Retrospective and prospective evaluations of environmental quality under urban renewal as determinants of residents’ subjective quality of life

Claims about the impacts of environmental quality associated with urban renewal on the resident’s subjective quality of life are more speculative than empirically grounded. To clarify the impacts of environmental quality under urban renewal, this study surveyed 876 residents living in housing surrounding seven urban renewal sites in Hong Kong. It shows that environmental quality, both perceived (retrospectively) during and expected (prospectively) after urban renewal, exhibited positive effects on the resident’s subjective quality of life. Furthermore, it reveals that the subjective quality of life of the resident with higher education was less responsive to environmental quality perceived during urban renewal. The findings imply that more measures to mitigate the adverse social impact of urban renewal are preferably available to residents with less education.     

Social Mitigation of the Impact of Urban Renewal on Residents’ Morale

Residents in the site of urban renewal suffer from its disturbance particularly during its demolition phase. One possible way of mitigating the suffering is assistance from kin and neighbors. The possibility rests on need fulfillment theory, which posits that needed assistance is salutary. To examine this possibility, the study surveyed 437 residents staying around urban renewal sites in Hong Kong. Results lent support to the hypothesized mitigation regarding neighbors’ help but not kin’s help. Instead, the kin’s support exhibited a significantly main positive effect on a resident’s morale. Furthermore, quality in neighborhood amenities but not in the residential environment showed a significantly main effect on morale. Results imply the merit of sustaining amenities quality and kin and neighbor assistance for mitigating the demoralizing impacts on residents during urban renewal.     

Determinants of the Safety Performance of Private Multi-storey Residential Buildings in Hong Kong

Given the high population and development density in Hong Kong, building failures can result in catastrophic consequences. It is thus worthwhile identifying those dilapidated buildings, and this explains why the Hong Kong government has considered launching a mandatory building inspection scheme in the city. Apart from the measurement of building safeness, however, it is equally important to explore the major determinants of the safety performance of buildings. Such information can help the government and other related organizations to rationalize their subsidies offered for building improvement and to make more informed strategies of urban regeneration in Hong Kong. To this end, the safety performance of 429 private multi-storey residential buildings was measured in this study using the Building Safety and Conditions Index developed by The University of Hong Kong. It was then followed by an explanatory analysis which found that older buildings were less safe than large, modern buildings. More importantly, the co-existence of a property management agent and a statutory owners’ association delivered the best building safety performance, and in this respect was the optimum building management regime for private multi-storey buildings in Hong Kong. These findings pose significant policy implications for building safety and urban regeneration in Hong Kong.     

Subjective Quality of Life in Zhuhai City,South China: A Public Survey Using the International Wellbeing Index

The study of subjective quality of life and its connotations in the People’s Republic of China is at a preliminary stage. Although there is an emerging body of literature on this topic, there are few datasets representative of the general public, particularly in Mainland China. This paper reports the findings of a public survey (N = 449) conducted in Zhuhai City, South China using the International Wellbeing Index (IWI). There were four main aims: (1) to judge whether residents were satisfied with their lives; (2) to compare the data with recent findings from Hong Kong and Macau; (3) to investigate the equivalence of the IWI in terms of its psychometric properties; and (4) to determine the applicability of the ‘Theory of Homeostasis Wellbeing’. The data indicated a moderate level of personal (PWI score = 64.4.) and national (NWI score = 57.4) wellbeing, consistent with recent findings from Hong Kong and Macau. The PWI score was within the normative range for non-Western countries, which indicates that the residents were, on the whole, satisfied with their lives. Although previously reported objective measures of quality of life in Zhuhai are lower than in Hong Kong and Macau, this is not reflected in this study’s subjective measures. This finding was interpreted in terms of the ‘Theory of Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis’, and the specific situation in Zhuhai, as there seems to be an absence of factors (i.e., no harsh economic or social situation) which could drive subjective wellbeing below normal. Last, that the IWI demonstrated good psychometric performance in terms of its reliability, validity, and sensitivity, and concurred with previous published reports, it seems that the scale’s robustness generalises to Chinese samples.     

