The Podium in Vancouver



The Podium in Hong Kong and Vancouver

By Renato Ghizoni

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Figures ………………………………………………..……3

Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………..4

Chapter 1: The Podium in Hong Kong

The Rise of the Podium ……………………………………………………………..5

The Podium and its Implication on the City ……………………………………………..8

Chapter 2: The Podium in Vancouver

The Rise of the Podium ……………………………………………………………10

The Podium and its Implication on the City ……………………………………………13

Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………15

References ……………………………………………………………………………16

List of Figures and Tables

List of Figures

Figure 2.1. Immigration by source area, British Columbia, 1966-1996 ……………11

Figure 2.2. Immigration to British Columbia from Hong Kong, 1968-1996 ……………12

List of Tables

Table 1 Population Growth in Hong Kong 1945-1957 ……………………………..6

Introduction

Throughout the end of the past century and into the new millennium, many cities around the world have been experiencing tremendous growth in the development of high rise construction. Two cities in particular, Hong Kong and Vancouver, have focused their urban growth in one type of high-rise and high-density development: the Podium. The podium consists of a base structure and residential towers rising above it. Within the base structure is a mix of uses: shops, retail, recreational, and other amenities and services. This paper is an investigation of how the podium evolved as a solution to changes and developments in each city and an analysis of the podium’s implications on the city and its immediate environment.

Chapter 1: The Podium in Hong Kong

The Rise of the Podium

Hong Kong is an extremely dense city with a population of 6.88 million within a total area of 1,104 square kilometers. The entire city consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, the New Territories, and the Outlying Islands. Hong Kong Island and Kowloon have an area of 81 square kilometers and 47 square kilometers, respectively, while the New Territories has an area of 748 square kilometers, although most of it is undeveloped (Hong Kong, 2006). Nonetheless, Hong Kong and Kowloon have the highest densities in the city; the Mongkok district in Kowloon has a density of 116,531 people per square kilometer, as of 1991 (Yeh & Ng, 2000). As a high-density and high-rise development, the factors that led to the rise of the podium in Hong Kong are the city’s urban form, land use policy, and public housing policy.

The city’s morphology is a result of the scarcity of viable land for development, the rapid growth of the urban population, and the economy of the city. Surrounded by water and constrained by steep mountains and hills, most of the developed land is concentrated on the flat and low terrain in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon around Victoria Harbor. Of the little flat and low terrain left for development, most is often swampy. The urban population in the city has grown at a rapid rate ever since World War II. The Chinese civil war caused a massive wave of immigration from 1946 to ’49, as shown in Table 1. Although the rate of urban population growth decreased in the following years it remained constant from 1961 to ’99, adding about 3.8 million to the urban population. Future waves of immigrants from mainland China are expected as the Hong Kong High Court’s interpretation of residency in 1999 qualified an estimated 1.7 million mainland-borne Chinese the right to residency. Also the smooth transfer of sovereignty to China in ’97 and the prosperity under the new government continues to attract immigrants and past emigrants to come back. Hong Kong’s economy relies on businesses in the trade, finance, and tourism industry to generate most of its capital. The scarcity of land and flat terrain cannot accommodate enough industry and agriculture (Jenks & Burgess, 2000). In addition, China’s Open Door Policy led to a relocation of Hong Kong’s major manufacturing factories into the Pearl River Delta due to the cheap labor and land available (Jenks & Burgess, 2000). Thus the city’s compact and dense urban form encourages urban patterns with workplaces and homes in close proximity and urges high-rise and high-density developments such as the podium (Jenks & Burgess, 2000).

|Year |Natural Increase |Migration Movement |Total Population |

|1945 | | | 900,000 |

|1946 |+14,000 |+486,000 |1,400,000 |

|1947 |+29,000 |+371,000 |1,800,000 |

|1948 |+34,000 |+166,000 |2,000,000 |

|1949 |+38,000 |+252,000 |2,300,000 |

|1950 |+42,000 |-242,000 |2,100,000 |

|1951 |+48,000 |+27,000 |2,175,000 |

|1952 |+53,000 |+22,000 |2,250,000 |

|1953 |+57,000 |-57,000 |2,250,000 |

|1954 |+64,000 |+186,000 |2,500,000 |

|1955 |+71,500 |-171,500 |2,400,000 |

|1956 |+77,500 |+57,000 |2,535,000 |

|1957 |+78,500 |+63,500 |2,677,000 |

Table 1 Population Growth in Hong Kong 1945-1957

Source

All land in Hong Kong is owned by the government. Land is transferred for residential, commercial, or industrial development through a competitive auction or tender. Consequently, the sale of land attains the highest value and is then used to the maximum intensity. In order to make most use of the land given its price, buildings are designed as high-risers to accommodate a high density of people and functions (Jenks & Burgess, 2000).

