Urban renewal, Sustainable urban design, Social sustainability, Factor analysis, Hong Kong,

AHP, MCDM, Urban renewal, Proposal assessment, Hong Kong,

Urban renewal in Hong Kong plays an important role in stimulating local economy by optimizing development potential of disturbed site and introducing new activities|businesses with large profit margins. However, past and current urban renewal practices put too much emphasis on achieving economic objectives, and overlook the environmental and social needs of the community, which violates the global trend to promote sustainable development in the urban areas. In view of it, this paper has reviewed the property-led| market-led urban renewal approach continuously adopted in Hong Kong, and suggested a more sustainable approach to meet economic objectives. In order to facilitate such approach, this paper has highlighted a list of urban design considerations contributing to sustainable development and identified key design factors improving economic sustainability of the urban renewal projects. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

No 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 identifies 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 deficiencies 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.