A Study On The History Of Town Planning And Construction In Early-Modern Hong Kong (1841-1997)

Hong Kong was world famous of its rapid mutation from a fishing village to a global city as a typical newborn colonial city in just around 150 years. It blends the best from the East and West, creating a unique harbour townscape. In the urbanization progress of rapidly evolving into an international trade, economy and finance center, it was under the colonial control of England while the laissez-faire doctrines being undertaken. During this period, the town planning legislation and town planning system were popularized and instilled into these colonies to serve the British citizens'needs for keeping steady status at first. Later the local colonial government improved the town planning by the motivation of local needs, just like the housing programmes under the pressure of time were taken by the colonial government in Hong Kong and Singapore. The process of colonization unavoidable developed from planting to conflicting and then to merging.This article focuses on the history of early-modern town planning and construction in Hong Kong during 1841-1997, on the view of town planning history research. By the way of document studies, field survey, statistical analysis and comparative analysis, considering the variable background of the international politics and economy, it reviews the development of the town planning, the content of the town planning practices, and the evolvement of city planning administrative department. Then the historical stages and the characteristics of town planning can be inferred. It also explores the motives which affect the early-modern town planning and construction in Hong Kong from its birth to development, and concludes its characteristics. This article takes Hong Kong as a special case of the early-modern town planning to discuss the historical status and the present revelation in China.This article consists of six chapters. The first chapter introduces the origin, the object and the significance, the present research condition about this study domestic and overseas, the main conclusion and the innovations, the method and the research framework. The second chapter summarizes the social background of Hong Kong urbanization in the field of geography, politics, economy and culture, then discusses the inner causes of the formation and development of the early-modern city. The third chapter divides the historical stages of 'early-modern' period of the town planning and construction in Hong Kong, and separately illuminates the main content of the early-modern town planning and construction in Hong Kong by three stages, especially the post-war period. The fourth chapter concludes the characteristics of the Hong Kong early-modern town planning in the aspects of city position, colonial town planning, land-use planning, legislation and operation mechanism of town planning. The fifth chapter dissects the characteristics of the early-modern city construction in Hong Kong by analyzing the typical affairs such as transportation, reclamation, public houses, new town and urban renewal.The sixth chapter as the conclusion sums this article up by analyzing the evolution progresses and essential features of early-modern town planning and construction in Hong Kong, discusses the futher study, and put forwards to the future urban development.