PIA2224 Env Issues & Sustainable Deve, 2024-25 SemA

Friday, 9:00-11:50
YEUNG LT5

Lecture-9: Sustainable built environment and

social impacts assessment
○DONG Liang (董亮）
a Department of Public and International Affairs
b School of Energy and Environment
City University of Hong Kong
[email protected]

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Today’s topics

• Built environment and sustainability

• Plan it: Sustainable urban planning
• Renew it: Urban renewal and social impact assessment

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Big picture: Some city facts

Cities account
for about two-
thirds of global
energy
demand.
Buildings Cities produce
produce a up to 70% of
fifth of the global
world’s CO2 greenhouse
emissions. gas emissions.
An estimated
Buildings account 80% of global
for roughly 40% GDP is
of the world’s generated in
energy use. cities.
General Indicators of urban sustainability

Water, materials and waste Energy and air quality

Urban Sustainability

Land, green spaces

Transportation
and biodiversity

Livability
Big picture: United Nations 17 “Sustainable
Development goals” (SDGs)

SDG 11.2: urban mobility;

SDG 11.3: sustainable and inclusive urbanization;
SDG 11.5: urban resilience;
SDG 11.6: urban environment;
SDG 11.7: green space;
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…
① Built environment and
sustainability

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Big picture: How we look into our cities from an
environmental view
The pathway, for resources run into our cities,
transformation of resources and consumptions in
cities via various socioeconomic and industrial •Health
activities, and wastes disposal, is also called “Urban •Employment
metabolism” (城市代謝) •Income
•Education
•Housing
Livability •Leisure
•Mobility
•Community

Resource
Process
Input
Waste
•Land •Transport system Outputs
•Water •Economic system
•Food •Social system •Solid waste
•Energy •Liquid waste
•Construction materials •Air pollutants
•Other resources Q: What is •Heat
healthier city? •Noise
Built environment

• Built environment （建造環境、建成环境）

• Landscape (風景、景觀)

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Defining the Built Environment

• constructed places, features, and

elements that together make our cities,
villages, and towns
• varies from large-scale urban areas to
rural development and personal space
• includes indoor and outdoor places

Urban and rural human-made

surroundings that provide the
setting for human activity.
Night light map from NASA

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Visible Urban Sprawl
Behind is expansion of built environment

Change in Built-up Areas

Changes in Built-up Areas

Tokyo Nagoya

1910
0 50 km
1965
1985

London Bangkok
Visible Urban Sprawl
Behind is expansion of built environment
Conceptual model to manage built environment

In-flows Out-flows (desired)

· materials · products
· energy Process · services
· air, water

Stocks
Out-flows (undesired)
· byproducts
Instruments · residuals
· land · waste heat
· infrastructure
· tools

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 Two critical built environment elements

• Buildings
---promote green, energy conservation building
• Infrastructures
---promote sustainable urban infrastructure
development

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The Built Environment Has Direct and
Indirect Effects on the Natural Environment

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Environmental Impacts

• Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation

• Degradation and loss of water resources
• Degradation of air quality
• Heat island effect
• Greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change
• Health and safety

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 Heat Island Effect
• Cities can be 6-8 degree warmer than outlying areas due to:
• Dark pavement and roofs that absorb and reflect more heat.
• Fewer trees and less vegetation that reduce shade and evaporative
cooling.
• Increased heat can be a health hazard:
• Heat stroke
• Increased air pollution

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Sources: Frumkin 2002; Stone 2008
 Habitat Degradation

• Habitat destruction and fragmentation

• Many species cannot survive along road edges. Species
density tends to increase with distance from roads.
• E.g., Estimates of land ecologically affected by roads:
20% to 50% of the United States
• Animal mortality
• 1 to 2 million collisions between vehicles and large animals
per year
• Major cause of death for 21 animals on the federal threatened
or endangered species list

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Sources: Federal Highway Administration 2008; Coffin 2007; Riiters & Wickham 2003; Forman & Deblinger 2000
Ensure Access and Inclusion to Improve Health

• loneliness and isolation are toxic

• social relationships can promote
health
• people with strong social networks:
– live longer
– have less heart disease
– are less depressed; use alcohol
and drugs less
– have fewer teen births
– are healthier overall
Creative and Inclusive design on built environment
Social aspects of SDGs
• Inclusive design provides buildings and
environments that are convenient and
enjoyable to use for everyone;
• The adoption of inclusive design
principles will help people use
developments safely, with dignity,
comfort, convenience and confidence.
• People will be able to make effective,
independent choices about how they
use a development without
experiencing undue effort or
separation.
• They will be able to participate
equally in the activities that the
development offers.

