Urban Renewal Authority 2018-19 Annual Report

37 OPERATING REVIEW The District-based and Integrated Approach To take urban renewal forward in a more holistic manner and with the support of the URA Board, the URA has, since 2015, adopted a district-based and integrated approach to the urban renewal process in order to secure greater planning and social gains for the wider community. Compared to the traditional scattered “pencil blocks” or other small scale redevelopment projects, the district- based approach to urban renewal will allow the URA to explore restructuring and replanning in older urban areas which achieves urban planning objectives and rationalises land use patterns from a sustainability perspective. It also allows the URA to integrate the “5R” initiative in a district-wide urban renewal process, thereby creating synergies among the different interventions. This overall approach aims to better tie in with the objectives of the URAO and URS to restructure and re-plan urban areas with more environmentally-friendly transport networks and rationalised land uses, thus creating more positive impact. Based on the preliminary findings of a neighbourhood scale planning study conducted by the URA to carry forward recommendations from the Kowloon City District Urban Renewal Forum, the URA selected strategic site locations for redevelopment in the neighbourhood with a wider master plan in mind. Altogether six projects have been launched under the district-based approach in To Kwa Wan aimed at restructuring and re-planning the existing pedestrian and vehicular traffic network to create a pedestrian friendly neighbourhood with more community facilities and open space.