Working Papers
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Scoping Report: Segregation Research on Urban China Ren, J. (2016) - Report prepared for the project “From Chicago to Shenzhen: ‘The City’ at One Hundred” at City University of Hong Kong. CityU on Cities Working Paper Series, No. 1/2016 DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.3277.4644.
At what point does a meaningful neighborhood, a community based on neighborly bonds, intimacy, proximity, informality and contact become a segregated colony, enclave based on citizenship, economic status, vice and ethnicity? Park’s 1915 essay on ‘The City’ invites urban scholars to look more closely at this question, to explore what constitutes a neighborhood, and neighborhood change, and in so doing also processes of segregation. On the basis of this invitation, this study seeks to provide a broad overview of segregation research in China. It is not a study of whether the concept of segregation, as utilized by Park in 1915, exists in China today. Rather, it takes Park’s programmatic vision about segregation research and considers what research on segregation is like in China today. This is not a study of “actual” segregation, but rather a survey of the types of research covering various forms of socio-spatial differentiation in urban China...
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6/26/2016 5:08:50 PM
False Promises: Home Ownership and Wealth Reconsidered Forrest, R. (2015). False Promises: Home Ownership and Wealth Reconsidered. Urban Research Group - CityU on Cities Working Paper Series, No. 1/2015
The mid to late 20th century saw dramatic changes in housing tenure structures. In particular, levels of individual home ownership rose as did the scale and scope of urban residential wealth. This accumulation of housing wealth in mature home ownership societies generated considerable research and policy interest. There were references to the emergence of inheritance economies, of housing wealth cascading down generations and a general democratization of personal wealth distributions. There was also increasing policy and analytical linkage between housing wealth and demographic aging and with asset based welfare strategies. From the rather different socio-economic vantage point of the early 21st century, how should we understand the impact of these developments in relation to life chances, social policy and broader patterns of social stratification? The implicit promise of housing wealth for all via an ever expanding home ownership has become considerably qualified and severely compromised by the global financial crisis. The home ownership and wealth narrative of the 21st century city is very different for that of the mid to late 20th century city. The boundaries of home ownership have apparently shifted inwards leaving more people on the outside-with deepening fissures between the included and excluded. This paper reflects on the evolving literature on housing and wealth, its shifting economic, cultural and geographical contexts and where we are now in relation to home ownership futures.
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12/8/2015 5:43:01 PM
Principle of Selectivity in Housing Rehabilitation Subsidies Yau, Y. (2014). Principle of Selectivity in Housing Rehabilitation Subsidies: A Case Study in Hong Kong. Urban Research Group - CityU on Cities Working Paper Series, No. 6/2014
In view of tight public budget and public accountability, housing subsidies have to be selective. Different criteria are used to screen off ineligible applicants but inappropriately chosen criteria can result in inefficient resource allocation. This study investigates the subsidies offered by the public sector for rehabilitating private housing in Hong Kong. In light of the age-
old problem of urban decay in the city, grants and loans have been offered to homeowners as an incentive to stimulate voluntary housing rehabilitation. Yet, whether the eligibility criteria of the subsidy schemes entail efficient resource allocation is in question. Upon the regression of the dilapidation assessment results of multi-owned housing in Hong Kong on the eligibility criteria, older and unmanaged housing is found to be more derelict. Development scale and rateable value are also correlated to the dilapidation level. Policy and practical implications then follow.
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7/10/2014 2:55:51 PM
Recent Trends on Housing Affordability Research Li, J. (2014) Recent Trends on Housing Affordability Research: Where are we up to? Urban Research Group - CityU on Cities Working Paper Series, No. 5/2014
This paper provides an updated account of housing affordability research in top-tier urban and housing related journals. The theme and foci of affordability studies are reviewed based on a literature survey of 112 journal papers over the period 1990 to 2013. Six perspectives are encompassed, namely definition and measurement of affordability, housing poverty, affordable housing, impact of planning and zoning; econometric analysis of housing affordability; and housing policy. In particular, the study reviews the methodological development of, and barrier to, housing affordability measurement. The nature and extent of housing affordability are critically discussed, and weakness of conventional measurement commented. Finally, future research agenda is proposed.
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5/30/2014 3:31:33 PM
Choice or Constraint? Exploring solo- living for young households in Hong Kong Yip, N.M. and Forrest, R. (2014) Choice or Constraint? Exploring solo- living for young households in Hong Kong. Urban Research Group - CityU on Cities Working Paper Series, No. 1/2014
Solo-living among young adults in Hong Kong would seem to be exceptionally low with regard to other affluent cities. This may be driven by a combination of cultural (e.g. familism) as well as economic factors (e.g. high housing costs). More recently, an expanding population of highly educated, young adults (particularly those with overseas education experience), guest workers and returning emigrants at the high end of the labour market combined with delayed marriage and increased divorce have heightened the aspiration and the need for independent living (in some cases facilitated by rich parents). At the same time, population aging has obliged more young adults to stay with their parents to provide care and high housing costs continue to be a significant deterrent for solo-living. This is exacerbated by the unstable income and career prospects of many young adults. This paper offers new empirical research on the changing dynamics in the formation of single-person households in Hong Kong. It will draw on three different data sources. First, analysis of Census data from 1981 to 2011 will show the social and economic characteristics of single person households and their changing profile over the decades. Second, the way in which cultural, social and economic factors shape the housing choices of the young will be explored via a recent survey conducted by the authors of 1000 young adults aged 18 to 35. Lastly, in-depth interviews with young adults from varied backgrounds will further substantiate our understanding of such dynamics. This paper would aim to shed further light on understanding the impacts of social change on the formation of young single households.
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