Correlates of Quality of Life in New Migrants to Hong Kong from Mainland China

The concept of Quality of life (QOL) has received considerable attention from different disciplines. The aim of this study was to identify what are the correlates of QOL among Chinese new immigrants in Hong Kong. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey among 449 Hong Kong new immigrants from Mainland China. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the association between immigrants’ QOL and their demographic characteristics, socio-economic factors, optimism, sense of control, perceived social support, perceived neighborhood disorder, collective efficacy, pre-migration planning, depressive symptoms and acculturation stress. Our findings demonstrated that depressive symptom is the most prominent factor in reducing immigrants’ level of QOL, perceived social support and optimism are the two important factors that enhance the QOL of these depressed immigrants. Our results indicate that preventive measures must be developed, and professional counseling and psychological support services must be provided to new immigrants in Hong Kong, especially those who have depressive symptoms.     

The Quality of the Urban Environment Around Public Housing Buildings in Montréal: An Objective Approach Based on GIS and Multivariate Statistical Analysis

The question of the “insertion” in space of public housing into the surrounding urban environment is not new. It has often been examined from the perspective of the social environment, but more rarely from that of the physical environment and the accessibility of public and private services and facilities. To qualify the immediate urban environment around Montréal’s public housing buildings in its complexity, we are proposing a methodological approach based on the use of several spatial databases in GIS: (1) the Montréal public housing database, (2) individual census data for the Montréal CMA, (3) a satellite image, (4) a land use map, and (5) location data on a series of public and private services and facilities. Use of these spatial data enables us to identify various combinations of advantages and disadvantages within the urban living environment in which Montréal’s public housing buildings have been located, according to three dimensions: the social environment, the physical environment, and the accessibility of services and facilities. Our final results show that only a small proportion of public housing tenants (7%) live in residual spaces, that is, in quite unattractive areas of the city which combine a number of urban disadvantages: a degraded physical environment, a high level of social deprivation, and few or no services and facilities.

An Exploratory Study on the Quality of Life of older Chinese People Living alone in Hong Kong

This study successfully interviewed 109 randomly selected Chinese people aged 60 and over living alone in two public housing estates in an urban area of Hong Kong. The results show that mental health status, number of days staying in hospital, life satisfaction, age, and self-esteem are significant factors in predicting the life quality of older Chinese respondents living alone. The explanatory power of this model is 56.4. The results of this study are consistent with previous findings reported in the west and in Hong Kong. A subgroup analysis of those older Chinese respondents living alone who have offspring also living in Hong Kong shows that belief in childrens support in old age, good walking ability, and better self-reported health status via life satisfaction as the mediating variable, better self-reported health status and satisfactory self-reported financial status via self-esteem as the mediating variable, are crucial predictors of quality of life. This model explains 64.2% of the variance in quality of life from a subset of the predictor variables.     

Hedonic Versus Eudaimonic Conceptions of Well-being: Evidence of Differential Associations With Self-reported Well-being

Sustainable development is a priority area of research in many countries and regions nowadays. This paper illustrates how a multi-stakeholders engagement process can be applied to identify and prioritize the local community’s concerns and issues regarding sustainable development in Hong Kong. Ten priority areas covering a wide range of community’s concerns in relation to the economic growth, societal development and environmental protection have been identified. An index is then constructed based on these priority areas to track the public’s views on the progress of Hong Kong towards a more sustainable city.     

