September has started off with more coverage in the news for the ongoing plans for the WKCD, including a Letter to the Editor at the SCMP by HK Alternatives, and other SCMP Articles on the funding gap and green design.
In the September 1 Letter to the Editor, Ken Wai of HK Alternatives advocates to start greening the WKCD site and improving site access, so the WCKD can be enjoyed as a green park during this transitional phase.
Hong Kong Alternatives held a press conference on March 2, 2011 to announce the results of the HKU Public Opinion Survey regarding the best utilization of the 42 Hectres of Land of the West Kowloon Cultural District. This survey looked into the public’s views on the land sales for residential property and other issues related to the latest WKCD developments.
A majority of the polled respondents expressed that setting aside 60% of the land for residential and commerical development is too much. In fact many felt that there should be zero such development.
A majority also felt the government should subsidize the WKCD development rather than depend on the commercial sector.
You can find the full survey results and background on the HKU website: http://hkupop.hku.hk/english/report/wkcd11/index.html
View a video of the press conference at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCXNAXEIeOo
The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) announced on March 4, 2011 the selection of Foster + Partner’s ‘City Park’ scheme as the preferred option for the development of the WKCD.
The full press release can be found here:
http://www.wkcda.hk/en/newsroom/press_releases/index_id_77.html
The 2nd stage of the WKCD public engagement process is underway and the Conceptual Master Plans from the three Consultant teams are now on public view.
You can find them online here at the WK Cultural Authority Website:http://www.wkcda.hk/pe2/en/conceptual/index.html
These plans talk about the importance of greenery, but do they go far enough to provide a true world-class green park? Take a look and you can share your views with their online survey.
There’s been quite a bit of media attention on the rollout of the latest Conceptual Plans for the WKCD. We’ve compiled a pdf of some of the news clipping and have posted it here for your reading. See – WKCD_News_230810_SCMP
The ‘Pearl for the World’ exhibition continues from December 30 through January 2nd at Hong Kong University.  This open exhibition is sponsored by the HKU Department of Architecture, and features the research and design for a ‘Sustainable Green Parks City’ for HKSAR.
The comprehensive exhibition encompasses the ongoing appeal by Hong Kong Alternatives for an integrated West Kowloon Cultural Green Park, forming a key green link with all Urban Parks of Hong Kong.
The exhibit is located at Loke Yew Hall, Main Building, HKU. For more information and hours please go to: icee.hku.hk
Still to come…
Hong Kong Alternatives: A citizen’s group unaffiliated with any commercial or political groups, committed to the development of the West Kowloon site in the best interests of the Hong Kong people.
An announcement of the open exhibition of the research project on “The Harbour-Parks & Green-Park-Web-Links of HKSARâ€, a big greening scheme for HKSAR, an important output item of HKU-ICEE http://icee.hku.hk/index/index.html, a Strategic Research Theme of KHU http://www.hku.hk/research/sras/env-clean-energy.html, will start at 10:30 am , 3 Oct, Sat. in the Convocation Room – Room 208, Main Building of HKU main campus, Pokfulam.
The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) has published the inaugural issue of WKCDA e-Newsletter. The e-Newsletter is a monthly publication that aims to keep the general public and stakeholders informed of current developments and information about the WKCD. You can access the e-Newsletter by clicking the link below.
