Synopsis
This video shows the current state of sidewalks in Hong Kong as the city is starting to cope with the coronavirus. It is an informative video about the roles that sidewalks play in the spread of COVID and how not only Hong Kong but other countries have been affected by it. Hong Kong is a very small city with a lot of narrow sidewalks. The video shows how the coronavirus has changed the lifestyle of Hong Kong and uses sidewalks as evidence to show the changes. With people being forced to stay home, sidewalks have become emptier than ever. In order to disincentivize people from leaving their home, the government has imposed strict social-distancing rules which would change the functions of sidewalks in Hong Kong. Not only did essential workers begin to eat on sidewalks but citizens started doing all sorts of activities on sidewalks. This shared area has become more than just an area for walking. With the pandemic situation getting better in Hong Kong, the sidewalks have been investigated again.
Method of Research
Different news articles have been researched to gather more information about how sidewalks affect the situation in both positive and negative ways. Some city proposals like sidewalk extensions gave a better understanding of how cities are trying to solve the issue that sidewalks bring.
Video
The video begins with the main character checking the news for updates to discover that Hong Kong has recorded zero local cases, showing that Hong Kong is beginning to cope with the coronavirus. As a result, the main character gets his mask which is necessary in this situation to take a walk outside as he has been stuck at home for so long due to the virus.
The video then transitions to the main character walking around the sidewalks. Different shots of sidewalks in Hong Kong are also included in the video to show viewers the current state of sidewalks as the city is coping with the virus.
Objective
From a nearly empty sidewalk to packed sidewalks, the objective of the video was to show viewers that sidewalks have always been an important characteristic in Hong Kong as most people choose to walk in this small city. As the videos documented show packed streets, this shows that Hong Kong is beginning to return to normal.
Reflections
Sidewalks are essential in travelling. Though streets are mostly vehicle-dominated nowadays, sidewalks offered citizens an easy way to travel without any other external forms. However, with the advent of the pandemic, I believe that it made us reflect on the layout of sidewalks in Hong Kong. The narrow and packed sidewalks made it impossible to carry out social-distancing, and that meant diseases could spread easily. I believe that this provides an opportunity to change up the urban planning system in Hong Kong and shape Hong Kong in a way it has never been done before.
Words: 482
1. Ho, K. (2020, August 3). In Pictures: Hongkongers dine on the roadside as city enacts toughest Covid-19 restrictions yet. Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. https://hongkongfp.com/2020/07/29/in-pictures-hongkongers-dine-on-the-roadside-as-city-enacts-toughest-covid-19-restrictions-yet/.
2. Bliss, L. (2020, April 4). Mapping How Cities Are Reclaiming Street Space. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-03/how-coronavirus-is-reshaping-city-streets.
3. Klaus, I. (2020, March 7). Pandemics Are Also an Urban Planning Problem. Bloomberg.com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-06/how-the-coronavirus-could-change-city-planning.
4. Sidewalk Extensions. Global Designing Cities Initiative. (n.d.). https://globaldesigningcities.org/publication/global-street-design-guide/designing-streets-people/designing-for-pedestrians/sidewalk-extensions/.
5. Bollyky, T. J., & Kiernan, S. (2021, January 28). Where the Sidewalk Ends: Think Global Health. Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/where-sidewalk-ends.
Choi Yoon Je 30305793498
I really liked your video as it clearly showed the current situation of sidewalks in Hong Kong. It’s surprising that Central and TST, which used to be flooded with tourists and residents, are now empty. The video is well organised and I liked how you captured the situation of more than one sidewalks but some music or voice recording could have made it more interesting. Overall, a very informative video on portraying the effect of Coronavirus around the city.
The video was well organized and it was easy to see the different human densities of sidewalks. While I think that the caption is an effective way of providing your idea, I personally also think it might have been better if you had your voice read out some important parts or extending the time length as there were some parts where the caption disappeared before I finished reading it.
I think the text well explain your idea and made it possible to better understand your message in the video. However, I was not 100 percent sure how much your content connects to the topic of “Public.” Since sidewalks are public area and the degree of publicity depend on the pandemic situation and connects to the topic of “public,” I also think choosing your own topic and title such as “dense” might have better represented your work as I think the main theme of your work is the relationship of human density on sidewalks and the pandemic situation.
Your video has documented the situation of sidewalks currently, which helps to reflect the life in Hong Kong after the pandemic is under control. Yet, I wonder how you would argue that your discussion is about ‘public’. When Dai Pai Dong occupies the street (not exactly the sidewalk), it attempts to privatize the public street. There can be more discussion on what is public and private here. How has the pandemic re-define what publicness is? Does the 1.5m mandatory distance between the tables impact the publicness of the sidewalk? The research can be more rigorous to inform your audience of something new. Right now it is showing the observations of a bypasser, which is evidenced by your camera angle. Is it the only angle to show your observation? I would encourage you to use a storyboard next time to clearly display your narrative so that the whole project can be more focused and critical.