Tenure and Spending Within UK Households at the End of the Recent Recession

Housing costs form a substantial share of aggregate demand in the UK. This study examines the distribution of total expenditure-to-income by homeownership status at the end of the recent recession in 2010. Multivariate quantile regressions uncover four important points. First, owner-occupiers in England have considerably higher mean spending ratios than their peers in other parts of the UK; an indication of their wealthier status. Second, the average spending ratio for residential-occupiers in all UK regions, with the exception of Northern Ireland, is significantly higher than the mean ratio for tenants in both private and public properties. In this last region, the spending rate for private tenants is more prominent. Third, the disparity in the expenditure ratio between owner-occupiers and tenants is significantly more pronounced in England. Fourth, renters in public housing in Scotland and Wales have much higher spending ratios than their counterparts in private properties, reflecting a greater overall social security provided by the devolved government there. Policy implications allied with heterogeneity in the consumption effect of housing wealth across the different homeownership cohorts is discussed.     

Measuring Child Poverty in Hong Kong: Sensitivity to the Choice of Equivalence Scale

In September 2013, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region established Hong Kong’s first official poverty line. The new poverty line is used as a major yardstick in social welfare policy formulation and in the allocation of public resources aimed at combating poverty; despite its importance, however, its robustness has not been examined. Using data from the 2011 Population Census, we examined the robustness of the official poverty line in measuring child poverty in Hong Kong through assessing the sensitivity of child poverty measures to the choice of different equivalence scales. The results show that the child poverty profile in Hong Kong is generally not sensitive to the choice of equivalence scale and that the official poverty line correctly identifies those children who live in poverty. Rates of child poverty among boys and girls of different ages, with different family backgrounds and living in households with different compositions, were calculated and ranked using different equivalence scales; these rankings were found to be very similar to those yielded by the official poverty measure. Thus, the choice of adult equivalence scale does not favour any subgroup. We also examined the child poverty profile in Hong Kong based on the official poverty measure and with our 2011 census data. We found that the children in our sample were more likely than the adults to live in poverty household; that more than half of the children who lived in poverty belonged to working poor families; and that children living in public housing were particularly likely to suffer from severe poverty. In light of these findings, we urge the government to prioritise taking measures aimed at lifting children out of poverty.     

Social Harmony in Hong Kong: Level,Determinants and Policy Implications

This study aims at ascertaining how Hong Kong people perceive Hong Kong as a harmonious society. It also identifies the elements that are most conducive to social harmony in Hong Kong, so that the government could take reference when formulating new policies. 1,062 adults residents were asked to rate their perceived level of social harmony and their satisfaction with 36 items (divided into three dimensions: public governance, society, and economy, family and work) for which the research team believes would be influencing the perceived level of social harmony. Results show that the average rating of social harmony was 5.57 (out of 10), delineating a moderate level of social harmony. Subsequent multivariate factor analysis and regression analysis show that the four extracted factors (from the three dimensions) had significant impacts on the level of social harmony. These were, in order of significance: (a) public governance, (b) social solidarity and respect, (c) economy/family/work and, (d) social tolerance and progressiveness. According to the factor loadings of each significant factor, we identified four core values which we hope the government would consider when formulating new policies, as follows: (1) A Justice Government with Sincerity on Communication, (2) Mutual Support and Respect with Integrity and Dedication, (3) Dedication to One’s Job and Community by Helping the Needed and, (4) Creativity and Progressiveness with Tolerance. Implications for policy making are discussed. The study was conducted under the direction and guidance of the Fostering Social Harmony Task Force of the Hong Kong Professionals and Senior Executives Association (HKPASEA). The authors acknowledge the kind support and assistance provided by the Council Members of HKPASEA and staff members of the Centre for Corporate Governance and Financial Policy at Hong Kong Baptist University. We are also grateful to Prof. Alex Michalos and Prof. P. K. Ip for their comments and suggestions given at the International Conference on National Well-Being held in November 2006 at the National Central University, Taiwan.     

