could be assessed objectively. Since not all details of the projects were accessible for public inspection, the designer/person in charge of the projects should be contacted in order to identify the missing link and verify the preliminary assessment results generated from the desktop study. For the indicators requiring citizens inputs especially for the qualitative ones, a questionnaire survey with local citizens and the residents representatives, i.e. district council members were arranged accordingly. Due to limited research resources, a full survey that involves all of the affected persons, groups and interested parties in expressing their views about the selected projects was not possible. Therefore, the case study only attempted to interview the residents of the Queens Terrace (QT) and the population directly affected by the Kwun Tung Town Centre (KTTC) project. Nearby population outside the boundary of two renewal sites were excluded from the survey, but the district councilors in the vicinity were engaged. With the help of the property management ofce of the QT, a notice asking whether the residents there would like to join the survey was issued and nally 35 out of 1,148 households had given their positive reply. Since numbers of surveys had been conducted during a lengthy public consultation period, many affected persons in the KTTC were not willing to be surveyed again even the purpose of this survey was different. As a result, only 36 residents were contacted successfully to join the assessment process for this study. In addition, a questionnaire was sent through fax/email to a total of 60 district councilors in which 18 were from the Central and Western District while 42 came from the Kwun Tong District. However, only 1/6 of the Central and Western district members and 1/3 of the Kwun Tong district members were interested in assessing the case study projects. In order to ensure that the responses of all assessors reected the truth, the point scoring system of the indicators was not disclosed to them during the project assessment. Assessment results and discussion Table III has shown the results of the assessment. From the table, it can be observed that each indicator is capable of scoring a maximum of ve points and a scale of 1-5 (1 the minimum level of contribution to sustainable urban renewal in respect of a particular design aspect while 5 the optimum level of contribution) was used under column (a) and (b). No point would be awarded to a particular indicator if the project fails to meet its corresponding assessment requirements. The relative importance of each of two indicators to individual design criterion is assumed equal because it impacts on the whole assessment are insignicant, and the signicance of each design criteria has already been reected by the nal weight as mentioned in equation (1). Obviously, a design criterion containing two indicators can score a

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Case study projects Points obtained/design criteria

QT Score of indicator (a) (b) (out of 5) (out of 5) 3 1 1.263 2 2 4 2 2.868 1.947 5 2.237 1 0 3.158 3 1 5 3.684 3.211 2.947 2.763 3.553 3.658 3 3.737 3.921 3.737 2.947 2 3 4 3.132 3.395 3.895

Sub-total (out of 10) 6.684 4.211 4.210 4.763 5.553 7.658 5 6.605 5.868 8.737 5.184 3 3 7.158 6.132 4.395 8.895

KTTC Score of Indicator (a) (b) (out of 5) (out of 5) 5 2 2.184 4 2 4 2 2.816 2.245 5 2.571 5 0 3.143 2 4 5 3.673 3.571 3.714 3.755 3.510 3.571 3 3.735 3.857 3.694 3.429 4 3.020 3.612 3.694 3.367 3.531

Sub-total (out of 10) 8.673 5.571 5.898 7.755 5.510 7.571 5 6.551 6.102 8.694 6 9 3.020 6.755 5.694 7.367 8.531

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Table III. Assessment results of two pre-selected cases

GBD ALE CLD PEB PSN BDF ADN CST CWN AOS ATW GBC RRP SOC POS CYI APF

maximum of 10 points. However, none of the projects can score 10 points under the design criteria. On the contrary, the projects have only obtained a relatively low score in certain aspects. The respondents who joined the assessment process for the QT project are entirely different from those for the KTTC project. Most of the respondents in the QT are the citizens currently living there while those in the KTTC are the citizens going to leave that place. Therefore, it is not appropriate to compare the individual scores obtained by two projects directly. However, the pattern of the assessment results could provide some insights for further discussion. When looking into the Table III, it can be noticed that the KTTC project performs signicantly better than the QT project under numbers of design criteria including GBD, ALE, CLD, PEB, ATW, GBC, and CYI. The QT project was commenced in mid-1990s and completed in 2003 while the KTTC project has just been launched in early 2007. During last decade, the government policy on urban (re)development and the expectations of the general public for the projects have changed a lot. Since 1996, the Hong Kong Government has committed to achieve sustainable development at the policy making level. Numbers of studies, e.g. Territorial Development Strategy Review, SUSDEV 21 and Hong Kong 2030 had been conducted, and several executive arms such as Commission on Strategic Development and Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) had been established. Starting from early 2000s, the Buildings Department has issued various joint practice notes, conducted several consultancy studies and set up a Building Innovation Unit to promote environmentally friendly design and construction in order to facilitate the sustainable development in Hong Kong. Since then, the green design and construction became more and more popular in the local construction industry and the development projects to be conducted nowadays more or less include some of those features.

Throughout the years, the requirements and expectations of local citizens for the (re)development projects have increased. More and more people have emphasized that the new developments should have their own characteristics and identity, and the structures reecting their collective memories should be properly retained in urban renewal process. In addition, public consultation through a traditional or single means no longer satises the citizens. They believe that a comprehensive public engagement exercise for the projects is required and more channels should be provided for them to express their views on the developments. Based on the discussions as mentioned above, it is not surprising that the QT project could only get a low score under the design criteria GBD, GBC, CLD, and CYI when its design being formulated in the late 1990s was assessed against the SURPAM which was derived on the basis of current standards/expectations. In comparison with the QT project, it is anticipated that the KTTC project can meet various sustainable development objectives to a greater extent. It is because sustainable development, a concept newly acknowledged in Hong Kong in late 1990s, was not well-considered in urban development when preparing the design for the QT project, and this idea became more mature when planning for the KTTC project in previous years. After conducting the case study, it can be found that the assessment results conrm what we have expected. When the sub-totals stated in Table III are put into the equation (1), the overall score of each project can be calculated. The overall score of the KTTC project (6.754) is much higher than that of the QT project (5.679) which indicates that the performance of the former project in meeting the sustainable development objectives during urban renewal is much better than the other. In addition to the assessment of the overall performance, the SURPAM also helps to identify their deciencies. Even though the KTTC project performs better in the assessment, there is still room for improvement as it has obtained a relatively low score under several design criteria. The most obvious example is the design criterion RRP. Under the 4Rs strategy currently adopted by the URA, the sites undergoing urban redevelopment will be completely demolished and rebuilt, and rehabilitation activities can be seldom found in the redevelopment projects. Therefore, the KTTC project cannot gain a favorable assessment result under this criterion.

