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The latest news, analysis and opinion on Urban planning. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Firefighters at a building in central Jakarta where a fire killed 22 people on December 9. Photo: TNS
Indonesia

Deadly Indonesia fire fuels claims of ‘back-room dealings’ on safety

Unions blame bribery for lax enforcement after 22 workers died in a burning Jakarta office building with no emergency exits.

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Accidents and personal safety

Letters | Hong Kong’s ageing buildings need better care under stronger rules

Hong Kong culture

Opinion | Frank Gehry’s vision for Hong Kong’s arts hub was an opportunity lost

Asean

In wake of Hong Kong blaze, Southeast Asia’s fire hazards come under scrutiny

Serious structural defects and inefficient bureaucracy tainted by corruption are common in the region, fire safety experts say.

A person watches as a major fire engulfs residential buildings at Wang Fuk Court in Hong Kong on November 26. Photo: dpa
Hong Kong society

Letters | Commercialisation of Hong Kong’s public venues must come with a caveat

Readers discuss the government’s bid to open up underused public venues, call for a Firefighters’ Day, and take issue with the sensationalisation of news.

Hong Kong economy

Good deal for all? Can Hong Kong urban renewal body’s payout review fix scheme?

Cash-strapped Urban Renewal Authority is reviewing compensation scheme for flat owners forced out by redevelopment. But is a wider rethink needed?

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Hong Kong economy

Letters | Time for Hong Kong to move on IP trading, or our neighbours will

Readers discuss the city’s still meagre efforts to become a regional IP hub, the community charm of Victoria Park Tennis Stadium, and the use of physical cheques.

Kim Nam-joon, known as RM, leader of the K-pop band BTS, bows after delivering his speech during the APEC CEO Summit Korea 2025 in Gyeongju, South Korea, on October 29. South Korea’s success in promoting its cultural IP offers lessons for Hong Kong. Photo: EPA
Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong has set course to join the ‘yacht club of Asia’. Can it find a way?

Yacht tourism could potentially be worth billions of dollars annually to Hong Kong’s economy, but unlocking that potential remains a challenge.

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China's economic recovery

Why some Chinese cities are rethinking their sweeping development strategies

Why is the famed demolition and reconstruction approach that bottled lightning in Datong city increasingly seen as outdated? And what are the alternatives?

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Hong Kong economy

Exclusive | Northern Metropolis flexibility not ‘favouring developers’: Hong Kong minister

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn reveals six-year construction cap could be extended under incentives to boost investor appeal.

The government is weighing up new incentives, including longer construction timelines, to boost investment in the Northern Metropolis project. Photo: Winson Wong
Hong Kong housing

Editorial | Strike a balance when fixing Hong Kong’s urban renewal compensation

The Urban Renewal Authority should ease the concerns of affected owner-occupiers while putting its operations on a sounder footing.

A view of old housing in San Po Kong on September 19. For owner-occupiers affected by redevelopment, the Urban Renewal Authority’s current mechanism provides payouts equivalent to the market price of a comparable seven-year-old home in the same district. Photo: Edmond So
Hong Kong

Video | Family businesses vanish amid Kowloon City makeover

The bustling streets in Hong Kong’s Nga Tsin Wai Road and Carpenter Road area have gone quiet as shops shut during a redevelopment push, leaving Lam Kee Grocery as one of the last still in business.

Japan

‘Bad actor’ fears prompt Japan to review foreign-owned land sales

Officials are concerned about strategic land near military bases and water supplies falling into foreign hands.

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Science

Letters | Yu Kongjian’s legacy of ‘sponge cities’ will carry on

Readers discuss a Chinese flood control solution for the world, reactions to a new tech talent visa, and golf tourism in Hong Kong.

A walkway passes ponds and islets at the Fish Tail sponge park built on a former dumping ground for coal ash in Nanchang, Jiangxi province in 2022. Photo: AP
Infrastructure

Will China’s next 5-year plan rewrite its infrastructure playbook?

While the old ‘megaproject’ model was effective, upcoming blueprint could provide outline for an updated, tech-driven outlook.

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Illustration: Henry Wong
Hong Kong housing

Hong Kong to relax plot ratio rules to encourage private urban renewal

Scheme targets older areas in seven districts with bonus plot ratio and land premium vouchers to provide incentives for redevelopment.

Hong Kong housing

Should Hong Kong’s URA tie compensation to condition of homes? Analysts say yes

Lawmaker Andrew Lam says URA acquisition prices should exceed private sector values.

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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong plans to save historic school, ancestral hall in Northern Metropolis

Authorities say preserving century-old Yau Tam Mei Primary School and Wai Cheung Ancestral Hall will provide ‘tangible link’ to area’s history.

The former Yau Tam Mei Primary School has 94 years of history. Photo: Dickson Lee
Hong Kong economy

Borrowing boost for Hong Kong urban renewal body as another deficit recorded

Urban Renewal Authority’s borrowing limit has been increased to HK$35 billion.

Hong Kong housing

Hong Kong investigates ‘installation issues’ at 3 light public housing projects

Authorities say they will hold contractor, related parties accountable for construction flaws at sites in Siu Lam, Tuen Mun and Chai Wan.

Indonesia

Indonesia’s grand capital plan gets a downgrade as Nusantara is redefined

A new regulation calls the city a ‘political capital’, fuelling uncertainty over the future of Joko Widodo’s legacy project.

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People take photos in front of the presidential palace in Nusantara, East Kalimantan, in August. Photo: AFP
Hong Kong housing

First developer withdraws from Hong Kong land sharing scheme amid slow economy

Lawmaker Wendy Hong says scheme’s conditions are not attractive as developers can only break even rather than make a profit.

A public housing estate in Diamond Hill. The land sharing scheme only received its first application after operating for more than a year. Photo: Jelly Tse
Hong Kong housing

Opinion | Help elderly Hongkongers free up prime housing for younger generations

City’s land resources could be used far more efficiently if living spaces were aligned with residents’ needs and life stages.

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Climate change

Opinion | Asia must enlist nature’s defences against fury of extreme weather

Asia must stop trying to outbuild nature and start working with it, embracing nature-based solutions and restoring protective ecosystems.

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Aviation accidents

Chinese architect and Peking Univesity professor Yu Kongjian dies in plane crash

He is known for his concept of the ‘sponge city’, which first took off in China and was then adopted in countries from the US to Russia.

The wreckage of a plane is seen at the crash site in Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazil, on Tuesday. Photo: Policia Civil de Minas Gerais via Reuters
Hong Kong transport

Hong Kong’s MTR Corp secures HK$30 billion 7-year syndicated green term loan

Loan backed by 57 banks worldwide and is largest of its kind closed by local firm in Asia, Middle East and North Africa, rail operator says.

The rail operator has carried out a series of fundraising activities in recent months. Photo: Edmond So
Hong Kong environmental issues

As Hong Kong gets hotter, where is the city going wrong with urban greenery?

Record numbers of very hot days, hot nights make pedestrian-level ventilation and greenery essential to mitigating urban heat, experts warn.

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China's population

Opinion | Gloomy population projections for China? Add a pinch of salt

The UN’s drastic forecast shouldn’t be taken at face value. Still, China should rethink its urbanisation strategy and learn from the US.

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