The historic urban landscape approach to area conservation in Hong Kong : a proposed "fishbone-shaped" conservation area of Tai Ping Shan Street

Abstract

With the enforcement of The Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance in 1976, the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) and the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) were established for the management of matters related to the historical interests of Hong Kong. The conservation of built heritage has been one of their major focuses. However, only historic buildings have been identified and overseen. Limited consideration is given for the wider context, such as streets or districts. This results in a situation where historical buildings are scattered throughout the local districts in Hong Kong, with no connection made between them. This paper examines the feasibility and effect of applying the concept of area conservation to the local Hong Kong context, using the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach. Area conservation helps solve the local issue of the lack of relationship between the urban area and its surrounding setting. It introduces a new scale of heritage context in the field of conservation. This proposal for applying the HUL approach hopes to resolve the problem where development is often in opposition to conservation in Hong Kong. Among the six critical steps of the HUL approach, the first four are covered in this paper, applying the approach to the Tai Ping Shan Street area with its “fishbone-streetscape”: 1. “Mapping Resources”; 2. “Reaching Consensus”; 3. “Assessing Vulnerability” and 4. “Integrate”. This paper identifies the possibility to embrace the historic and contemporary cultural dynamics of the area with its historic buildings, and to assess if urban development can be managed to bring harmony within an urban setting. The study achieves its objectives by conducting in-depth assessment as well as discussion for the effectiveness and drawbacks on introducing a conservation area proposal to Tai Ping Shan Street as a case study. It is also aimed to act as a significant reference to any possible related planning in the area.