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Conclusions This study has successfully demonstrated how the model works through case study. A full examination of the applicability of the SURPAM cannot be achieved unless all public and private urban renewal projects completed/in progress are assessed in the case study process. However, due to a limited time, fund, human resource and relevant information of the projects in particular the private ones, a detailed investigation of every project was not possible in this study. Therefore, only two urban renewal projects conducted by the URA were nally selected for the assessment. It is acknowledged that limited numbers of cases may affect the representativeness of the results generated. Nevertheless, this study can bridge the gap between abstract research/theory and concrete practice by investigating a small group of urban renewal projects, and the assessment process and ndings are capable of identifying the effectiveness of the SURPAM provided that the case study projects are properly selected.

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References Andresen, I., Aschehoug, ., Matusiak, B., Nesje, A., Panek, A., Pracki, P., Rynska, D. and Sowa, J. (2004), Sustainable Rehabilitation of Buildings: A State-of-the-Art, Warsaw University of Technology and Norwegian University of Science and Technology, UN. Bentivegna, V., Curwell, S., Deakin, M., Lombard, P., Mitchell, G. and Nijkamp, P. (2002), A vision and methodology for integrated sustainable urban development: BEQUEST, Building Research & Information, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 83-94. Berke, P. (2002), Does sustainable development offer a new direction for planning? Challenges for the twenty-rst century, Journal of Planning Literature, Vol. 17 No. 1, pp. 21-36. Chan, E.H.W. and Lee, G.K.L. (2006), Design-led sustainable urban renewal approach for Hong Kong, The HKIA Journal, Vol. 46, pp. 76-81. Chan, E.H.W. and Lee, G.K.L. (2007a), Contribution of urban design to economic sustainability of urban renewal projects in Hong Kong, Sustainable Development, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 122-30. Chan, E.H.W. and Lee, G.K.L. (2007b), Design considerations for environmental sustainability in high density development: A case study of Hong Kong, Environment, Development and Sustainability, published online (DOI: 10.1007/s10668-007-9117-0). Chan, E.H.W. and Lee, G.K.L. (2008), Critical factors for improving social sustainability of urban renewal projects, Social Indicators Research, Vol. 85 No. 2, pp. 243-57. Colorado State University (2007), Writing Guides: Case Studies, available at: http://writing. colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/com2a1.cfm (accessed 11 January 2008). CRISP (2001), Construction and city related sustainability indicators, available at: http://crisp. cstb.fr/ (accessed 8 October 2007). Curwell, S.R. and Deakin, M. (2002), Sustainable urban development and BEQUEST, Building Research & Information, Vol. 30 No. 2, pp. 79-82. kkinen, T. (2006), Assessment of indicators for sustainable urban construction, Civil Ha Engineering and Environmental Systems, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 247-59. Hemphill, L., Berry, J. and McGreal, S. (2004), An indicator-based approach to measuring sustainable urban regeneration performance: Part 1, conceptual foundations and methodological framework, Urban Studies, Vol. 41 No. 4, pp. 725-55. Lee, G.K.L. and Chan, E.H.W. (2007), The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach for assessment of urban renewal proposals, Social Indicators Research, published online (DOI: 10.1007/s11205-007-9228-x). Lee, G.K.L. and Chan, E.H.W. (2008), Benchmarking urban renewal projects in Hong Kong, Journal of Property Investment & Finance, (under review). Shutkin, W. (2000), Towards a global/international model for sustainable urban redevelopment, available at: www.urbanicity.org/FullDoc.asp?ID 268 (accessed 20 December 2004). Yin, R.K. (2003a), Applications of Case Study Research, Sage Publications, Beverly Hills, CA. Yin, R.K. (2003b), Case Study Research: Design and Method, Sage Publications, London. About the authors Grace K.L. Lee obtained her BSc (Hons) in Building Surveying from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HKPolyU). She is a Chartered Building Surveyor by profession and a Registered Professional Surveyor registered under the Surveyors Registration Ordinance of Hong Kong SAR. Before joining the HKPolyU, she had practiced in the construction industry for more

than ve years. She had worked in the Architectural Services Department, Buildings Department and the Hong Kong Housing Society. She is now being a PhD student and a research associate in the Department of Building and Real Estate of the HKPolyU. Her research interests are in building control, building maintenance, sustainable development, urban design and urban renewal. Grace K.L. Lee is the corresponding author and can be contacted at: bsgrace_polyu@yahoo.com.hk Edwin H.W. Chan studied Architecture in England and then learnt Law at London University and Hong Kong University. He obtained his PhD degree from London University. He is a Chartered Architect (Authorized Person) and is also a Barrister-at-Law called to the UK and Hong Kong Bars. Before joining the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 1994, he had worked in industry for over 10 years with practical experience in project management and building control in the UK and Hong Kong. His research interests include property development control framework, construction law, administrative and regulatory systems for construction and dispute management.

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