Before the 1950s, Hong Kong had no coordinated public housing policy. Since then demand for housing in the metropolitan area, especially close to the Central Business District, has substantially increased and led to the displacement of low-income and lower middle-income household to the urban fringes and rural areas of the city. The wave of immigrants after WWII, as described above, resulted in many squatter settlements outlying the metropolitan areas. About 330,000 squatters were reported in ’53, urging the government to respond quickly by providing affordable housing to low-income and lower middle-income households, thereby controlling the spread of more squatters, unhealthy conditions, and unplanned encroachment on scarce land. Hong Kong has now the second highest proportion of public housing in the market economies, with about one-third of the population housed in public rental flats (Jenks & Burgess, 2000). Rents average 54 percent of the market value and the government also helps lower-income families acquire ownership of apartment flats through a variety of subsidized home ownership schemes (Hong Kong, 2006). The form of public housing is, without a doubt, high-rise and high-density developments. The success of the public housing policies continues to this day, as shown by growing waiting list and popularity among low-income households. Social dysfunction and physical deterioration – some of the problems associated with high-rise estates in western countries – have not been the case in Hong Kong so far. To compensate for the financial loss from the low rent policy commercial facilities are encouraged within residential developments (Jenks & Burgess, 2000). The podiums, although mostly built by private developers, complement Hong Kong’s housing policy as it offers subsidized rental and ownership in a variety of unit sizes and commercial space such as retail and entertainment.

The city’s compact and dense urban form, evolving from constraints of a rapid growth of urban population, scarcity of land, and the city’s economy, had to rely on high-density and high-rise developments. Supplemented with Hong Kong’s land use policies and public housing policies, the podium was a viable solution to meet the city’s demands and constraints. Concentrated in the New Territories, these podiums form the basis for the New Towns.

The Podium and its Implications on the City

During the 1960s, the government began drafting plans for the New Town Programme with the strategy of decentralizing congested developments and overcrowded populations from the urban core into the suburban areas of the New Territories. The main objective was to provide public housing in the New Territories. The New Towns were based on a concept of generating balanced and self-contained communities by providing infrastructure, community facilities, and basic needs (Jenks & Burgess, 2000). The podium eventually became the most versatile building type that could provide the necessary services and amenities along with a variety of market and public housing for the residents in the New Towns.

Implementation of the New Town Programme started in 1973 with the first new towns housing a target of 1.8 million people. Today nearly half the city’s population lives in nine towns scattered throughout the New Territories, with provisions to accommodate up to 4 million people total. The podiums are high-density and high-rise developments at a large scale, housing thousands of people within one city block. The number of towers on top of the base structure varies, with some podiums having up to 18 towers (Hong Kong Housing Authority, 2006). The ground floor of the base structure of the podium usually contains a bus terminal, or space for parking and taxi entrances. The upper floors are typically occupied by a shopping mall, complete with retail stores and entertainment, and other amenities and services such as doctor’s offices and food markets. Connections to rail stations, elevated pedestrian walkways, and from podium to podium allow for quick and effective circulation. The roof of the base structure is restricted to the residents, granting access to pools and other recreational facilities.

The podiums in the new towns also have their share of disadvantages. In spite of all the amenities and services the podium offers, the New Towns suffer from a lack of job opportunities, particularly central office jobs. In two New Towns – Tuen Mun and Sheung Shui – only 30% and 20% of its residents work there, respectively, in contrast to 77% for residents of Hong Kong Island and 67% for residents in Kowloon. In ’96 about 70% of residents in the New Territories traveled long distances to work in the urban center of the city (Jenks & Burgess, 2000). There seems to be a clear disconnect within the New Towns and from the urban core of the city. The design of the podium in its massive scale, with attention to the base structure, fails to create a pedestrian-scaled neighborhood with the typical street culture that defines Hong Kong. The podium tends to isolate its occupants from the street and outside environment, confining them to the shopping malls within the podium base and their apartments high above in the towers. The New Territories have also been home to traditional villages for over a thousand years. Since the development of New Towns, some traditional villages have gone through a modern urbanization of its environment and changes in its traditions and culture. As new infrastructure built in the New Territories continue to pave the way for more development, encroachment into the villages and gentrification pose an inevitable threat to Hong Kong’s true identity (Yin & DiStefano, 2002).

