User’s perception of the place-making strategy in Kwun Tong Waterfront Promenade

Waterfront places have experienced a series of revitalization around the globe, from the industrial powerhouse and gateway to the other countries, to the latest nucleus of commercial development, public recreation and civic identity. With this transformation, waterfront places which constitute a kind of public spaces, are suggested to integrate with the place-making strategy that ultimately targets at fulfilling different users’ needs, in terms of ‘comfort and image’, ‘uses and activities’, ‘sociability’ and ‘access and linkages’. In Hong Kong, the Victoria Harbour separates Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong Island, which has also experienced different stages of revitalization. While the west side of the harbour-front such as Tsim Sha Tsui has gained lots of attempts for investigation, the east harbour-front including Kwun Tong is seldom discussed with academic efforts. In view of it, this study aims to examine the characteristics of Kwun Tong Waterfront Promenade and users’ perceptions of place-making strategy.

An online questionnaire survey and an onsite observation were designed to gather users’ perceptions towards the related issue, as well as to observe the practical usage of the promenade. Various analyzing methods such as Sign test and Spearman’s rank-order correlation from Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) were used to interpret the collected data. It was found that, in users’ perceptions, the promenade could realize the attributes of place-making strategy to a large extent, as well as accommodate a fair sense of place. Thence, this study has implications to assist in exploring a successful place-making waterfront space and promote the use of existing waterfront while planning better future ones as well.