PPR project: Urban planning and innovations for sustainable city development: an analytical and empi

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PPR projectUrban planning and innovations for
sustainable city development an analytical and
empirical analysis of master layout plans for
comprehensive development areasProf. LWC Lai,
Prof. KW Chau and Dr. SK WongThe University of
Hong Kong
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Topic

• This PPR project aims to examine whether
  comprehensively developed housing projects
  subject to planning conditions imposed by the
  Town Planning Board can reduce environmental
  problems while at the same time introducing new
  private floor space and communal facilities.
• Development could thus be a vehicle transforming
  negative environmental threats into positive
  environmental effects and achieving a win-win
  solution as a step towards sustainable
  development.

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Summary of findings

• Audit results based on site visits there is no
  statutory enforcement mechanism, time limit for
  compliance or administrative inspection by the
  planning authority.
• While there were observed incidences of
  non-compliance at the time of inspection, a
  matter previously raised by the research team in
  a HKU press conference, local developers
  generally adopt a policy of self-enforcement.
• The degree of compliance was found better than
  that achieved in the UK.
• However, statistical tests using a regression
  model on the relationship between comprehensive
  development and environmental complaints (itself
  somewhat weakened by the refusal by EPD to
  disclose specific complaint addresses) did not
  provide strong evidence that planning conditions
  actually minimize environmental nuisance.

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Policy implications

• This study exposes an inherent development
  control weakness in public enforcement of
  planning conditions, though developers compliance
  is generally satisfactory.
• If Government is to be serious about sustainable
  development, it is urged to review and reform the
  present practice of imposing loosely structured
  planning restrictions as well as disclosing
  non-sensitive environmental complaint data to
  monitor effectiveness of planning policies.
• Indeed, this is further evidence that the time
  for a comprehensive reform of the development
  approval processes is ripe.

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Publication 1

• Lai, L.W.C., Yung, P., Li, R.Y.M. and Ho. D.C.W.
  (2007) The Private Supply of and Public Demand
  for Planning Compliance with Planning Conditions
  in the Absence of Direct Statutory Enforcement
  Measures. Planning Policy and Research, Vol.22,
  No.4, pp.535 - 557.

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Publication 2

• Lai, L.W.C., Liu, K.T. and Yung, P (2009),
  Planning Conditions for Comprehensive
  Development Area Zones a Technical Note on a
  Survey on Factual Compliance and the Deposit of
  Associated Master Layout Plans at the Land
  Registry, Planning and Development. Vol.24,
  No.1, pp. 2 - 14.

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Abstract

• Although there can be serious potential legal
  consequences for failing to comply with planning
  conditions, there have been few local studies on
  their factual compliance.
• This technical note investigates all 73 sites
  involving 266 approved planning applications for
  residential use within CDA zones from 2001 to
  2005.
• Evidence of non-compliance with planning
  conditions by developers exists.
• On the other hand, approved master layout plans
  for 30 out of the 73 sites were absent from the
  Land Registry.
• These observations raised professional concerns
  about the absence of a systematic and regular
  audit of compliance with planning conditions, as
  well as the efficiency of the current practice of
  depositing at the Lands Registry the approved
  master layout plans for Comprehensive Development
  Area zones.

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Publication 3

• Lai, L.W.C. (2009), Bridges Too Far, Garden Too
  Secret the Double Danger of Disallowing Planning
  Conditions to Avoid Technical Problems and
  Perpetuating a Defensive Mentality. Planning and
  Development, Vol. 25, No.1, pp. 23 - 25.

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Some reflections

• Insiders wish to restrict outsider access to
  them both to avoid potential trouble and to
  preserve their exclusivity.
• Outsiders, in contrast, whilst they complain
  about being excluded from what in principle is a
  public space, in fact have no desire to roam in
  so physically repellent a space, but resent the
  exclusivity and ugly gigantism the planning
  system creates, and so protest.
• What is to be noted is that it is the planning
  system that has created its own problem.
• On the one hand a group of insiders occupying
  pretentiously exclusive, high security, high rise
  developments with purportedly public spaces.
• On the other the outsiders who dislike the
  physical structures that condescend to them,
  exclude them and create an ugly and unfriendly
  urban environment and thus use the public open
  space issue to voice their objections.

