[Field-Homework 3] Disappearing City: Sidewalk, Connaught Place, Hong Kong Central

There are many sidewalks in Hong Kong，which provide a designated space for pedestrians, separating them from vehicular traffic. Sidewalks enhance pedestrian safety and reduce the risk of accidents and conflicts between pedestrians and vehicles. However, some sidewalks are not used frequently by people, and they may disappear shortly, such as the sidewalk next to Jardine House, located at Connaught Place, as shown in the image below.

source: google map

Let us discuss why this sidewalk will disappear from two perspectives: urban planning that requires more space during city development and the comparison of usage of pedestrian bridge and sidewalk, where few people use this sidewalk from observation.

In Central, there is already a system of pedestrian bridges. When I walked down the stairs and went through the sidewalk, I saw a large space under the bridge that was only been used as a sidewalk. However, space under the bridge should be utilized. I walked through the sidewalk and  found out that almost no one used this sidewalk. As cities continue to grow and develop, there may be instances where sidewalks are not prioritized or adequately planned. If the space under the bridge can be used as something other than the sidewalk, people may benefit from it. Some urban development projects prioritize vehicular traffic or allocate more space to buildings rather than dedicating space for pedestrians.

Instead, most people choose to use the pedestrian bridge instead of walking on the sidewalk. As we can observe, there are always many people on the pedestrian bridge, but few are on the sidewalk. Thus, this sidewalk may disappear due to several reasons.

First, some cities are experimenting with new transportation models that prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists over cars. These models often involve redesigning streets without the need for traditional sidewalks (Streetsblog USA, 2017). As cities continue to grow and develop, there may be a need for more space for buildings, roads, or other infrastructure projects. The sidewalk is under the pedestrian bridge, and it provides large space which can be used when extending buildings or even room for activities.

Second, few people use this sidewalk, most choose to use pedestrian bridge instead, and the sidewalk seems to lose its original function as a path for pedestrian transition. This pedestrian bridge obviously become a substitute for this sidewalk, providing a more convenient way to travel from building to building, especially for Central, where it has one of the highest pedestrian bridge density.

The method of conducting the research included both primary research and secondary research. For primary research, I took several days to do the observation, and I also designed a survey about whether the sidewalk next to Jardine House will disappear. During the observation, as the video presented, I took a still shot to show the comparison between the number of people walking on the pedestrian bridge and the sidewalk. The comparison was obvious : most people use the pedestrian bridge during the period I observed.

In addition, in the survey I designed, there were three questions: Will this sidewalk disappear; when you walk through this area, will you normally use a pedestrian bridge or sidewalk; why do you think the sidewalk will disappear? For question 1, 91.67% of people chose “yes” and believed that this specific sidewalk would disappear in the near future. In question 2, 83.33% said they would choose a pedestrian bridge rather than a sidewalk. In question 3, some people considered that few people using the sidewalk and bridge is more practical; some said that the sidewalk might disappear due to urban planning, more space is needed for the organization of transportation, and so on.

Besides, I also did research using secondary resources. Through Google Scholar, JSTOR,and also through HKU libraries to search for relating proof about possible reasons of why some sidewalks will disappear. Some reasons including the reorganization of roads, extending the buildings and the trend that some traditional sidewalks may disappear.

To produce the video, I used wide shot to present the full picture of the sidewalk . Moreover, eye level shot was widely used in my video, in order to show audience the whole process of walking along this sidewalk. Using eye level shot also make audience notice the unused space under the pedestrian bridge–which is used as sidewalk. This video also contained several still shot from high angle, in order to show the comparison of most people walking on pedestrian bridge but few people walking on the sidewalk. The comparison further prove that this sidewalk seems to be useless and the trend is people choose to use pedestrian bridge instead of this sidewalk, so the sidewalk may disappear in the near future.

However, some aspects were ignored in this video, and these aspects also need to be considered when making this argument. In the video, it showed a delivery motorbike was parked on the side of sidewalk, if Hong Kong are going to create more space for roads, buildings and people, the parking of motorbike and bikes should also be considered. The city could consider creating a shared space for motor vehicles’ parking and new usage of the sidewalk space. Additionally, the observation of pedestrian volume on sidewalks could be observed for longer time period, and choose more various time to observe, which could provide more objective and complete data.

In conclusion, the video suggests that sidewalk next to Jardine House may disappear in the near future, because of urban planning due to rapid growth and the existing trend of fewer and fewer people use this sidewalk. The video contains both primary research of observation and survey, and secondary research.

References

Pang, M. (2024). Capital and Space | Central Hong Kong: Cooperation, Efficiency, and Leniency Driven by Interest-the paper. The Paper News. https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_8606116

Schmitt, A. (2023, June 16). Are sidewalks really necessary? – streetsblog USA. Streetsblog USA. https://usa.streetsblog.org/2014/04/01/are-sidewalks-really-necessary/

Siu, K. W., Wang, W., & Wong, K. C. (2015). Pedestrian Bridges and urban landscape: A case study of hong kong pedestrian bridges’ aesthetics and their effects on the urban landscape. The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design, 9(4), 35–53. https://doi.org/10.18848/2325-1662/cgp/v09i04/38400

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