Residential Satisfaction of Elderly Tenants in Apartment Housing

Previous research has demonstrated the persistently lower residential satisfaction of tenants as compared to homeowners. However, analysis of data from 41,198 US households indicates that this gap is heavily age dependent. After middle age, the residential satisfaction of apartment housing tenants increases dramatically—eventually exceeding that of both single-family housing tenants and homeowners. Although elderly tenants are less likely to indicate dissatisfaction with building maintenance or the neighborhood, these factors are particularly important to elderly tenant satisfaction. These age differences in housing satisfaction may relate to the increasing difficulty of managing residential maintenance and the growing importance of nearby services.     

Social Development in Hong Kong: Development Issues Identified by Social Development Index (SDI)

Surviving the aftermaths of the Asian Financial Crisis and SARS in 2003, Hong Kong’s economy has re-gained its momentum and its economic growth has been quite remarkable too in recent few years. Nevertheless, as reflected by the Social Development Index (SDI), economic growth in Hong Kong does not seem to have benefited the people of the city at large as we see social qualities such as cohesion, security, equity, and empowerment are gradually eroded. This paper aims to summarize the current state of social development in Hong Kong based on the SDI-2008 and identify the major social, political and economic challenges that are confronted by Hong Kong. Based on the findings, a range of policy options proposed for promoting a more balanced approach to social and economic development are discussed. The article illustrates the utility of social indicators research such as the SDI in assessing quality of life and assisting related social planning initiatives in Asian communities such as Hong Kong.     

“I Wish to be Self-Reliant”: Aspiration for Self-Reliance,Need and Life Satisfaction,and Exit Dilemma of Welfare Recipients in Hong Kong

This qualitative study explores the welfare recipients’ experiences of and attitudes toward the welfare benefit system in Hong Kong. A sample of 19 welfare recipients from six main recipient groups was interviewed, some twice. This study finds that the recipients have strong aspirations to exit the welfare benefit system. The welfare application process is painful; they are strongly stigmatized; they do not have sufficient resources to meet many of their expected needs; and, after all, they have strong ethos for self-reliance. However, they remain in the benefit system. This study looks into this paradox and the challenges facing the welfare benefit system in Hong Kong in terms of providing ontological security on the one hand and promoting self-reliance on the other.     

An Exploratory Study on the Quality of Life of older Chinese People Living alone in Hong Kong

This study successfully interviewed 109 randomly selected Chinese people aged 60 and over living alone in two public housing estates in an urban area of Hong Kong. The results show that mental health status, number of days staying in hospital, life satisfaction, age, and self-esteem are significant factors in predicting the life quality of older Chinese respondents living alone. The explanatory power of this model is 56.4. The results of this study are consistent with previous findings reported in the west and in Hong Kong. A subgroup analysis of those older Chinese respondents living alone who have offspring also living in Hong Kong shows that belief in childrens’ support in old age, good walking ability, and better self-reported health status via life satisfaction as the mediating variable, better self-reported health status and satisfactory self-reported financial status via self-esteem as the mediating variable, are crucial predictors of quality of life. This model explains 64.2% of the variance in quality of life from a subset of the predictor variables.     

Subjective Residential Environment and its Implications for Quality of Life Among University Students in Hong Kong

This paper reports the results of a convenient sample survey of 500 Hong Kong university students conducted in May 2003. The main aim of the survey was to investigate the respondents perception of the residential environment and its implications for the quality of life (QOL). Results indicated that the respondents were generally satisfied with the residential environment, scoring a mean satisfaction rating of 3.32, on a 5-point Likert scale. The type, size and age of a respondents home, years of occupancy and attending university were found to be significantly related to the overall satisfaction. Transport (4.37), environmental quality (4.30), and public utilities (4.25) were reported to be the most important infrastructures for the QOL, but environmental quality (3.21), education (3.11) and greening (2.98) were considered to be the least satisfactory ones. The desirable distribution of facilities and services was defined by their functions and the new urban designs were appreciated by the respondents. Although available space was less than the ideal and public transport was a serious concern, the respondents had adapted well to the high-density environment and enjoyed the urban life in Hong Kong. It is hoped that the results and findings of this study can provide a reference for the formulation of future development strategy in Hong Kong.     

