Smart city development can improve people's livelihood and make Hong Kong a more liveable city. Earlier on, the Planning Department (PlanD) has completed the feasibility study on the “Development of a Common Spatial Data Infrastructure - Built Environment Application Platform” (CSDI-BEAP Study), which aims at developing prototype applications on specific areas such as city planning, infrastructure and environment based on spatial data, in order to facilitate implementation of works and projects, increase efficiency in planning and development, and enhance collaboration among Government bureaux and departments to provide better services to the public. In this blog post, I would like to invite a colleague from the PlanD to brief us on the study.

Enhancing efficiency in planning through technology

The PlanD is committed to enhancing the efficiency of its town planning work through innovation and technology. These include the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in surveys and preparation of 3D spatial data; application of satellite images, remote sensing and geo-informatics to provide an updated overview on the distribution of land uses and vegetated areas; development of the 3D Planning and Design System, which displays the cityscape of Hong Kong through 3D photo-realistic models and, by applying the existing planning data and information, helps town planners to formulate and analysis design schemes. Moreover, the PlanD completed the CSDI-BEAP Study in early 2020.

From “Supermarket” to “Kitchen”

The Government is pressing ahead with the implementation of the Common Spatial Data Infrastructure (CSDI) to facilitate integration, exchange and sharing of geospatial information. Mr WONG Wai-yin, Vincent, Senior Town Planner of the PlanD, says that the CSDI is like a “supermarket” in which a wide variety of data and services are available, while the Built Environment Application Platform (BEAP) is like a “kitchen”, where selected ingredients (i.e. the spatial data) from the supermarket can be processed into applications relating to built environment. Under the CSDI-BEAP Study, a total of ten prototype applications on different thematic areas have been developed, including those on “planning and land use”, “infrastructure and engineering” and “landscape, environment and conservation”.

Planning and land use analysis

Mr Vincent WONG shares with us two prototype applications relating to town planning and livelihood. The first one is on “Government, Institution or Community (GIC) Facilities and Open Space Analysis”. This prototype application displays the type and location of the existing and planned GIC facilities and open spaces in a 3D map environment, and generates a summary table to facilitate analysis of future demands for these facilities based on the population projection inputs of a particular area and the standards stipulated in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines.

Town planners are also concerned about with the spatial distribution of different types of community facilities. The prototype application on “GIC Facilities and Open Space Analysis” helps town planners conduct service area analysis to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the distribution of community facilities and residential buildings, so that new community facilities can be set up at the most suitable locations.

Visualisation and Analysis of Urban Green Infrastructure

The other prototype application is on “Visualisation and Analysis of Urban Green Infrastructure”. Mr Vincent WONG says that, for a city closely packed with high-rise buildings like Hong Kong, green and blue assets (i.e. urban infrastructure relating to water and vegetation) are vital for maintaining its livability and sustainability. This prototype application displays different types of green and blue information, and provides more reference materials for built environment planning.

Encouraging more greening studies

Mr Vincent WONG adds that in the CSDI-BEAP Study, academic research results on green indices are compiled and added to this prototype application. With information such as vegetation covers, town planners can better analyse the impact on the green indices brought by development projects. Such information is also useful in environmental analysis, e.g. urban heat island effect and microclimate impact, and can be applied in district planning in respect of tree planting, pedestrian facilities and walking environment enhancement and more. It is hoped that this prototype application will encourage greening-related studies and thereby enhance the quality of town planning.

International and local recognition

We are glad that the CSDI-BEAP Study won three international and local awards, namely, the best Asia Pacific Smart City project under the “Urban Planning and Land Use” category of IDC Smart City Asia Pacific Awards 2020, the 2020 Grand Award for Excellence under the International Society of City and Regional Planners, and the Certificate of Merit of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners Awards 2020.

Looking ahead, it is our hope that through leveraging on the prototype applications developed under the BEAP, we can build Hong Kong into a smart, green and resilient city, and foster co-creation among the Government, industry, academia and the public to further promote smart city development in Hong Kong for the benefit of the public.

Besides, the HKSAR Government would like to pledge our staunch support for the passage of the Decision on improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) by the National People's Congress. Having considered the actual situation in Hong Kong, the Central Authorities take the initiative from the national level to improve the electoral system of Hong Kong, aiming to ensure that Hong Kong can stay true to the original aspiration in implementing the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" and get Hong Kong back on the right track; it is only by putting in place institutional safeguards to ensure "patriots administering Hong Kong" that the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" can be fully and faithfully applied in the HKSAR which is conducive to the long term prosperity and stability of the city. The HKSAR Government will fully co-operate and support the relevant follow-up work.