HKIP 30th Anniversary!

Gala Dinner - President's speech

2009-12-18T01:07:00.000-08:00

The full text of the President’s speech at the HKIP 30th Anniversary Gala Dinner on 29 October 2009 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel, Admiralty, Hong Kong.

The Honourable CY Leung, GBS, JP; the Hon. Professor Patrick Lau, Mrs. Ava Ng, Director of Planning; our Honorary members Professor Peter Hills, Professor Yeung Yue-man and Professor David Lung, Guests, Past Presidents, Fellow members, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners, first of all, let me extend our heartiest welcome and gratitude to our Guest of Honour -- the Hon CY LEUNG for gracing us with his presence and to address us tonight at this festive occasion of our 30th Anniversary.

It is a daunting task for me, and for the audience as well, to present and to endure respectively a monologue by me for some 20 minutes on what happened in the past 30 years. Any way, I have no choice. You don’t either. Take the challenge.

To begin from the beginning, HKIP was set up in 1979. In the same year, the MTR started its service and the MacLehose Trail was opened in October 1979.

Our founding President was the late Eric Jackson. We had then only 41 members.

It was only in Sept 1981, that we started to have our own planning courses locally - when the MSc (Urban Planning) course commenced in the University of Hong Kong.

The first 3 fellows were admitted in 1983. Now we have 26. And the Code of Professional Conduct came into operation this year.

These are the “collective memories” of senior members. Our current membership stands at 437 full members; 16 retired members; 7 Hon. Members; and 226 Students.

Some young member, especially those born in or after the 1970’s, may sometimes wonder what HKIP and their colleague planners have in fact done in the past. This was where and how we stood then in the Hong Kong context.

The 1980s –
A part from natural population growth, from 1978 to September 1980, we faced an immense problem of illegal immigrants, until the government abolished the "reached-base" policy in October 1980. The Population in Hong Kong in 1980 was about 5 Millions then. The rate of growth was an alarming 1 Million in ten years.

There was a great housing need. The new town development programme commenced in 1973.

Actually, the idea of satellite town or new towns was conceived a lot earlier.. The first plan for development in Sha Tin was approved much earlier - by the then Governor-in-Council in 1961. While development was under way in the 1970’s, Ma On Shan was added in August 1979, and together the population was up to 0.7 Million.

Looking at the old photos, one would notice the sea – the Shatin Cove in a mountainous backdrop, as contrasted with the high-rises, and even some so called “Ping-fung lau” – i.e. “walled buildings” of today.

By the way -- Hong Kong has for a long time been acclaimed for its creativeness in using reclamation as a means to create land for development. That’s also how we managed to remain a compact city.

Meanwhile, in 1982, District Boards (changed to become District Councils in 1999) were established under the District Administration Scheme – to improve coordination of government activities in the provision of services and facilities at the district level.

The Tuen Mun Light Rail started to be in operation in 1988.

It was indeed the heydays of the new town developments. We worked together in multi-disciplinary offices. I would say at that time, “what you plan is what you get”. We planned together, and built it expeditiously together with engineers, architects and landscape architects colleagues, and tackled the technical problems together in a team. (Not like today, what you get is not what you planned.)

I have worked in the Shatin Development Office of the then NTDD. I have also subsequently worked on the Tin Shui Wai new town. So did Bosco, Ava, and Ian Brownlee.

Tin Shui Wai was then largely fish ponds. Population intake eventually took place only in 1991. Would we be able to reclaim so much wetland these days ? -- I wonder.

However, as times changed, it has evolved from a planned self-contained new town with industrial sites, gradually to a mainly residential town.

We cannot talk about Hong Kong without mentioning the opening and market economy of China since 1978. Her Economic reform 改革開放; and Deng Xiaopeng’s vision of One Country Two Systems. The open policy, included the earmarking of four southern cities as Special Economic Zones (SEZs), including our immediate neighbour -- Shenzhen.

Arguably, Hong Kong’s traditional manufacturing industries have mostly shifted to more competitive areas in the Mainland and thus the Tin Shui Wai phenomenon just reflected such great changes.

In this decade of changes, HKIP has done the following –

HKIP helped to convince government in the recognition of the MSc course of HKU

The HKIP Journal – Planning and Development was first published in May 1985.

In Sept 1985, HKIP became one of the institutions in the then “Engineering, Architectural, Surveying and Planning Functional Constituency”. (Now the Engineers have their own Functional Constituency. See how things have changed with times.)

In 1988, the Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP, of which we were a member) held a Plenary Session and Workshop on “public private partnership in Planning and Development. A subject quite popularly discussed at that time, presumably trend under the influence of “Tatcherism” ?

What about the 1990s ?

In 1991, Planning Department produced the Metroplan. Metroplan proposed reclamations to provide land for lowering the intensity of development and for provision of infrastructure facilities and “solution space” for urban renewal. Had building height and urban design guidelines been incorporated into the OZPs before the Airport Height Restrictions were lifted,, perhaps we would have somewhat less arguments today ?