New Evidence of the Postmaterialist Shift: The Experience of Hong Kong

This article makes use of survey data collected in 1992 and 2007 to examine the question of whether or not Postmaterialism is gradually becoming manifest in Hong Kong and to explore the applicability of Postmaterialist theory to this affluent Chinese society. Our findings basically support the hypotheses of the theory that the continued socioeconomic development of Hong Kong is giving rise to a populace that is increasingly inclined towards Postmaterialism. Younger people are more Postmaterialist than their seniors. In addition, Postmaterialists are more likely than Materialists to support the ‘new politics’ and democracy. Nevertheless, Hong Kong is far from being a Postmaterialist society. Multivariate regression analysis also revealed that the Materialist/Postmaterialist orientation is neither related to age nor to formative security.

Housing Well-Being: Developing and Validating a Measure

Housing well-being refers to the home resident’s cumulative positive and negative affect associated with the purchase, preparation, ownership, use, and maintenance of the current home, and the selling of the previous home. Housing well-being is assumed to occur when the home is bought with the least amount of effort (purchase), the home is prepared for use to meet the needs of the new occupants (preparation), ownership signals status and enhances the home owner’s financial portfolio (ownership), the home serves the housing needs of the residents (use), the maintenance, renovation, and repair in the home are minimal, least costly, and effortless (maintenance), and the sale of the home is transacted with the least amount of effort and most financial gain (selling). Based on this conceptualization of housing well-being, we conducted an exploratory study to identify the sources of satisfaction related to the purchase, preparation, ownership, use, and maintenance of the current home, and the selling of the previous home. The exploratory study also helped us articulate a theoretical model describing the interrelationships among the housing well-being constructs and their consequence: the perceived quality-of-life (QOL) impact of the home. The exploratory study helped us also to develop survey measures, which in turn were validated through two additional studies involving surveys of home owners in the US and Korea.     

Quality of Life Perceptions and Directions for Urban Regeneration in Hong Kong

Urban regeneration can be an effective tool to promote sustainability and enhance macro-level quality of life if the principles of encouraging participation, building community character, advancing equity, improving environment and enlivening the economy are observed. Through the assessment of various quality of life indicators related to these five basic principles for sustainable urban regeneration by the public, private and community sectors, this paper finds that Hong Kong falls far short of realizing these fundamental principles. There are also considerable discrepancies between the public and non-public (private and NGOs) sectors in terms of evaluating existing quality of life issues and perceiving their relative priorities. The private and community sectors tend to have lower rating of existing situation and consequently a longer priority list. On the contrary, the public sector seems to be more complacent with the existing quality of life situations and has a much shorter priority list. The public sectors more relaxed attitude coupled with a top-down executive-led polity mean that Hong Kong will probably have a long way to go toward sustainable urban regeneration.     

The Impact of Fathers’ Work and Family Conflicts on Children’s Self-Esteem: The Hong Kong Case

Work and family conflicts are always viewed as issues of human resource management or occupational health. Insufficient attention has been focused on the impact on child development and quality of parenting, especially regarding the impact of a father’s work. To examine the impact of work and family conflicts on the quality of father–child interactions in Hong Kong, a cross-sectional survey was conducted. In total, 556 pairs of working fathers and their school-aged children participated in the survey. The findings of the survey indicated that fathers’ work-to-family conflicts negatively affected the quality of father–child interactions, which in turn caused harm to children’s self-esteem. In addition to work-family conflicts, a low income level of the fathers, a larger number of children in the family, and the presence in the family of children approaching adolescence were significant risk factors to the quality of father–child interactions. The mothers’ active parental involvement and the complexity of the fathers’ occupation were significant protective factors of the quality of father–child interactions. To facilitate strong family bonding and good quality parenting, possible measures to ensure a healthy work-family balance among working fathers are discussed.