Development control, planning incentive and urban redevelopment: evaluation of a two-tier plot ratio system in Hong Kong

Recent urban policy in western cities is directed towards urban entrepreneurialism, private sector participation and making developers pay for planning gain. Land development control strategy is formulated accordingly to reflect these themes in rejuvenating inner city areas. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a new zoning incentive (two-tier plot ratio system) in Hong Kong. The conclusion is that it did not achieve the stated objective in increasing private sector site amalgamation for new urban housing redevelopment. Main reasons include planners’ neglect of market viability issues, geographical mobility of property development capital, and incompatibility of this incentive with other development control measures