The Metroplan was anyhow subsequently reviewed in 1999 together with the related Kowloon Density Study.

Any way, everyone was busily engaged then in completing the 10 Airport Core Projects.

With 1997 came change of sovereignty and achievements -- including the Tsing Ma Bridge - the world's sixth largest suspension bridge, which was opening on 27 April 1997. We also recalled the introduction of the Octopus Card in that year, a Hong Kong people’s creation of digital wallet, which became imitated by many other operators nowadays.

In 1998 the Kai Tak Airport was closed and moved to the new US $20 Billion Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok.

By the end of 1999, MTRC became quite well off by then, riding on development of the properties above its stations. We of course also rode on and still believe in a compact and rail-based development pattern – which is also stated in HK2030.

We also went through the era of policy of annual housing production target of 85,000 units. Colleagues including myself worked on the double – dealing with rezoning, up-zonings, and packed more units in various sites, including those of stations and depots, etc.

Property prices soared. Bubbles were formed and bubbles busted. Followed by massive emigration and brain drain towards the year 1997 and subsequent financial crisis after the Asian financial storm shortly after the change of sovereignty.

It was in this background we rode on –

We have held Seminars and conferences on the Comprehensive Review of the Town Planning Ordinance; assisted in setting up of the Planners Registration Board (established in 1992).

In April 1993, the first HKIP Awards was awarded. And in 1995 a new set of Code of Professional Conduct with mandatory requirement for renewal of membership was promulgated. In 1996, we introduced the Qualifying Examination system to potential applicants to HKIP with overseas planning degrees and Examination commenced in 1997.

We succeeded to rent our own office space in Hang Lung Centre in 1999. Henceforth, we were able to hold a lot more activities and fostered closer relationship with sister institutes through holding more joint events, seminars, etc.

A more important milestone that must be noted is of course the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance, which started as a bill, passed in 1997, was amended to apply to the entire area of the Victoria Harbour, was enacted in 1999.

Colleagues in Planning Department continued with several rounds of review of the SE Kowloon development plan – until end 2007 when an OZP was finally approved - a change from massive reclamation to zero reclamation. Times have changed. Perhaps, the process itself was even more notable than the result in this case. In these reviews, the public was extensively engaged – a process never done before in the history of the planning in Hong Kong.

Then came the current decade –

The MTRC became listed in 2000 and the part Privatisation of the Airport Authority came in 2003.

Since year 2000, the Joint Professional Centre at The Centre, was set up. In December, the CPD programme became mandatory. (Listening to this speech gives you 20 minutes for CPD.)

The Urban Design Alliance was established under the auspices of HKIP and HKIA in 2001. In the same year the Young Planners Group (YPG) was born.

The 5 days week in government has helped to boost the attendance of our civil servant members to Saturday seminars, thereby helping them a lot in their CPD programme.

We celebrated the 25th Anniversary in 2004. In February 2004, we signed a MOU in Guangzhou with the Urban Planning Society of China (UPSC), to foster better cooperation between planners in Hong Kong and the Mainland. We also signed agreements with and held the Forum for Planning and Development Control of Greater Pearl River Delta City Conglomeration” with the Guangdong City Planning Association (GCPA). The latest MOU signed is with the Macau Institute of Urban Planning this year,.

The Mentorship Scheme was also launched in 2004.

Mutual recognition examinations and training course were arranged in 2006, with 10 Hong Kong and 16 Mainland planners taking part in examination in 2007.

I will not read out all the recent activities but will just name a few major ones, which included :

In 2006, the Shenzhen Municipal Government commissioned the China Academy for Urban Planning and Design – Shenzhen (CAUPD-SZ) to undertake a focus study on the urban design and density zoning in connection with the preparation of the Master Plan for Shenzhen 2006- 2020. HKIP was invited to take part,

Year 2007 -- Joint International Conference was held with the UPSC in April 2007 on “When Creative industries Crossover with Cities”. Technical visit was held to Dalian and Dandong. In Dec 2007 – Feb 2008, the Hong Kong/Shenzhen Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism was jointly organised by HKIP, HKIA and the HK Designers Association at the old Central Police Station site. The theme was “:Re-farbicating the City”. We took part in an exhibition at the Shanghai International Creative Industry Week Exhibition in November 2007, with a theme “Better City, Better Life”, by showing the cultural facilities planning in Hong Kong, In 2008 – We have amended the Constitution and Byelaws – deleting the proxy system – giving members unencumbered freedom of choice in elections, and the introduction of voting by post. In 2008 after the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake – HKIP has actively participated in the aid, including providing planning advice in selection of rehabilitation projects of Dujianjen, commenting on the master planning of the Wolong greater panda conservation area, the planning of the reconstruction of various towns and villages, etc. Members also joined voluntary and charity groups as individuals.

