Commons

The blatant increase of malls and the continuous decrease of public space in the city are both undeniable facts. Some people accuse the private property developers of privatizing the public space and some argue that Hong Kong Chinese do not have the tradition of spending time in public space at all. This essay aims at revealing the needs of public space by Hongkongers and how public space in the territory is eaten up by both private property developers and the government. These will then be followed by some suggestions on how the co-existence and the balanced development of the private and public space can be made possible in Hong Kong. Definition of Public Space Before analyzing the topic, it is necessary to give a clear definition of public space. The term “public space”, when translated in Cantonese, is always mixed up with the concept of “public place”. The latter includes “all piers, thoroughfares, streets, roads