The renowned humanistic geographer, Professor Yi-Fu Tuan, proposed that the emergence of “place” comes from the unique meanings humans assign to it. People are at the core of a place, where they work, live, and play, transforming space into a place that conveys meaning and identity. In fact, each of us exists in constantly changing spaces. By opening up possibilities for different activities, we create places, fostering community interaction, cultural expression, and a sense of belonging.
The High Line in New York, USA, is a section of abandoned railway track in Manhattan. The railway began operations in 1934 but ceased in 1980 due to changes in transportation development. In 1999, two residents, Joshua David and Robert Hammond, spontaneously formed a conservation organization. They collected over 720 renovation ideas from residents through an idea competition and gathered funding from New York celebrities with the goal of restoring urban green space. Finally, in 2004, the project of High Line Park received support from City of New York, and from 2009 to 2019, it was constructed and opened to the public in phases.
The project significantly increased surrounding property values and gave rise to the “High Line Effect,” leading cities across the United States to transform abandoned railways, highways, and industrial areas into parks or community spaces. To this day, 90% of its operating funds come from private donations. As of 2019, the park had 8 million visitors.
Singapore’s Enabling Village was established by SG Enable, making it the first community activity center in Singapore designed specifically for people with disabilities. The center transformed a 30,000 square meter old site with the goal of helping people with disabilities achieve self-reliance. This includes arranging diverse vocational training courses (such as in food and beverage, household management, and arts), assisting them in assessing their job-seeking abilities, and matching them with suitable employment opportunities. The training center also invites social enterprises as Job Site Partners, with participating enterprises covering industries such as data organization, artistic creation, and jewelry design. This allows people with disabilities to realize their potential and break through social, corporate, and personal boundaries.
The shops, restaurants, and gym facilities within the center are set at lower heights for easy access by people with disabilities. They are equipped with hearing aids and Braille facilities to maximize the freedom of use and movement for people with disabilities. The cultural and creative products sold at the center are created by students with autism and are very popular.
The community facilities of Enabling Village were opened to the public in 2005. In the kindergarten, half of the children are disabled and half are non-disabled. In the gym, seniors, people with disabilities, and local residents exercise together, promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion.
The 2024 Policy Address of Hong Kong further promotes community building. Measures include extending the Pilot Programme on Community Living Room (CLR), by adding three new community living rooms in areas with a high concentration of subdivided flats in 2025, on top of the existing four community living rooms. They are expected to serve about 3,050 households at subdivided units (SDUs), drawing about 470,000 attendances a year. Services include providing living spaces for subdivided flat households (such as shared kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms, study spaces for children, self-service laundry and drying machines), community support (including homework guidance services, talks on life information and community resources), in-kind donations (such as food and food vouchers), and volunteer support.
Edit by: CUHK ORKTS and Huang Xiangkun (Calvin) – CUHK students (Global Studies), Inno-Ambassador
