Hong Kong’s old buildings: 5 lessons for urban renewal

Think of Hong Kong as a living dictionary. Every old arcade, footbridge and mixed-use tong lau, or tenement building, is an entry worth studying. As the city embarks on another redevelopment cycle, we should be leafing more carefully – not erasing the dictionary’s words but learning how to write new ones in the same spirit. Here are five key words that should be at the centre of any sensitive, forward-looking renewal blueprint.One, shelter. Tong lau arcades were an original climate adaptation. Deep, shaded walkways kept pedestrians out of the subtropical sun and sudden downpours while sheltering the life of the street – the shops, hawkers and casual encounters that make it feel like a neighbourhood. With global warming, the argument for covered walkways is no longer nostalgic; it is about basic pedestrian resilience.Tsuen Wan has a network of footbridges linking the MTR station to shopping malls and housing estates, but the network remains patchy. The Urban Renewal Authority’s district planning study on Tsuen Wan is a chance to move from ad hoc bridge-building to a deliberate, all-weather pedestrian grid. Imagine walking from your flat to the wet market, clinic and MTR station without having to open an umbrella.