CHarMing the Victoria Harbourfront - Public Engagement Model on Planning Issue in Hong Kong

Traditionally, urban planning in Hong Kong usually uses a top-down approach as the professionals, mainly as public office and supported occasionally by planners from the private sector, are the major force to decide and design on planning of land uses. Although the Planning Department, in line with the practice of the government as a whole, will conduct public consultation on nearly every planning exercise, this paper argue that the traditional method employed by the government is not comprehensive. By proposing a new model for public engagement on planning issues, this paper uses a real case, the Central Harbourfront and Me "CHarM" project to demonstrate how this model operates, the merits, and limitations and difficulties faced. It is suggested that genuine Public Engagement should be employed in every single planning issue to ensure that the land uses thus decided are a result of public engagement with consensus.