Management companies and resident organizations in the private housing sector of Hong Kong

Dog guardianship has gained popularity in many cities as a result of animal domestication. In spite of its benefits, dog guardianship in high-density urban housing creates certain problems, including increased health risks. Conflicts between different interested parties over the right to keep dogs have therefore surfaced. In Hong Kong, a lawsuit was initiated by a resident in a private housing estate, Mei Foo Sun Chuen, to overturn dog bans imposed by the property management company. The court’s judgment stated that dog bans are enforceable only if dogs are explicitly prohibited in the deed of mutual covenant. This study aims to value empirically the right to keep dogs in private housing based on an analysis of a set of housing transaction data in Hong Kong. It also investigates how the value of the right has changed with the court judgment. The findings suggest that the right was negatively valued by the market, but the court judgment increased its value. These results demonstrate a revealed preference of the Hong Kong community for dog guardianship in a high-rise living environment.

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Public housing and educational attainment in Asia's global city: An empirical study of Hong Kong

Environment and Planning C Government and Policy ◽

10.1177/0263774x16642770 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 34 (8) ◽

pp. 1867-1894 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fox Zhiyong Hu ◽

Keelee Chou

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Educational Attainment ◽

Public Housing ◽

Social Impact ◽

Educational Achievement ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Urban Housing ◽

Neighborhood Environment ◽

Housing Sector ◽

The Impact

In recent years, the relationship between public housing and children's educational attainment has been a hotly debated topic in urban housing and education policy studies. Most studies on the subject have been based on experiences in western cities characterized by a diminishing and residualized public housing sector. It remains unknown whether the same mechanisms identified in the extant literature can be applied to make sense of the situation in alternative social and housing contexts. This study assesses the impact of public housing residence on the educational achievement of children in Hong Kong within a stable and resilient public housing sector. A propensity score matching estimation reveals that children aged 19–22 living in public housing are less likely to study for a degree in a local university and more likely to be not in employment, education or training than their private housing counterparts. Given the favorable physical and neighborhood environment characterizing public housing in Hong Kong, this negative relationship tends to suggest an account in connection with the restricted access to high-performing schools for public housing children. The paper challenges the perceived notion about the unambiguously positive social impact of public housing scheme in the context of Hong Kong. The case study points to the need for a place-specific analysis of the variegated mechanisms linking public housing with children's education. It highlights the practical implications for a closer integration of public housing and public school policies in Hong Kong.

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