In 2009, we signed the Vancouver Declaration to support of the objectives of the Global Planners Network.
This year, we have also been actively engaged in the WKCD public engagement forums and the public engagement of the Sustainable Development Council on Sustainable and Quality Building Environment. Seminars and questionnaire surveys. As a follow up on the earthquake and disaster prevention and recovery studies, joint technical visits with members of HKIA were held to Taiwan and Japan this summer.
This year, we have chosen a Green theme organised a an international conference on Planning for Low Carbon cities
As the slogan goes “Together we planned for 30 years, United we strive for a greener future” …)

What does it all mean ?

To our members –
In view of demands for ever increasing engagements in all front, I appeal to all our young members to help and participate more.

To the community –
We pledge to continue with our participation in the public engagement like the WKCD, the URS Review, the Sustainable Development Council’s public engagement on Quality and Sustainable Building Environment; and the conservation of Central, urban greening and tree management and other issues arising from this years Policy Address.

To the city region –
We seek to continue cooperation and sharing with counterpart institutions in the Greater Pearl River Delta Region such as in the regional conferences, studies /forums on fostering the development of a liveable Greater Pearl River Delta Bay Area”.

To the globe -
Vis-a-vis climate change – we would promote the education, practice of green and sustainable living, through reaching out to public forums, arrangement of community events, and cooperation with relevant organisations with similar beliefs.

Sine the Wen Chuen Earthquake last year, we have participated extensively in commenting on the master planning for the restoration of the Wolong Panda conservation region. Through the shock and experiences, plus the technical visits to Japan and Taiwan, we have learnt to become more humble towards the forces of nature and more caring towards nature conservation

In this memorable year of the 30th Anniversary, we not only reviewed what we have done in the past when economic growth was the order of the day, but also why and whether these activities are conducive to a liveable environment for all. Although this is the climax of all the associated events it is by no means the end, but rather a milestone in a stream of such activities. And I am sure there are more yet to come.

Whilst we have done some remarkable researches, such as those from the earthquake and disaster rehabilitation projects, I strongly suggest to our Council that we should not let these useful information simply dissipate away. They should be kept and published in various ways for sharing with members and friends of other institutions We hope they would return us the same, and more.

Albeit the enormous amount of work we have done in the past three decades, it took me some time to go through files and web-sites to gather together a more comprehensive picture. Along this line, I therefore pose a challenge to all, for the next 10 years to come. As a birthday boy, I am entitled to make a wish today. I wish that by the time of the 40th anniversary, we will have set up an Academy of urban planning and environment in Hong Kong, together with a resource centre, to be founded on the basis of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners and tapping on the vast experiences of our learned senior members.

As Sir Issac Newton says, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” I saw the above because of the effort of my predecessors, thank you dear past presidents, and if I may, I would rather be the pedestal or part of it, on which our young members may stand and look even further someday. This is my wish..

Thank you.

Last but not least --
Many thanks to the Chairperson of the Organising Committee and everyone who have dedicated their time in making this Gala Dinner successful.

And also many thanks to the generosity and support from all the sponsors to our 30th anniversary green theme series of events including tonight’s event

Introduction to the Guest of Honour

Mr C.Y. Leung is Chairman, Asia Pacific, of DTZ, a world renowned property services company. He is a past Chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and past President of the Institute of Surveyors in Hong Kong. He is also a trustee, Executive Committee member & Chairman of Asia of the Urban Land Institute.

In 1997, he was awarded the degree of Hon. Doctor of Business Administration by the University of the West of England. In 1998, he was awarded a similar degree by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is Chairman of the Council of the City University of Hong Kong and Pro Chancellor of University of West of England.

Mr Leung actively contributed to the development of a framework for land-use policies and real estate development in the mainland of China since 1978. In 1980, he was officially appointed as an adviser to the land and housing reform committees of the governments in Shanghai, Tianjin and Shenzhen. In 1988, shortly after the amendment of the Chinese Constitution, he assisted the Shanghai Government in selling the first land use right since 1949.

Mr Leung was extensively involved in the establishment of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region, and he was the Secretary General of the then Basic Law Consultative Committee, Leader of the Political Sub-Group of the Preliminary Working Committee, Vice Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for HKSAR and Member of the Provisional Legislative Council.

Since 1997, Mr Leung has been a member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong and is currently the Convenor of the non-official members. In 2003, he was elected a member of the National Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He is a founder and the Chairman of the Hong Kong Coalition of Professional Services and Chairman of the One Country Two Systems Research Institute.

We feel most fortunate to have Mr. Leung with us tonight. Besides knowing Mr. Leung through our contacts on professional matters such as through the Coalition of Professional Services under his leadership, some of us may, like me, have read a book written by Mr. Leung, called 家是香港 (Home is Hong Kong) published in June 2007. It would be presumptuous for me to try to summarise all the ideas in the book. I would simply refer to his chapter 8, which is titled 貼近綠色生活: 改善環境, 人人有責, which means literally “It’s everybody’s responsibility to improve the environment in order to achieve the goal of “green living”. Environment and sustainable development are indeed the planners’ great concern. Green living happens to accord with the theme that HKIP has picked for this year’s celebration activities, the most noticeable one being the International Conference on “Planning for Low Carbon Cities”. We should therefore have a lot of common issues to share. Please therefore join me in welcoming Mr. Leung.

