this was interlarded with the discus- sions centred on environmental con- siderations. Professor (Mrs.) E. Pfeil of Hamburg, a sociologist, led this part of the discussion, with a master- ly contribution. She urged planners to consider fully, the social implica- tions of their proposals. She painted a vivid picture of the "withdrawal" symptoms, displayed by many of those uprooted by urban renewal schemes, even where the new en- vironment offered to them, on the face of it. appeared infinitely better. The older the people, the greater the difficulty of re-adjustment, and many never succeeded in making it.
Existing social structures, in which the old played a useful role, even in watching and looking after grandchildren, could be broken down to the detriment of both old and young, the former feeling unwanted and the latter unable to cope with circumstances.
The old also depended on familiar surroundings and faces not only to sustain a sense of security, but for their pleasure and happiness. Even when given the opportunity on the completion of schemes to return to old neighbourhoods, this proved un- successful, because of the complete change of environment and the dis- persal of friends and neighbours,
The young adults were more con- cerned with acquiring a house and starting up in life than being cut-off from old friends; it normally took not more than two years for them to be assimilated by a new society. Al- though a good deal was known about social behaviour in these circum- stances, there was still a great need for research and dissemination of information
and among planners those concerned with urban renewal. There is obviously great scope for
research into this question in the circumstances of Hong Kong.
This theme was taken up, by a number of speakers, one of whom suggested that in the presentation of any scheme planners should, as well as setting out the advantages of their proposals, be obliged to state the adverse social and economic affects. For example, increases in space and space standards could be as harmful as reductions, since it could be that the originally displaced persons and businesses would not be able to afford the higher standards, and these im- plications should be pointed out.
Dissentient
a
There was one dissentient. delegate from the Netherlands, who stated that the social problems en- countered in urban renewal processes, were not new to urban development. People had been moving into and around cities for centuries, and in new developments there were "plenty of grandmothers running around with babies" the change over from one environment to another could be carried out without adverse psycholo- gical effects if dealt with in humanistic manner by the public authorities responsible.
a
The first part of the discussion which centred on "urban renewal and urban function" may be summarised by saying that urban renewal is an operation aimed at not only improv- ing a specified environment but also the general functioning of the city and indeed the region, and in this the primary objective of improving the social conditions of the inhabi- tants must not be lost sight of.
The second sub-theme of the con- ference dealt with urban design, and though the influence of traffic on the
design of cities soon entered the dis- cussion, this complex subject, which had been discussed at previous con- ferences, could not be pursued very far.
It was agreed that a transportation policy had to be formulated for the city as a whole and urban renewal plans must take cognizance of this; generally an efficent public trans- portation service should be developed in a form more attractive than private car transportation. Urban renewal schemes were likely in all contexts to generate an increase in traffic, in incidence, composition and distribu- tion. The conference was reminded of the Buchanan theorem of inter- relationship of access, economics and environment.
Population Decanting
Professor R. E. Nicoll (University of Strathclyde, Glasgow) who opened on this subject, produced the state- ment that the Glasgow urban renewal areas were redesigned to house only 40% of the original population, the difference being decanted to new towns; thus illustrating the regional connotations of the process.
The United Kingdom answer to the in-pressures of cities is the "new town"; the slums of Glasgow are notorious and this may be the ex- ception rather than the rule, but to consider this as an answer at this scale of population decanting is in- vocative of Utopian day dreams.
In Hong Kong, such an approach would be untenable, and whilst the
decanting process is inevitable in any renewal operation, here at least, its pattern must be quite different.
The question of what to do about buildings and sites of architectural, archeological and historical interest, inevitably arose and the proposition that only those buildings which could be turned to a useful purpose should be retained, produced an interjection by this writer who felt that buildings of the past possessed an intrinsic value, which could not be assessed in hard cash, but only in terms of their value in keeping people aware of their heritage and their traditions and in demonstrating the continuity of civilization.
As Mr. J. Dash of Israel, suggested these buildings should be left in their proper surroundings, often involving large areas (he obviously had the Old City of Jerusalem vividly before his mind) and often involving archaeolo- gical explanation. These presented some of the few opportunities to develop or maintain character in cities. The preservation of interest- ing buildings and sites appeared to play no part in urban renewal think- ing in Hong Kong.
The third part of the conference covered financial and technical con- siderations of Urban Renewal, and is the most difficult to summarise. Questions were raised about who should carry out urban renewal, (Continued on page 63)
Kongresshalle, West Berlin
Far East Architect & Builder November, 1967
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