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Creative design

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Gender sensitive built environment management
Amsterdam, Netherlands and Tokyo, Japan

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Inclusive design on built environment
Den Haag, The Netherlands

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② Sustainable urban planning:
concepts and approaches

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Why planning?
e.g., traffic jam in cities, issues behind and in-depth thinking

Osaka Shanghai

a b

San Francisco Chicago

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c d
Planning

• Friedmann states that "..all planning must confront the meta-

theoretical problem of how to make technical knowledge in
planning effective in informing public actions"

• In sum, Friedmann defines planning as the component that

links knowledge & action.
KNOWLEDGE ACTION

• Planning is what links technical knowledge and actions in the

public domain.
Urban Planning- definition

• Urban planning is a technical and political process concerned

with the development and design of land use and the built
environment.
• Urban planning deals with physical layout of human settlements.
• The concern includes the public welfare, which includes
considerations of efficiency, sanitation, protection and use of the
environment, as well as effects on social and economic activities.
• Urban planning is considered an interdisciplinary field that
includes social, engineering and design sciences. It is closely
related to the field of urban design and some urban planners
provide designs for streets, parks, buildings and other urban
areas.

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Urban Land Use

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Example: The Roman settlement of Londinium, c. AD 200,
which developed into the modern metropolis of London

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Urban Planning as guidance

• A means of guiding the design and regulation of the uses of

urban space, location of different activities, with a focus on
physical form, economic functions, and social impacts of urban
environment.
• Urban planning draws upon engineering, architecture, social
and political concerns variously:
① An endeavour involving political will, public participation,
② A technical profession,
③ And academic discipline.

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Determinants of urban resource consumption
And relationship to urban planning

Drivers
• Land-use planning
• Infrastructure decisions
• Economic roles

Urban
Patterns Lifestyles
• Urban form metabolism • Mobility
• Land use intensity • Shelter
• Land use connectivity • Food
• Land cover change • Demography
Sustainability concerns for urban planning

• Sprawl-outlying areas farther out

• Loss of soil- farmland lost
• Land use- less land more pavement
• Pollution- air, water and soil
• Waste- garbage, sewage
• Consumer habits- use more energy, food
• Many more…

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Inner City Social Problems

• Underclass-inner city residents who are trapped in an unending

cycle of economic and social problems.
• Lack of job skills
• Homeless
• Poverty
• Crime
• Racial Segregation
• Annexation- legally adding land to the city

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Ex: Urban planning to reduce urban pollution
Urban GHG emissions (tCO2e/capita)
• Denver 21.5
• New York 7.9
• Paris (Ile de France) 5.2

Denver NY

Paris 35
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Example of Racial and class Segregation

Durban Ho Chi Minh

Bangkok
Ex: Urban planning to reduce crime

Keeping a place well

maintained and looking
friendly can make people
feel safe （Seoul, Korea）

Train car for women, Japan

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③ Practice: Urban renewal & Social
impact assessment in HK

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Policy highlights in Hong Kong

The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) will carry out social impact assessment:
• Stage 1 social impact assessment or to update any earlier social impact assessment
commissioned by DURF before the publication of any proposed redevelopment project in
the Government Gazette; and
• Stage 2 social impact assessment including proposed mitigation measures after the
proposed project has been published in the Government Gazette.

• What’s the difference?

• The Stage 1 social impact assessment report will be available for public information on the
day of publication of the proposed redevelopment project in the Government Gazette.
• The Stage 2 social impact assessment report, which relies on information collected as part
of the freezing survey to be conducted immediately after publication of the proposed
redevelopment project in the Government Gazette, will be available for public information
on a date specified in the Government Gazette.

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Example

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Key points for urban renewal SIA

• To identify and assess the social impacts of the urban renewal

plan proposed by the Planning Consultants, and to recommend
social impact mitigation measures.
• From 2011, a new advisory platform, DURF (District Urban
Renewal Forum) was set up to strengthen urban renewal
planning at the district level.
• DURF will advise the Government on district-based urban renewal
initiatives from a holistic and integrated perspective, including
advice on regeneration and redevelopment areas, preservation
targets, and implementation models."

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Social Impact
Assessment (SIA)

• A Social Impact Assessment is a

process of research, planning and
the management of social change
or consequences (positive and
negative, intended and unintended)
arising from policies, plans,
developments and projects (UNEP,
2007).
• The core focus of an SIA is on the
important impacts of projects and
developments beyond the impacts
on natural resources.

