A Comparison On Hong Kong's Big Project Planning Policy Before And After The Handover

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was founded on1July1997asHong Kong's sovereignty was restored by the People's Republic of China on the sameday. With the innovative political ideal of "One Country Two Systems", Hong Kongbegan a new chapter in its development history. Region entered Hong Kong's planningvision at this new starting point, and has considerably changed the context of planningpolicy-making process. These changes provoked consideration for a need in HongKong's repositioning in the region as well as strategies to avoid its marginalization. Thethesis explores the opportunities and challenges to Hong Kong before and after thehandover by examining Hong Kong's big project planning policies.The thesis starts with reviewing Hong Kong's experience in planning big projectsbefore and after the handover. In this part it firstly introduces big project basics andassesses their roles in regional planning as a theory study for later chapters. Secondly,the thesis surveys Hong Kong's big project history and its present situation, with ananalysis on Hong Kong's planning system and its characteristics.The core part of the thesis consists of a detailed comparison study for two caseswhich are selected for their comparability in quantity, quality and time. The cases arethe Hong Kong International Airport and Hong Kong High Speed Railway. Planningaspects regarding their strategies, criteria, process and outcomes are thoroughlycompared. The thesis discovers that apart from fierce competition in21st-centuryglobalization, the emergence of Hong Kong's neighboring region since China's reformposes a reversed development trend which Hong Kong cannot cope with in time. Thecomparison and the appraisal on the planning polices of the two cases also reveal HongKong's deficiency in overwhelmingly favoring an international rather than nationalcontext in the past. The thesis further examines a series of political, economical andsocial issues after1997. Reasons and the aftermath of these issues including growingpublic engagement in the planning process resulting in a drop in planning policyimplementation efficiency are discussed. In the final part, the thesis establishes a finding which proves that politicalbackup and co-ordination support are crucial to Hong Kong's development. Itdirects Hong Kong's big project planning policy toward a comprehensiveregional integration. The thesis concludes that the changes in Hong Kong'splanning context after the handover are fundamental. Based on a position toobserve and co-operate with the country in achieving her development goals,Hong Kong obtains a huge political backup power in return. It is an essentialcriterion for Hong Kong to continue her engagement in globalizationcompetition.