2009-08-26T22:54:00.000-07:00

THE HONG KONG INSTITUTE OF PLANNERS

30th ANNIVERSARY DINNER

THURSDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2009

Venue: Ballroom, JW Marriott Hotel, Admiralty, Hong Kong

Cocktail Reception: 6:30 to 7:30 pm

Dinner: 7:30 pm

Dress code: “Green” Theme

About Us

2009-07-12T23:47:00.000-07:00

The Institute is celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2009. In July 1979, the Hong Kong Institute of Planners (HKIP) was chartered, and over the 30 years our members have grown to nearly 700 members all of whom still have the same goal in promoting good town planning practice and building a better city in Hong Kong. Although 30 years is not a long way, we have much to celebrate, and even more to contribute. We are preparing for a year-long series of 30th Anniversary celebration events to acknowledge milestones in our history and address the challenges of our time, our theme for the activities for the year is “Planning for Low Carbon Cities”. A series of events, including the key functions - a planners drama cum dinner night, holiday farmers excursions, an international conference, community outreach programme to increase awareness of greening in cities as well as our 30th Anniversary gala dinner are being planned.

Please refer to the comprehensive programme

Farming - Sharings

2009-07-10T01:51:00.000-07:00

「手執青秧在滿田，低頭便見水中天；身心清靜方為道，退後原來是向前」。這充滿禪慧與簡約的意境，向來令我心悠然神往。在一次機緣中，我參加了香港規劃師學會與O-Farm合辦的有機耕種活動，成為都市農夫，用身體力行去體驗躬耕生活的苦與甘。在思海裡，我更推崇可持續發展及生物多元化之理念。

在有機農場租下「三分」地，每個週末都到哪耕作。看到農友們每次都携兒女參與，在種植之餘不忘教育下一代，這其實也是一項很好的親子活動啊！我們先是開田翻土，然後播種護苗及施肥除草，修枝、護根和保育等等的工作當然是少不了。其間大家付出的汗水、心機、時間及努力，換來的成果不但是豐腴鮮美的蔬菜，還有對一些人生哲理的領悟。

我們在沃土上埋下不同品種的種子及幼苗，用淨潔的溪水灌溉，用花生麩、骨粉及角衣片等等有機肥料培植。在短短的幾個月裡，收獲了多種農作物：有青瓜、豆角、莧菜和香草；還有辣椒、茄子、粟米及冬瓜。看到它們的成長週期，生滅榮枯：榮時繁花似錦，生機勃勃；枯時衰萎頹黃，葉落凋零，最終回歸大自然。
有機耕種追求環境友善，講究健康飲食。在過程中我們不知不覺地減少食物里程、能源消耗及資源浪費，而且還學會堆肥，把厨餘循環再用，減輕運輸對生態環境造成的污染，和包裝物料的耗用。同時我們也學會培育土著益生菌，用以改良土壤養份，令它更建康肥沃。

為確保收成，我們綜合地使用保護、驅趕和誘捕方式去應付蟲害，但又儘量給各種各樣的昆蟲細菌更大的生存空間。其實天道均衡之理，萬物本就相生相尅，就算是在微生物的世界裡，好菌壞菌互賴並存，毁其一便可能引致生態失衡而滅其全，這是謂「一是全，全是一」之道。正如莊子在《齊物論》中說「天地與我並生，萬物與我齊一」。

撇開大道理不談，有機耕種的活動，能令耕者自得其樂。想像一下，在田野阡陌間，感受土的氣息，享受風的溫柔；雀鳥的細語，昆蟲的繁茂；或許偶爾夾雜了孩童的歡笑聲，但一切卻又顯得出奇的寧謐自然。人融於天地的和諧，渾然忘我，啊！快樂原來是可以很簡單的！

請。。。學會珍惜。。。我們的資源、我們的文化、我們的地球。。。！

Tim

About Us

2009-04-08T01:21:00.001-07:00

The Institute is celebrating its 30th Anniversary in 2009. In July 1979, the Hong Kong Institute of Planners (HKIP) was chartered, and over the 30 years our members have grown to nearly 700 members all of whom still have the same goal in promoting good town planning practice and building a better city in Hong Kong. Although 30 years is not a long way, we have much to celebrate, and even more to contribute.

We are preparing for a year-long series of 30th Anniversary celebration events to acknowledge milestones in our history and address the challenges of our time, our theme for the activities for the year is “Planning for Low Carbon Cities”. A series of events, including the key functions - a planners drama cum dinner night, holiday farmers excursions, an international conference, community outreach programme to increase awareness of greening in cities as well as our 30th Anniversary gala dinner are being planned.

Please refer to the comprehensive programme

Join Us

2009-04-08T00:30:00.001-07:00

If you are interested to join our committees, please contact Monique at 2915 6212 or by email: hkiplann@netvigator.com .