Chapter 2: The Podium in Vancouver

The Rise of the Podium

The city of Vancouver has a population of about 600,000 people in an area of 114 square kilometers. The downtown area of Vancouver is located in the Burrard Peninsula, one of two peninsulas where the city is contained. Constrained by the Burrard Inlet to the north, False Creek to the South, and Stanley Park at the northern edge, the Burrard Peninsula is a perfect location for the development of the podiums, where high-density and high-rise developments are desirable (Judd, 2003). In order to understand the development of the podium in Vancouver, a history of the urban growth of the city needs to be analyzed. The factors that led to the urban growth of the city into a livable downtown area – and ultimately the development of podiums – are the establishment of a strong connection between Hong Kong and Vancouver and changes in the economy and culture of the city.

The establishment of a strong connection between Vancouver and Hong Kong is a by-product of over a century of immigration from Asia into British Columbia, the development of a Chinese community in the downtown area in the early growth stages of the city, and policies that attracted immigrants. The search for gold and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the late 19th century brought many Asian immigrants to British Columbia, especially from China due to economic crisis and the Taiping Rebellion. A Chinese community eventually developed on the northeastern corner of False Creek in the downtown area and the adjacent district of Strathcona. Although by far a minority in a city controlled by European immigrants, the community acted as a base for future Chinese immigrants to settle and set up social networks. The success and wealth of most Chinese in decades to come is chiefly attributed to the strategic use of these flexible social networks: relationships through bonds of kinship; relationships through people from the same region, city, or village; and relationships through people from common businesses, contacts, or education. Substantial immigration from Asia, as shown in Figure 2.1, did not come until the 1960s when the federal government terminated regulations that permitted discrimination and when a movement towards equality of all races and liberal ideologies emerged (Olds, 2001). A flexible citizenship system put in place allowed Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Vancouver and live outside Canada after three years without paying Canadian taxes on non-Canadian income sources. In addition, throughout the 80s and 90s British Columbia and the City of Vancouver took on many initiatives to attract immigrants from Hong Kong, which on average have higher income, education, and training than immigrants from other areas of China. Figure 2.2 shows the large increase in number of immigrants from Hong Kong during this period.

[pic]

Figure 2.1. Immigration by source area, British Columbia, 1966-1996

Source

[pic]

Figure 2.2. Immigration to British Columbia from Hong Kong, 1968-1996

Source

During the 80s Vancouver went through major changes in its social culture and a restructuring of the economy. The recession at the time converted the economy into the service sector. The decline of heavy industries in the downtown area, concentrated on False Creek, opened opportunities for redevelopment into high density residential leading the inner city to turn into a place to live, work, and for leisure. A strong demand for residential condominiums and commercial uses followed with a focus on quality of life and aesthetic forms, as reflected later by the 1991 Downtown Plan. The city was being transformed by a local culture driven by a livable city ideology. Another key factor of Vancouver’s changing economy and culture was the Expo of ’86. Vancouver’s future depended on its development as a center for commerce and trade in the Pacific Rim. The critical strategy of Expo ’86 was to attract tourists and new investors, particularly from Hong Kong and as well as California and Japan. The Expo ’86 triggered development through its opportunity to use public funds to clear its site and prepare for subsequent development after the expositons were over (Olds, 2001).

A series of waves of immigrants from China and Hong Kong, the establishment of a Chinese community which facilitated social networks and business connections, and policies and initiatives that attracted immigrants led to a strong connection between Hong Kong and Vancouver. Along with the economy’s switch to the service sector and a cultural movement towards a more livable downtown came opportunities to develop high-rise and high-density developments such as the podium. To tie it all up, the Expo of ’86 placed Vancouver on the international scene as a major gateway to the Pacific Rim and made it possible for the podium to be developed from Hong Kong investors and social networks in Vancouver.

The Podium and its Implications on the City

In 1991 the City of Vancouver started to implement what was to become one of North America’s most visionary and inspired plans. Designed to reverse sprawl, the Downtown Plan proposed an urban design philosophy with a high-density typology that rezoned downtown to residential, transforming downtown into a place to live and work (Boddy, 2006). The type of building that satisfied the city’s intentions was the podium, with its high-density and mixed-used development.

