04 January 2022
Ivan Fu on urban interventions and sustainable communities
LWK + PARTNERS Director Ivan Fu, who is also Director of Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Fund (URF), attended URF’s 10th Anniversary Conference and shared his views on the topic ‘Urban Interventions for Better Social Fabric and More Sustainable Communities: Reflections and Looking Ahead’ with an audience of international experts, scholars, representatives across the public and private sectors and the general public.
Referencing three of the URF’s preservation and revitalisation projects in Kowloon City, North Point and Sai Ying Pun, Ivan considers the issues of sociocultural sustainability and residents’ wellbeing in old urban areas, stressing the importance of public space improvement, public engagement, inheriting local and human characters, environmental protection and carbon neutrality.
From overall social fabric to design details of street furniture, Ivan called for all stakeholders, including designers, the government and private organisations, to come together and co-create a strong, dynamic and liveable community for Hong Kong.
These discussions are important as they inform current urban regeneration efforts and offered insights to the urban planning of future large-scale communities in Hong Kong in better nourishing people’s wellbeing and sense of community.
The Urban Renewal Fund was founded in 2011, with ‘People First, Districts Based, Public Participatory’ as its conception of urban renewal, serving citizens affected or dislocated by urban renewal projects, and promoting heritage preservation and revitalisation of local districts.