Message from members

2009-04-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

Slogan Competition - Announcement of Results

2009-03-22T05:57:00.001-07:00

HKIP 30th Anniversary Slogan Design Competition

A Slogan Design Competition was launched after the Logo Design Competition for members to exercise their talents.

The Competition closed in mid January 2009. A total of 10 entries has been received and there was also s active voting from some 70 members.

Winning slogan for the 30th Anniversary has been announced, congratulation to the winner Ms Flora Lai.

共歷規劃三十年
同建綠色的明天

Three merit recognitions were also awarded to Ms Ng Mee Kam, Mr Roger Tang and Mr Wu Tao.
Please refer to the flyer (click to enlarge).

We wish to congratulate all winners. The prize presentation for both the logo and slogan competition will be held on the 26th March "Sharing Through Decades" Event as a kick-off event for the 30th anniversary celebrations.

We will also be launching the 30th Anniversary blog on the night. You are all invited to share in this happy moment with us.

HKIP 30th Anniversary Organising Committee

---------------------------------------------------
Submissions:

1 共歷規劃三十年同建綠色的明天

2 Planning Together for 30 Years Striving Together for Greener Future

3 30 year of Planning in Hong Kong with
Heart
Knowledge
Imagination
Passion for people and Planet

4 用心與香港人-以熱忱、知識、創意規劃永續香港地

5 Planning for our people, our dream, our future;
Together we built an environment friendly city

6 規劃專業共創環保都市建設香港經歷三十寒暑

7 Planning together for a greener and brighter future, today.

8 三十而立, 立精立诚立信;硕果沁港, 沁众沁民沁意

9 匯三十載實踐展甲子歲規劃

10 Shamrock vision plan for generations

SOUVENIR

2009-03-22T05:49:00.001-07:00

Plant for conference guests

Conference CD

bag

bag

Bag

Big Pot

Small Pot

HKIP Bean

Community Outreach

2009-03-22T04:36:00.003-07:00

A community outreach activity will be organized to prompt the general public to rethink their choices for the greener living space.

(Coming Soon)

Gala Dinner

2009-03-22T04:36:00.001-07:00

President's Welcoming Message

2009-03-22T04:32:00.001-07:00

“The great French Marshall Lyautey once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow growing and would not reach maturity for 100 years. The Marshall replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose; plant it this afternoon!’” (John F. Kennedy)

The HKIP’s seed has been sown -- in May 2009, at the action-packed International Conference on Planning for Low Carbon Cities, held at the “Noah’s Ark”, jointly organised by the HKIP, the Urban Planning Society of China (UPSC) and with the Partner Organisations of the RTPI and Macao Institute of Urban Planning (MIUP).

The seeds have been sown in the minds of organisers and participants and whoever reads this blog and the papers from now on. It is late, but it is never too late, to strive to plan, design and build low carbon cities and respond collectively and intelligently to the aggravating global warming.

Thanks must of course go to all my colleague members who have thought out the meticulous year round action plans under this theme, so that things have moved on smoothly and continuously. In March, Planners of different generations sat closely together and shared their stories and experiences and have re-lived the memories of the city life of the 60s and 70s together in a Drama Night, through the creative performances of our talented young planners.

The Holiday Farmers created their patches and experimental scheme in an organic farm in Fanling, with “fruitful” results. Carrying on this year, the Community Outreach group will surprise us by bringing nature to us urbanites, but I am told not to release the plans yet. Let’s keep in view. We can nevertheless look forward most eagerly to the big bang of the grand Gala Dinner to be held on 29 October at the JW Marriott Hotel.

All that are being done will by no means simply dissipate after the big bang. The seeds should take root, grow and bloom. Whilst we will continue with planning and development, we learned to be less arrogant. After decades of rapid urbanisation and growth, we are learning and re-learning old wisdoms and new technologies about recycling, renewable energies, conservation and sustainable development. At this juncture of a critical tipping point in global environment, it’s a great challenge for an individual, whether one is a planner or otherwise.

Nevertheless, every little thing we do today, such as giving away a small seed, counts, especially as it carries with it a message. If I could turn the clock back by 30 years from today, I would still choose to become a town planner ! I would also be proud of being part of this team and able to share all these knowledge and experiences with you all in these events.

(P.Y. TAM)
President, HKIP
13 August 2009

Greetings from Chairperson of the HKIP 30th Anniversary Organizing Committee

2009-03-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

Message from the 30th Anniversary Organising Committee

It is hard to imagine that it is already nine months since we first announced the preparation for the 30th Anniversary of the Institute in July 2008. We started off with four persons in the core team and there are now more than a dozen of us and still many more in the committees. We started off with vaguely any idea of how we could approach this 30th year and now we are working on a more solid theme and framework.