The Downtown Plan and the development of the podiums resulted in a downtown with no freeways, completely transit and pedestrian oriented and where home, work, and services are all close in proximity. The downtown area was transformed into a public realm that gave a sense of community identity and social life with a rich mix of market and non-market housing for mixed incomes. The concept of social bonus zoning, in which developments with high density would also have to provide amenities and public benefits, increased the popularity of the podium among developers – as it translates into more profit – and the city planning department (Boddy, 2006). The podium can provide space for public art, community facilities, a small park, day-care, small offices and retail, and other services on its base structure while housing many residents on its tall and thin towers. The podium with its towers setback from the edge and its base structure appropriately scaled, allows for the towers to be almost obscured from the view of a pedestrian walking by at street level adjacent to it. Such design, which may also incorporate townhouses on its base, complements a pedestrian scaled mixed-use neighborhood (Bogdanowicz, 2006).

Despite all the successes after 15 years the Downtown Plan seems to be backfiring as too much residential development is turning the city into a resort town for retirees and the wealthy. Over the past two decades the population in downtown has doubled to nearly 100,000 and about 90% of 9 million square feet of new towers approved have been condominiums alone. The Central Business District is close to becoming extinct as it is replaced by residential developments such as the podium. Since the implementation of the plan, 8 million square feet of potential office space in the Downtown South area was rezoned as housing optional and now the area is almost completely occupied by condominiums. Over the past six years, about one-third of Vancouver’s head-office jobs have left the city (Boddy, 2006). The city is even considering moving its business center to Richmond, one of Vancouver’s neighboring cities. Transit ridership projections have shown that more commuters leave downtown to the suburbs for work each morning than those who commute into downtown. The construction of highways and bridges in order to decrease traffic levels from suburbs to suburbs is encouraging this trend further. The trend towards residential high-density developments, in which developers have been cashing in on, will only continue due to the fact that the economic return for condos in the downtown area of Vancouver are about five times that of office buildings (Bogdanowicz, 2006). Regardless of the outcome of Vancouver’s downtown, the podium will continue to be developed and influence the urban design of the city.

Conclusion

The podium, through its form and function, has been a successful solution in meeting Hong Kong’s and Vancouver’s demands and constraints. In Vancouver, the establishment of a strong connection to Hong Kong and the city’s ambitious Downtown Plan led to the development of the podium throughout the downtown area. The podium’s form of a high-rise and high-density development transformed downtown into a place to live and work while its variety of functions created pedestrian-scaled neighborhoods with all the amenities and services close by. In Hong Kong, the podium became the most versatile development that could meet the urban population growth and the self-sustenance of the dense and compact, yet decentralized New Towns. Consequently, the extensive and continued development of podiums in Hong Kong and Vancouver are leading to its failure. More and more offices in Vancouver are leaving downtown or being converted into podium developments. If the growth of podium developments is left unchecked, the traditional villages will disappear and the New Towns will turn into a place lacking any sense of community and identity – simply a conglomeration of podium developments. A balance needs to be achieved: whether through a redesign of the podium, such as incorporating office towers, or through new city policies that will control the expansion and changes taking place in the New Towns in Hong Kong and in Vancouver’s Downtown.

References

Boddy, T. (2006). Downtown’s Last Resort. Canadian Architect, 20-22.

Bogdanowicz, J. (2006). Vancouverism. Canadian Architect, 23-24.

Hong Kong. (2006). Living in Hong Kong. Retrieved December 9, 2006, from

Hong Kong Housing Authority. (2006). Property Location and Profile. Retrieved December 10, 2006, from

Jenks, M., & Burgess, R. (Eds.). (2000). Compact Cities: Sustainable Urban Forms for Developing Countries. In Q. M. Mahtab-uz-Zaman, S. S. Y. Y. Lau & S. H. H. Ming, The Compact City of Hong Kong: A Sustainable Model for Asia? (pp. 255-2268). New York, NY: Spon Press.

Jenks, M., & Burgess, R. (Eds.). (2000). Compact Cities: Sustainable Urban Forms for Developing Countries. In X. Q. Zhang, High-Rise and High-Density Compact Urban Form: The Development of Hong Kong (pp. 245-254). New York, NY: Spon Press.

Judd, D. R. (Ed.). (2003). The Infrastructure of Play: Building the Tourist City. In A. F.J. Artibise & J. F. Meligrana, Tourism Infrastructure of a Posindustrial City: A Case Study of Vancouver, British Columbia (pp. 271-295). Armonk, New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.

Olds, K. (2001). Globalization and Urban Change: Capital, Culture, and Pacific Rim Mega-Projects. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Yeh, A. G., & Ng M. K. (Eds.). (2000). Planning for a Better Urban Living Environment in Asia. In The Planning and Management of a Better High Density Environment (pp. 116-143). Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing Limited.

Yin, L. H., & DiStefano, L. D. (2002) A Tale of Two Villages: The Story of Changing Village Life in the New Territories. Hong Kong, China: Oxford University Press.

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