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Publication 4

• LWC Lai, GC Lam, KW Chau, CWY Hung, SK Wong, RYM
  Li, (2009), Statutory zoning and the Environment
  , Property Management, Vol.27, No.4, pp.242-266.

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Research questions

• RQ1. Do planning conditions improve the
  environment?
• By analyzing relevant statistics
• RQ2. Do public comments affect the formulation of
  planning conditions?
• By a field survey of the decision-making process

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RQ1 initial attempt

• Do planning conditions improve the environment?
• Planning conditions site-specific restrictions
  imposed by the planning authority when it
  approves planning proposals from individual sites
• Environment environmental complaints (more
  direct than property value)
• Ideal hypothesis
• Development projects subject to more restrictive
  planning conditions have fewer environmental
  complaints than those subject to less restrictive
  planning conditions

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RQ1 however

• We faced data problems
• Mining all s.16 applications in 1996-2006,
  planning conditions have become more wordy, but
  not necessarily more restrictive
• EPD got all environmental complaint data, but she
  refused to disclose the exact location of the
  complaints due to personal data privacy
• (anyway, we are grateful to EPDs assistance and
  patience to our data requests)
• As such, it is not possible to match the location
  of planning conditions with that of environmental
  complaints
• data only permits analysis at the broad district
  level

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RQ1 second best approach

• Comprehensive development area (CDA) zones are
  known to have most restrictive planning
  conditions
• Does CDA zoning reduce environmental complaints?
• Hypothesis 1 (H1)
• Districts with greater area zoned as CDA have
  fewer environmental complaints

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H1 test method

• Divide environmental complaint data from EPD into
  11 metro districts
• Estimate complaints per capita from census data
  (to control for population size)
• For each district, estimate the of land zoned
  as CDA
• Relate environmental complaints per capita with
  CDA area through cross section regression and
  Pearson correlation
• Do the above for three years 1996, 2001, 2006

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H1 results 2006
Correlation -37 (but insignificant)
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H1 interpretation

• Find weak evidence that districts with greater
  area zoned as CDA have fewer environmental
  complaints
• Similar results for years 1996, 2001, 2006
• Similar results after controlling for income
• Limited sample size
• Data privacy prevents more detailed analysis at
  the building level

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RQ1 dynamic approach

• Restrictiveness of the statutory zoning system
  may be reflected by its passing rate
• Planning applications have a low chance of
  approval in a restrictive zoning regime
• How are passing rates related to environmental
  complaints over time?
• Hypothesis 2 (H2)
• A lower passing rate today results in fewer
  environmental complaints in future (if the system
  successfully rejects applications detrimental to
  the environment)
• A lower passing rate today results in more
  environmental complaints in future (if the system
  fails to pass applications beneficial to the
  environment)

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H2 results 1986-2003
Correlation 42 (marginally significant)
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H2 interpretation

• Although the graph appears to show a positive
  relationship between environmental complaints and
  lagged passing rates, it does not control for
  time factors
• e.g. development of complaint culture over time
• Further time series analysis suggests
• Insignificant relationship as a whole after
  controlling for time trend and/or autocorrelation
• Results are mixed for individual regions
  positive but insignificant for HKI and NT
  negative and significant for Kowloon
• No conclusive result can be drawn for the
  argument that TPBs passing rates have any impact
  on future environmental complaints

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RQ2 background

• Major amendments of TPO in 2005
• TPB meetings and minutes open to the public
• New/amended/draft plans exhibited for public
  inspection and comments
• Planning applications open for public inspection
  and comments
• Do public comments affect the formulation of
  planning conditions?

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RQ2 findings

• Vet 151 applications heard during the period
  April 2006 to April 2007
• Only 3 cases have public comments incorporated
  into planning conditions
• Conduct of the decision-making meetings
• Deliberation session closed to the public
• The open part is mainly for presenting the case
  and clarification questions
• heated arguments or debates not heard
• public can only watch and listen to the open
  session in a separate viewing room through a
  television
• mostly finished within 5 min

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Conclusion

• Limited by the use of district-level data, we
  found little evidence that more restrictive
  planning conditions (in the form of CDA zoning)
  reduce environmental complaints
• The impact of planning applications success
  rates on future environmental complaints is
  ambiguous
• The time taken to deliberate on any application
  is far too short and the actual influence of
  public ideas on planning outcomes is slight