2021 Research Report
Private Development and Management Of Public Open Spaces On The Victoria Harbour Waterfront
By Carine Lai
18 November 2021
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More about the speakers
Francis NGAI
Francis Ngai is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Social Ventures Hong Kong (SVhk). He is also the Founder of Playtao Education, BottLess, HATCH, Sonova and a Co-Founder of Green Monday and RunOurCity. SVhk is an impact organisation focused on innovating social change for Hong Kong’s urban social challenges through pioneering impact ventures, aggregating impact capital and providing Business 2.0 consultancy. Since its founding in 2007, SVhk has invented and incubated more than 40 social innovation projects, and advised several notable Hong Kong businesses including Airport Authority of Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific, Urban Renewal Authority, Swire Trust, and Bupa Hong Kong.
Ian Brownlee
Ian Brownlee is the founder and managing director of planning consultancy Masterplan Limited and a member of the Citizens Task Force on Land Utilisation. He is a professional town planner who has accumulated a wealth of experience in the development industry. Originally from New Zealand but had moved to Hong Kong in the 1970s and had worked for the Hong Kong Government for 16 years. He has experience in railway development projects, urban renewal projects, ecological conservation and heritage conservation projects, many of which involving community groups and non-governmental organisations. He has a special interest in sustainable development and on housing issues and has written commentaries on these subjects.
Paul Zimmerman
Paul Zimmerman is an elected councillor, representing the Pok Fu Lam constituency in Hong Kong, and CEO of Designing Hong Kong, a not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting sustainability, quality of life and good design as core values in planning, development and governance. Its aim is to improve Hong Kong’s collective ability to plan and deliver a ‘beautiful’ city. It promotes collaborations on interventions wherever it sees bad planning and wherever it sees that policies or institutions are not working the way they should. Designing Hong Kong is a member of the World Urban Campaign by UN-Habitat.
Designing Hong Kong Projects include “Drink Without Waste”; “Walking With Wheels”, “Designing Hong Kong Harbour District”; “Save Our Country Parks”; and many others. For more information, see www.designinghongkong.com, www.paulzimmerman.hk, www.countryparks.hk; www.drinkwithoutwaste.org
Born in the Netherlands, Paul arrived in Hong Kong in 1984. He has a Masters in Social Science (Economics) from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and a Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning from The University of Hong Kong. Prior to his public work, he built and sold a successful graphic design company and was the Executive Director of MF Jebsen International with responsibility for travel and automotive businesses. Paul was awarded an Honorary Membership of the American Institute of Architects (HK) for his role in improving the harbourfront of Victoria Harbour.
Vicky CHAN
Vicky Chan founded Avoid Obvious Architects in 2012 with offices in New York and Hong Kong. The firm has been pushing sustainable buildings and cities with focus on combining art with green technology. His projects have won 38 international awards and have been exhibited in 37 cities. Vicky’s projects include master planning for World Trade Center in New York, Des Voeux Road Central pedestrianization in Hong Kong and various smart cities design in Canada, China and India. His projects can be found in 36 cities. Vicky founded a volunteering organization and has taught over 6,000 children about sustainable design and architecture. He believes our future will be brighter if children are more equipped with creative and sustainable thinking. He served AIA Hong Kong as president in 2020. He is serving non-profit organization Walk DVRC as Chairman in 2021 to promote walkability in Hong Kong.
