Recommendations
As the Chinese saying goes, “it takes a decade to sharpen a sword”. The book reflects the perseverance of the Liber Research Community and the civil society in conceptualising “brownfield land”. “Brownfield land” transformed from an unknown into the most popular land development option in the “Land Debate” in 2018. In the following year, the government announced the official review of 160 hectares of brownfield land for public housing development. This was the achievement of the civil society in its advocacy of brownfield land redevelopment over the last the years and marked an important page in the history of land development in Hong Kong.
──Andy Chu, Programme Manager, Greenpeace
Book information
Author: Liber Research Community
Book design: Russell Pun, Kest Cheung
Publisher: Liber Research Community
Publication date: November 2022
ISBN: 978-988-14095-8-4
Retail price: HK$108
Wholesale price: HK$75.6
About the author
Registered as a non-profit organization in 2014, Liber Research Community (HK) Company Limited consists of a group of people who undertake independent research with the development of Hong Kong in mind. Liber Research Community is a testing ground where people with different research interests can get together and improve the research capacity of society as a whole.
Content
Foreword: Andy Chu (Programme Manager, Greenpeace)
Chapter 1: An overview of brownfields in Hong Kong
Preface
A brief history of brownfield policy: Milestones over the past decade
Milestone 1: Key questions identified for a more solid factual foundation
Milestone 2: Brownfield sites as the most popular land option
Milestone 3: Brownfield development supported by civil society
Milestone 4: Policy breakthrough
Milestone 5: Ongoing public scrutiny
Brownfields as a land controversy in Hong Kong: An overview
Debunking the myth of “land shortage” in Hong Kong
Brownfields as a method: Changing land development patterns
Breakthroughs in land development
The civil agenda under an increasingly authoritarian policy-making environment
Unfinished agenda: About the book
Chapter 2: Tracing brownfields
Major characteristics of brownfield land
Spatial expansion
Distribution and features
Ownership structure
Operations and uses
Development potential
Degree of clustering
Locations and accessibility
Other factors
Problems caused by brownfield expansion
Poor pedestrians and vehicles separation
Safety problems
Ecological catastrophes
Land pollution
Hotbed of illegal activities
Encroaching conservation zones
Problematic data collection in official surveys
Outdated data
Incomplete scope of research
Fallen off the radar- “Hidden” brownfield sites
Sites used by government departments omitted from official surveys
Chapter 3: Case Studies: prominent examples of brownfield land
Case 1: Wang Chau, Yuen Long- The Origin of the Brownfield Controversy
The Wang Chau saga
Brownfield issues – adjourn sine die
Under-the-table deals
Land-subletting business
Road works paving the way for private development
The victims
Case 2: The Longest Delay: Brownfield clusters in Ping Shan, Yuen Long
A road away makes a totally different fate
Land ownership pattern influenced resumption decisions
Case 3: Flooding in Shek Wu Wai, San Tin: Natural disaster or man-made misfortune?
Brownfield land quadrupled in 20 years
The top flooding blackspot in Hong Kong
The “Planning vacuum”
Poor planning fueled brownfield activities
Focus 1: Shan Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long: Farmlands damaged by brownfield operations (2013)
Focus 2: Pui O, Lantau Island: Brownfield sites encroaching the coast (2015)
Focus 3: Wo Yi Hop Tsuen, Kwai Chung: Brownfield sites encroaching the Country Park (2021)
Focus 4: Ngau Tam Mei, Yuen Long: Gigantic illegal brownfield operations (2016)
Focus 5: Ha Tsuen and Kai Pak Ling: Hong Kong’s “lung disease village”
Focus 6: Sha Kong Wai, Hung Shui Kiu: the neglected brownfield clusters (2021)
Focus 7: Hung Lung Hang, Sheung Shui: The most poisonous brownfield cluster
Focus 8: Wetland at the border: facing imminent danger of brownfield encroachment
Chapter 4: Tracing the birth of the brownfield crisis through an archival lens
Cottage factories: Emerging “brownfield sites” in the New Territories since the 1950s
Taming the unruly rural areas
Dealing with the uncontrolled spread of rural workshops
1960s-Opportunities for solving the rural factory problem
A More Positive Approach
The classification principle
The “Small Brownfield Park” proposal revisited
The plan went in smoke
Should the government revive the plan?
The insatiable: The role of Heung Yee Kuk in the brownfield problem
The “Joint Opinion”: A prelude to the Melhado Case
Escalating into a diplomatic clash
Chapter 5: Legal issues and brownfield landscapes
The Tin Shui Wai “waste dump”
A rural spectacle created by legal loopholes
[Town Planning Ordinance: Issue 1] Incomplete enforcement power
[Town Planning Ordinance: Issue 2] Ill-defined land uses
[Town Planning Ordinance: Issue 3] What defines changes of land uses?
[Town Planning Ordinance: Issue 4] Unfulfilled reinstatement
[Town Planning Ordinance: Issue 5] Punished for sympathy
[Town Planning Ordinance: Issue 6] Town Planning Guidelines: a toothless tiger?
Case 1: 30 rezoning applications approved after the amendments to the “Open Storage” Planning Guidelines
Case 2: Thin end of the wedge: changing zoning categories fueled brownfield expansion
[Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance: Issue 1] Are brownfield operations on farmland under Block Crown Lease exempted from regulation?
[Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance: Issue 2] “Movable” unauthorised building works
[Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance: Issue 3] Occupying government land
[Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance: Issue 4] Offenders occupying government land at no cost
[Waste Disposal Ordinance: Issue 1] Is waste in the eye of the landholders?
[Waste Disposal Ordinance: Issue 2 ] Toothless penalties that deter nobody
Legal loopholes encourage brownfield expansion
Chapter 6: A forward-looking roadmap
Three ultimate obstacles to address brownfield issues
Obstacle 1: Changing mindset – How to form a sustainable vision of land development?
Obstacle 2: Deconstruction/Reconstruction –How can we facilitate changes under the influence of vested interests?
Obstacle 3: The Future — A forward-looking urban brownfield policy
A roadmap for a change to brownfield issues
Drawing a blueprint
Getting to the root cause: No more land should be used as dump sites
Regular stock-taking of brownfield land
Setting an affordable housing target
Establishing a long-term policy for relocation of brownfield operations
Chapter 7: Finale- words from our researchers
Appendices
Appendix 1: Definitions of brownfields and policy changes
Appendix 2: How to plug the loopholes created by the Melhado Case: Three solutions proposed by the British Hong Kong Government