We agreed at the outset that the Anniversary celebrations should be forward looking, to promote our vision for the planning profession in the coming decades. We believe that being friendly to the Planet is the critical path for the future, hence, we fixed the theme as “Planning for Environmentally Friendly Cities”. For the activities, we have chosen Member's Involvement, Professional Development and Community Outreach as our key foci.

Being the chair, I take myself only as the caretaker; the creative ideas and dedicated efforts must be attributed to the many members of the core team and committees. I wish to take this opportunity to thank all who have dedicated their time and effort to make the 30th anniversary bright and cheerful.

We also look forward to welcoming more of you at the upcoming events!

Ms Johanna Cheng
Chairperson
On behalf of the 30th Anniversary Organisation Committee

Sub-Committees : "Holiday Farmers – A Quest for the Green"

2009-03-18T10:19:00.001-07:00

Chairperson
Mr. TS Wong

Member
Miss Erin Yeung
Ms. HO Wai Hung
Mr. Edward Lo
Ms. Bonita Ho
Miss Carol Cheuk

Acknowledgements

2009-03-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

Conference Technical Committee

Chairman
Mr. Bosco Fung
Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners
Former Director of Planning, HKSAR Government

Dr Vincent Cheng
Associate Director, Arup Building Sustainability

Mr Geng Hong-bing
Vice Secretary General, Urban Planning Society of China

Mr John Ng
Fellow Member, Hong Kong Institute of Architects
Member, Hong Kong Institute of Planners

Ms Kathy Ng
Council Member, Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects
Chairperson, ArchSD Landscape Architects Association

Dr Tang Bo-sin
Associate Head, Department of Building and Real Estate, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Mr Wong Kam-sing
Director and Director of Sustainable Design, Ronald Lu & Partners (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Chairman, Professional Green Building Council
Vice-President, Hong Kong Institute of Architects

Mr Stanley Yip
Past President, Hong Kong Institute of Planners
Director, Planning & Development, Arup China

Conference Simulaneous Interpretator
Ms Teresa Chu

Logo and Slogan Review Panel
Mr Eric Chiu
Mr Jimmy Leung
Ms Eunice Mak
Ms Iris Tam
Ms Jacinta Woo

Sub-committee : Gala Dinner

2009-03-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

Chairperson:
Ms. Jacinta Woo

Members:
Ms. Isabel Yiu
Ms. Agnes Tang
Mr. Philip Chang
Ms. Alice Liu
(more are coming)

Sub-committee : Media and Publicity

2009-03-18T09:05:00.000-07:00

Blog Webmaster:
Miss Ariel Li

Audio-visual Team:

Chairperson
Ms. Alice Liu

Member
Miss Helen Chan
Ms Regina Chang
Mr. Vincent Wong
Mr. Nelson Yung

Media Team:

Chairperson
Mr. Mason Hung
(more to be added)

Sub-committee : Community Outreach

2009-03-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

Community Outreach

Derek Tse
Helen Chan
Alice Cheung
Benson Poon
Karmin Tong
Maggie Wu
Karen Chan
Jeff Ho
Sandy Lam
Alvin Lee

Sub-Committee : "Sharing through Decades"

2009-03-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

"Sharing through Decades"

Honorary Advisors:
Mr. K K Ling
Mr. Ng Tak Wah

Co-Chairpersons:
Miss Apo Wai
Miss Ariel Li
Miss Serena Tong

Members:
Miss Connie Chan
Miss Gloria Sze
Miss Sandy Chan
Miss Lucille Leung
Miss Natalie Chan
Miss Fiona Cheung
Miss Canetti Yu
Mr. Joe Chan
Mr. Viko Wan
Mr. Sing Yuen
Mr. Ray Or

Contact Us

2009-03-12T23:29:00.000-07:00

Contact Us:

Should you have any enquiries, please contact Ms. Johanna Cheng, Chairperson of the HKIP 30th Anniversary Organizing Committee or Ms. Monique Tai, Secretary of HKIP Office:

Office Address: Room 804, Stanhope House, 734-738 King's Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong
Office Telephone / Fax Nos. : 2915 6212 / 2915-7616
Email Address: hkiplann@netvigator.com

Be Our Sponsors!

2009-03-12T23:27:00.000-07:00

Diamond Sponsor :

Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd.

The Hongkong Land Co. Ltd.

Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd.

Platinum Sponsor:

Sino Group

MTR Corporation

Be Our Sponsors!

On this memorable year, we would like to invite you to continue to generously support us to achieve a remarkable celebration year through your sponsorship and participation. Your sponsorship would make those events and other exciting activities possible, and help fuel the awareness of town planning to address climate change in Hong Kong’s community.

In appreciation of generous and caring corporations, Corporate Sponsors will be offered unique recognitions of their support. Please contact us for details of the sponsorship packages.

We will rely on YOUR support, please do not hesitate to join us NOW!!

Community Outreach

2009-03-12T23:24:00.001-07:00

(Coming Soon)

"Sharing Through Decades"

2009-03-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

Kick-off Event “Sharing through Decades” cum Mentorship Program

The concept is for a social gathering in which planners from different decades will come together and share planning issues of various eras. The 'Sharing' consists of focus sharing groups and a drama night cum dinner gathering.