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Social value

• Social value is usually affected by environment, that is why usually SIA is

integrated with Environmental impact assessment (EIA).

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SIA = Social Analysis + Participation
Social Analysis
• The systematic investigation of：
① demographic factors
② socio-economic determinants
③ social organization
④ socio-political context
⑤ needs and values
⑥ and institutions.
• Objectives:
① account for social differences
② assess impact and risks
③ mitigate adverse impacts
④ build capacity of institutions and individuals.

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SIA = Social Analysis + Participation
Participation
• A process through which
stakeholders influence and share
control over development
initiatives, decisions, and
resources which affect them.
• Participation ranges from
information-sharing and
consultation methods, to
mechanisms for collaboration and
empowerment that give
stakeholders more influence and
control.

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 • Social preparation for the participation of stakeholders;
Essential • Identification and full representation of stakeholders and
other concerned parties;
Elements of • Implementation of procedures or protocols that are
Public acceptable to all parties;
Participation • Issues or concerns that emerged are stated clearly and
made known to all participants.

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Key terms of SIA
-Social Objectives, Stakeholder Engagement and Valuation
• Social objectives: they are supposed to be shared among members of society.
① Equal opportunities for all
② Social inclusion
③ Gender equity
④ Alleviation or reduction of poverty
⑤ Health
⑥ Many more…

• Stakeholder engagement: by engaging relevant stakeholders, it will be able to arrive at

a consensus on what objective is truly socially shared.

• Valuation
① How do we value all these social changes or consequences?
② Against what standards shall we value them?
③ As these consequences concern a much wide group of people, within or beyond any
particular society or nation, how do we possibly know how this wider group of people
thinks?

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Some questions explored in SIA

• What will be the impact of the project on the various

stakeholders, particularly on vulnerable groups, such as
indigenous peoples, women, and the elderly?
• Are there plans to mitigate the adverse impacts?
• What social risks might affect project or program success?
• What institutional arrangements are needed for participation
and project delivery?
• Are there adequate plans to build the capacity required at the
appropriate levels?

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Stakeholders Engagement

• Stakeholders: persons or groups who may be significantly

affected by the project or undertaking, directly or indirectly.
• In the context of World Bank supported activities, stakeholders
are “those affected by the outcome – negatively or positively –
or those who can affect the outcome of a proposed
intervention.”
• Guiding Principle in Stakeholder Engagement: social inclusion.

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Frameworks & tools of SIA adopted in
Hong Kong

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Summary: Two important issues in SIA

• Identify the social impacts (social values and objectives)---social

analysis
• Impacts on different stakeholders---public participation

How to identify such values and impacts?

Analysis on
Social Analysis + Impact
community
Participation assessment
profile

• People livelihood related • Potential impacts;

to the project; • Impacts on stakeholders;
• Stakeholders engaged; • Multiple social methods:
• Socioeconomic and questionnaires, survey, etc.
demographic information. • Quantitative and qualitative
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General Processes of conducting SIA

Stakeholders Engagement

Identifying Social Objectives

Programme/Project Objectives Setting

Defining and Measuring Outcomes

Accounting for Value of Outcomes

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 Formulating an Urban Renewal Plan in Kowloon City: The First Social Impact
Assessment Sponsored by the Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum formed
by the HKSAR Government

Source: CityU website 54

Social Impact
Assessment
On Urban
Renewal Plan
for Kowloon
City

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 5
6

Scope of Stage 1
and 2 SIA in this
project
• This SIA focuses on the study of
the recommendations on urban
renewal plans, which, involve
redevelopment and rehabilitation.
• Community Profile
• Social Impact
• Feedback from Stakeholders
• Proposed Mitigation Measures.
Data collection for Stage 1 and 2 SIA in
this project

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Stage 1 SIA

• Stage 1 of the SIA comprises two parts, namely a Community Profile and a Questionnaire.

• Compilation of the Community Profile: To conduct an analysis of the livelihood of people

to be affected by the PURPs and solicit views of stakeholders on the PURPs, the
consultants analyzed data from the 2011 census, and also conducted 22 face-to-face
interviews, 5 focus group meetings and 8 site-visits.

• The interviewees included District Council members, social workers, business association
and religious leaders, local-concern groups, residents (including rooftop dwellers and
ethnic minorities) and operators of vehicle-repair workshops, funeral, jewellery and
catering industries in the district.

• Questionnaire: A total of 1,138 questionnaires were received from residents and shop
operators to assess the social impacts of the PURPs on the affected areas.

