Comparative housing studies : satisfaction and priorities​

Abstract

Funded by the PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA), this three-year comparative research project examined housing conditions, priorities and satisfaction in Hong Kong. The region’s socioeconomic and political conditions have engendered a context of hyper-dense development, where land is scarce and dense and competitive development continues to make housing conditions a priority and satisfaction an ongoing concern. In response, this research expands the scope of the study in Tai O Village (Multi-Component Output (MCO) 1). With HK$500,000 in YIRA funding, Elkin commissioned an 8000-respondent housing survey in Hong Kong, Seoul, London and New York City and conducted two studies on housing in Kowloon City and Cheung Sha Wan. As with the Tai O study, this research advances questions about housing. What ideas do dweller prioritise when they make housing choices? What conditions increase dweller housing satisfaction? How important is physical architecture? How important are autonomy and choice? What ideas matter most to dwellers in varying housing types, markets and socio-spatial cultures? Positioned between architecture, urban studies and sociology, this research draws on LeFebvre’s Writings on Cities and Harvey’s Social Justice in the City to explore urban resource allocation and builds on Turner and Awan to understand autonomy in housing architecture. Research methods included a multi-market survey, a physical survey and ethnographic interviews, which generated response data, 3D scan records and oral histories. The research was tested through scholarly review and public presentations. Three conclusions are presented: dwellers mostly prioritised non-physical ideas outside architecture; spatial autonomy did matter to dwellers, but other concerns mattered more; and dwellers thought most about finances when making housing choices, although not exclusively, and to differing extents depending on the context. The methods and findings presented include novel multi-market surveys on housing and in-depth digital surveying and ethnography. The research findings were disseminated as datasets, through traditional scholarship and through exhibitions and lectures.