Focus sharing groups were held in February 2009 for each decade, funny, serious and memory searching stories were shared. Qualitative conversations and views about the then hot planning issues have been collated.

A drama night cum dinner gathering was held on 26 March 2009, 7-9pm, on 25/F of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Group Building (青協大廈) , 21 Pak Fuk Rd, North Point (pedestrian entrance at Model Lane next to the Quarry Bay MTR Exit C). It will contain drama, food, and sharing sessions. The dinner gathering, will be held in association with the Mentorship Scheme of YPG, and is the initiating events for Mentorship Scheme 2009.

Conference Committee

2009-03-10T11:48:00.001-07:00

Honorary Advisor Mr. Stanley YIP

Member
Mr. KK LING
President, HKIP

Dr. SHI Nan
Secretary General, UPSC

Ms. Johanna CHENG
Chairperson of HKIP 30th Anniversary Celebration

Ms. Flora LAI
Co-chairperson

Ms. Sharon LIU
Co-chairperson

Ms. Connie CHAN
Eco-Tour Subcommittee

Mr. William CHAN
Eco-Tour Subcommittee

Ms. Ebby LEUNG
Eco-Tour Subcommittee

Mr. LI Man Hon
Eco-Tour Subcommittee

Mr. Sing LO
Eco-Tour Subcommittee

Mr. Kenny CHAN
Publicity Subcommittee

Ms. Ariel LI
Publicity Subcommittee

Ms. Josephine LO
Publicity Subcommittee

Mr. Julian WONG
Publicity Subcommittee

Ms. Canetti YU
Publicity Subcommittee

Ms. Jacqueline CHEUK
Technical Subcommittee

Mr. FU Yee MING
Technical Subcommittee

Ms. Lucille LEUNG
Technical Subcommittee

Organizing Committee

2009-03-10T11:03:00.000-07:00

HKIP 30th Anniversary Organizing Committee

Chairperson
Ms Johanna Cheng

Core Team
Miss Helen Chan
Miss Carol Cheuk
Mr. Mason Hung
Miss Flora Lai
Miss Ariel Li
Mr. KK Ling
Ms. Alice Liu
Miss Sharon Liu
Mr. Derek Tse
Miss Apo Wai
Mr. TS Wong
Ms. Jacinta Woo
Miss Erin Yeung

"Holiday Farmer - A Quest for the Green"

2009-03-10T09:16:00.000-07:00

Primary purpose of the activity is to allow members to practice and enjoy organic farming and with no less importance, to have a personal dialogue with our environment as well as a rethink of the roles local food plays in quality of life, our environment, social relationship and a sustainable city.

A seminar was conducted on 19 Jan., 2009 at HKIP Office, where ideas and laughers were shared on organic farming.

Some 30 Members and their friends/relatives became holiday farmers on 1 March 2009 at O-farm, an established local organic farm in Fanling, attending the “Start Farming Day開耕日”. This will be followed by an 18-week experimental scheme. For funny snapshots, please click here.

Frequently Asked Questions “Why organic farming?”

Local Food and Community Gardening

1. Urban planner and holiday farmer – what's the linkages?

Local food (organic), better quality of life, better environment, better land use, more sustainable city

“Planning for "sustainability" and "sustainable development" eventually come down to dealing with the fundamentals of life - water, air, energy, transportation and waste. Another, equally important dimension that is often overlooked by urban planners, but is nevertheless equally fundamental to our lives, is food and the agricultural systems that produce it. Most of us take our food for granted - so much so that we often forget the role it plays in our social relationships, community building and the role that food and agriculture have in shaping our economy and environment.” (Urban Agriculture Strategy, City of Vancouver)

http://www.cityfarmer.org/SEFalseCreekFinal.html
http://homepage.mac.com/cityfarmer/SEFCUrbanAgStudyFINAL.pdf

2. Why local food (organic)?

Safe food, healthy food, less transportation, less food miles, less energy, less pollution, less green house gas, less ecological footprint, better soil conservation, better biodiversity, more local jobs, support local economy

Facts:

- "In 2007, local production accounted for 3 percent of fresh vegetables, 46 percent of live poultry and 18 percent of live pigs consumed in the territory."
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/agriculture/agr_hk/agr_hk.html

- Food in Hong Kong: what's environmentally sound?
"The most obvious and salient factors are that the vast majority of Hong Kong’s food is imported…,"
http://www.batgung.com/food-supply-in-hong-kong

- Come and Discover Hong Kong's Ecological Footprint in 1997! (covering also food)
(with 0.1 world population,) “Hong Kong was responsible for 0.2% of the world's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions…”
http://www.foe.org.hk/welcome/eco_1997ef.asp

