Public Transportation and City Development of Hong Kong

CITY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG[pic 1]

Public Transportation and City Development of Hong Kong

EF 4490 Term Project

5 May 2014

1.         Introduction

The accessibility of public transportation system is a key determinant in understanding  land  use and shaping the form of cities.  “There is a strong co nnectio n between the available transport infrastructure and land use, which in turn impacts on land value. ” (Doherty, n.d) Some studies examined the effects of the accessibility of public transportation  on  land  value  and  fo und  out  the  close  correlation  between  transport facilities  and increased  land value.

McMillen and McDonald (2004) analyzed the price trends of the housing within

1.5 miles of the Midway transit line in C hicago. The line was opened in 1993. However, single- family homes nearby started to sell their properties for 4.2 percent more than those from one mile away when the alignment of the proposed project was announced in 1984. Kahn (2007) also analyzed the census data and charted the change in house prices in neighborhoods located near transit stations that opened between 1970 and 2000 in US cities and concluded that house prices near new walk-and-ride stations increased by more than 5 percent over 10 years.

This paper is focused on Hong Kong which is famous for efficient transportation system and  good urban development.  There are three main sections in this paper: the commuting choice, Hong Kong current land use and population distribution and public transport and  land  value. It is found out that the price of land near railway station is higher  than elsewhere in Hong Kong.

2.      The Commuting  Choice: Private vs. Public

Since the early colonial age, Hong Kong has been introd uced with a variety o f public transportation. For instance, the S tar Ferry, connecting Kowloon Peninsular and Hong Kong Island, was founded in 1888. The tramway along the Northern coast of Hong Kong Island was established in 1904. The first franchised operation of buses can be dated back to 1933. The provision of public transportation generally serves for one purpose: to increase the mobility of members in the society. In Hong Kong where the government pursued  the  “positive- noninterventio n”  policy,  profitability  comes  first.  The  choice between private car ownership and public transportation thus are largely attributed to individual’s  affordability  and preferences.