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Stage 1 SIA: community profile
• The compilation of the community
profile aims at analyzing the
livelihood of those areas affected
by the URP.
• The Consultants analyzed the data
of the Large Street Block Groups in
the Population Census 2011,
conducted site visits, questionnaire
survey and solicited views of
stakeholders in the public
engagement community workshops.
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Stage 1 SIA: community profile:
identification on stakeholders
The total population of the affected areas (R1,
• Demographic Characteristics R2 and R3) was 89,596, in 32,711 domestic
households. R3 was the most populated, with
44,794 people (50.0%); 31,512 (35.2%) were
living in R1; and the population in R2 was
13,290 (14.8%).

• Community and Structure of Social Various requirements and expectations

Groups from residents of different area (R1, R2
and R3).

• Average monthly household income

• Socio-economic Characteristics
• Occupations
• Educational attainment

• Housing Conditions and the Degree of

Overcrowding
• Future Development of the District
• The Availability of Amenities, Community and
Welfare Facilities
• Historical background, Cultural and Local
Characteristics 60
Social Impact
Potential Difficulties of Residents
• The building and housing owners would encounter the following problems when their
properties were being acquired for redevelopment:

Insufficient information about the existing supporting services and measures.

Lack of professional knowledge: e.g, had no knowledge of property valuation, afraid of

being cheated.

Difficulty to assemble ownerships to initiate the redevelopment procedure: e.g.,

multiple ownerships were common in the area

Compensation for tenanted properties

Concerned about the fees related to redevelopment

Re-housing issue/Difficulty in finding suitable accommodation

Inability to integrate into the new community after relocation, e.g., some elderly

Increase in financial burden after redevelopment 61

Social Impact
Identification on Issues that owners were
mostly concerned relating to rehabilitation
① No guarantee of project quality: As owners were unfamiliar with professional
knowledge such as selecting consultants and contractors; planning, conducting
and supervising the rehabilitation projects, the service quality cannot be
ensured
② Lack of professional knowledge and related information: Owners were neither
well informed about the rehabilitation polices and other supporting measures,
nor had owner who had undergone the rehabilitation projects, to share
experience with them.
③ Owners' Corporations were not formulated: Owners failed to set up their OCs
to discuss the rehabilitation issues.
④ Concerned about the cost of rehabilitation: Owners were worried that they
could not afford the cost of rehabilitation, such as surveyor fees, project costs.

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Social Impact
Identification on Potential Difficulties for Businesses
• Consultants have investigated the level of worries of the businesses in the affected areas,
regarding redevelopment and rehabilitation related issues at the questionnaire survey in
Stage 1 SIA.
• Survey questions like:
• “acquisition and compensation” and “dismissal of staff & loss of opportunity to make a
living" due to redevelopment.
• "project costs" and "effect on current business / opportunity to make a living" due to
rehabilitation.
Key identifications

Vehicle repair industry

• the major challenge for redevelopment was to identify suitable

relocation site.
Funeral and related businesses
• would not encounter obvious challenges
Elderly care homes: major challenge is relocation due to redevelopment
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Social Impact and Feedback from Stakeholders

Potential Difficulties of Residents

Potential Difficulties for Businesses

Stakeholders' Feedback and Expectations of Mitigation

Measures Along the Three Broad Approaches

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 • At Stage 1 of SIA, the Consultants have proposed mitigation measures
along the three broad approaches, including to set up a “one-stop centre”
Proposed as the basis, "to promote existing policies and continue to develop
existing supporting schemes" and "to establish liaison with the local
Mitigation organisations and institutions". Most of the stakeholders responded
favourably to these three broad approaches.
Measures • Based on the feedback from the stakeholders groups, and reviewing the
existing supporting services and measures of urban renewal, the
Consultants have listed out the following service gaps and areas of
improvements when different stakeholder groups are facing urban renewal:
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Proposed Mitigation Measures
Service gaps and areas of improvements

Owners (Redevelopment)
• Lack of information (private-led redevelopment projects)
• Strengthen the support to elderly for adapting to the new environment after relocation

Owners (Rehabilitation)
• Continue to enhance the support and services for rehabilitation

Tenants
• Lack of sufficient and centralized channel to disseminate information
• Difficulties in finding rental accommodations
• Strengthen the assistance for the ethnic minorities to access information

Measures:
• Information Kit on Urban Renewal
• One-stop Information and Services Centre
• Promote and Enhance the Existing Supporting Services and Measures

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Review

• Concept of built environment

• Concept of sustainable urban planning
• Concept and approaches of social impact assessment
• Sustainability application into them

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Thanks for your attention☺

☺If you feel interests to my research, pls feel free to reach me☺
[email protected], and via many social networks
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