Background

Objectives

Research Framework

Staff

Research Projects

Activities

Useful Links

Background

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a framework for infrastructure development. It will bring together peoples across the Belt and Road region and will have multiple secondary impacts and effects on the incomes, wealth, societies and cultures of the peoples and geographical regions and cities along the highways and the railway.

These major impacts and effects can be considered as first and second-order direct and indirect network externality effects ranging from changes in spatial distribution of peoples, economic and social activities to cultural enrichment, and the spread of policies, regulations, management and governmental approaches. Hong Kong’s world-class urban management can make an important contribution to help the Belt and Road countries maximise the benefits of these effects, and protect against the negative effects of greater connectivity.

Formed by HKUrbanLab researchers and collaborating with partners in the Belt and Road regions and across the world, The Belt and Road Urban Observatory (OBORobs) initiates an ambitious forward-looking research agenda to measure, evaluate, predict, influence and enhance the indirect network effects and benefits of BRI on the cities, city systems and peoples in the Belt and Road region. Its overarching aim is to help capture more network benefit, for local peoples, cities and nations as Eurasia becomes progressively connected.

Objectives

1. To enable critical understanding of the built environment and prevalent urban issues of South, South-east and Central Asian cities and how these may be improved by appropriate integration into the Belt and Road infrastructure;
2. To help improve the management of these cities by analyzing the transferability of the urban management policies and practices of Hong Kong, urban China and other countries, with particular emphasis on using that transferred knowledge to better capture benefits from Belt and Road infrastructure investments; and
3. To support this analysis with predictive simulations of multi-scale spatial economic and urban outcomes of the Belt and Road infrastructure investments.

Research Framework

Approach

1. International collaborative research partnering with scholars in South, South-east and Central Asia and other regions.
2. Interdisciplinary, multi-disciplinary and innovative research.
3. Systematic documentation and comparative analysis of urban policy in key sectors across the Belt and Road countries, aiming to bring positive impacts to their urban management.
4. Specific studies, supported by city-based consultations, advising governments on urban interventions to optimise the Belt and Road network benefits locally.

Research clusters

1. Comparing residential forms, housing culture and governance: in search of better livability in the Belt and Road cities
2. Urban forms, urban efficiency and transport policy under BRI: transferring Hong Kong’s experience to South, South-east and Central Asian countries
3. Infrastructure development and network effects
4. Construction management and safety in the Belt and Road countries
5. Heritage impacts/preservation under BRI
6. Ecological impacts/preservation under BRI
7. Tourism and new economic activities under BRI and their impacts on urban management

Staff

Director

• Dr. Li, Weifeng (Department of Urban Planning and Design, HKU)

Research Team

Principal Investigator

• Prof. Webster, Christopher John (Faculty of Architecture, HKU)

Investigators

• Dr. Chan, Roger C.K. (Department of Urban Planning and Design, HKU)
• Mr. Chiaradia, Alain (Department of Urban Planning and Design, HKU)
• Prof. Chiu, Rebecca L.H. (Faculty of Architecture, HKU)
• Prof. He, Shenjing (Department of Urban Planning and Design, HKU)
• Dr. Liu, Xingjian (Department of Urban Planning and Design, HKU)
• Dr. Lu, Xiaoxuan (Division of Landscape Architecture, HKU)
• Dr. Nam, Kyung-Min (Department of Urban Planning and Design, HKU)
• Prof. Rowlinson, Steve (Department of Real Estate and Construction, HKU)
• Dr. Sun, Guibo (Department of Urban Planning and Design, HKU)
• Dr. Zhou, Jiangping (Department of Urban Planning and Design, HKU)