Mobility and the construct of place identity : a time-space reflection on everyday life around MTR stations in Hong Kong

Abstract

The growing virtual and physical mobility, in the form of matured ICT (Information and Communications and Technology) and fast transport infrastructure, has accelerated the movement of people, information and capital etc. There have been wide concerns on the loss of place identity due to the resultant increasing fluidity and temporality in place-based disciplines. Everyday life, as the daily routine, provides fixity and solidity in the spatial context. The research assumes that that everyday life constitutes a pivotal component in shaping personal identities; whereas the interaction between individuals and space, in turn influences the conception and perception process, and shapes a place and constructs its identity. The research investigates how mobility and everyday time-space allocation patterns have influenced the construct of place identity.

MTR station areas in Hong Kong are selected as the test field due to the prevailing of intra-urban railway system as a sustainable way tackling the staggering travel demand, and the wide acceptance of urban spaces produced in the form of above-station podium mall with residential/office buildings by MTRC (HK). Given the fact that current station area development theories such as Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) and Node-Place Model have not provided an explicit concept on the shaping of place under the prevailing travel pattern and identical urban space, the necessity of studying the place-making process in the station area become evident.

The research is conducted through various scaled perspectives. At the urban scale, all the station areas in Hong Kong are classified into ten clusters according to their employment activities. This reveals that the distribution of socio-economic activities in each station area reflects the everyday time-allocation pattern and associates with the physical mobility. At the station area scale, Kennedy Town and Po Lam are selected as two cases each presenting an identical community influenced by distinctive planning philosophy. Kennedy Town represents communities consisting of street blocks, whereas Po Lam represents master planned estates influenced by the Neo-liberalism. A total of 400 structured interviews have been carried out to collect time-space allocation data by time diaries and route maps. The findings uncover the time-space sections of the two communities, and lead to the conclusion that as transportation system mobilizes individuals, the distinctive identity in a particular place is outstretched and melted into other areas of the city. Route maps of classified social groups by time allocation patterns show that micro place identity is associated with the distribution of mobility power and the spatial flows of social groups. Yet the master-planned shopping mall and residential estates neutralize the asymmetric mobility power by manipulating the circulation and the retail facilities of everyday life needs, blurring the micro place identity by packaging it as a whole brand name.

This study has contributed to the understanding of place identity from the perspective of mobility and the practice of everyday life at multiple scales. In addition, the research provides an international reference for future studies on the station areas with its detailed findings and unique methodology design.