- Agriculture in HK
“Currently there are about 2,700 farms in the territory. They employ directly about 6,100 farmers and workers…”
“By the end of 2007, the land used for vegetable, flower, field crop, and orchard are 320 ha, 180 ha, 20 ha, and 280 ha respectively…”
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/agriculture/agr_hk/agr_hk.html

- Organic Farming in Hong Kong
http://www.afcd.gov.hk/english/agriculture/agr_orgfarm/agr_orgfarm.html

3. Why community gardening?

Same as local food, plus fun, family/social interactions…

-“Community gardening improves people’s quality of life by providing a catalyst for neighborhood and community development, stimulating social interaction, encouraging self-reliance, beautifying neighborhoods, producing nutritious food, reducing family food budgets, conserving resources and creating opportunities for recreation, exercise, therapy and education….”
http://communitygarden.org/about-acga/

-“Community gardens provide access to fresh produce and plants as well as access to satisfying labor, neighborhood improvement, sense of community and connection to the environment….”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_garden

- LCSD’s Community Garden Programme
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/green/garden/en/index.html

4. See also…

Rooftop Gardening
http://www.cityfarmer.info/restaurant-opens-2500-square-foot-organic-rooftop-farm-first-to-be-certified-organic-in-the-usa/

http://jnblog.typepad.com/provocations/2008/07/grow-up-highrise-farming-is-it-viable.html

http://www.gobartimes.org/20060630/ask_me.htm

http://www.urbanfarming.org

City farmer and urban agriculture
http://www.cityfarmer.org/

Powerpoint of the Holiday Farming Sharing Session

Part 1: http://www.hkip.org.hk/admin/ewebeditor3.7/uploadfile/20090406232712592.zip
Part 2: http://www.hkip.org.hk/admin/ewebeditor3.7/uploadfile/20090406232802156.zip

2009 International Conference on “Planning for Low Carbon Cities”

2009-03-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

The Hong Kong Institute of Planners (HKIP) and the Urban Planning Society of China (USPC) will jointly convene the Conference, with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) of United Kingdom and the Macao Urban Planning Institute being the Partner Organizations, on 22nd – 23rd May 2009.

In echoing the world trend for low carbon economy, the Conference is organized to provide a platform for international stakeholders, including government bodies, academics, professionals and business sectors in Hong Kong, the Mainland and various countries to exchange ideas and share experiences on how to plan, design and build low carbon cities for much larger environmental benefits.

Details:
Date: 22nd – 23rd May 2009 (Day 1: Conference; Day 2: Eco-Tour)
Conference Venue: Noah's Resort, Ma Wan, Hong Kong
Eco-tour :
Eco-tour 1 (Volcanic Rock Tour – High Island Reservoir (East Dam))
Eco-tour 2 (Sedimentary Rock Tour – Ma Shi Chau Special Area)

Registration Fees (HK$/RMB):
Day 1 Conference:
Early-bird $1,100 per participant
Standard $1,300 per participant
Day 2 Eco-Tour:
Early-bird $270 per participant
Standard $300 per participant

Details for registration are enclosed in the attached flyer. You may also wish to visit the conference website for updated information (http://www.hkip.org.hk/plcc). Should you be interested to enroll for this conference, please do not miss the deadline for "Early-bird Registration" for those who register and pay on or before 17 April, 2009 (Friday).

You may wish to download the flyer (http://www.hkip.org.hk/plcc/download/09Conference_A4_Pamphlet1.pdf) and registration form (http://www.hkip.org.hk/plcc/download/09Conference_A4_Registration.pdf).

For more information, you may visit the Conference Website (http://www.hkip.org.hk/plcc) and the Ma Wan Park Website (http://www.mawanpark.com/eng/home.php).

Thank you for your kind attention and we look forward to meeting you at the Conference!

If you have any questions about the conference, please feel free to contact Ms. Kate Kwan / Ms. Penn Leung, our conference secretariats at (852) 2372 0090/ email: kate@creativegp.com / penn@creativegp.com

Congratulatory Message

2009-03-04T01:03:00.003-08:00

HKIP 30th Anniversary Logo Competition

2009-02-26T20:03:00.000-08:00

The winning logo:

Recognition of Merits:

Submissions:

A Logo Design Competition was launched during August and September 2008 to solicit “Our 30th Anniversary Logo” from members.
9 entries have been received and resulted in a keen competition on the web polling.

Winning logo for the 30th Anniversary has been announced, congratulations to the winner Mr. Julian Wong.
Three merit recognitions were also awarded to Ms Lee Sin Yee, Ms Josephine Lo and Mr. Stephen Tang.

HKIP 30th Anniversary Slogan Competition

2009-01-20T00:04:00.000-08:00

We have extended the deadline for the SLOGAN competition to 19 January 2009!

Dear Members,

After the enthusiastic support of members in the Logo Design Competitionwith the results annouced earlier this week, we now launch the HKIP 30thAnniversary Slogan Design Competition. Please join us in the celebration.For details please refer to the attached flyer. Don't miss the deadlinebefore the end of the year on 30 December 2008.

HKIP 30th Anniversary Organising Committee