Under its current rapid development, Hong Kong faces increasing economic challenges and new opportunities to transform. As the traditional Central Business District (CBD) saturates, the Hong Kong Government identified the need to develop another kind of CBD- Kowloon East is currently in the spotlight for a new wave of development.
Kowloon East (Kwun Town District). Hong Kong’s poorest and most densely populated district, is currently undergoing a transition to become the second CBD. There are a set of socio-economic challenges faced by the underprivileged individuals during this urban regeneration process. How can we better drive collaboration among public, private and non-profit organizations to support equitable workforce and small business development efforts while promoting innovative solutions?
J.P. Morgan has commissioned MIT HK Innovation Node, MIT to conduct research seeking to understand the gaps and identify opportunities in Kowloon East that foster inclusive economic growth. It serves as a response to tackle the growing socio-economic disparity of the district’s development into a CBD. The ultimate vision is to promote an inclusive, smart, innovative and human-oriented CBD2 in Kowloon East.
This one-hour webinar discussion will focus on sharing some key takeaways from this yearlong field research led by Sunnie S.Y. Lau. Director from the MIT Hong Kong Innovation Node. Two keynote speakers from Cambridge. Massachusetts Institute of Technology” MIT professors. Charles G. Sodini. and Brent D. Ryan – are going to join us with respective insights on how to meet these challenges.
The invisible boundary dividing Hong Kong’s CBD2 and the 750.000 residents living in Kwun Tong is too glaring even to be naked eye. On a typical weekday morning, a 1-million-strong workforce commutes into Kowloon East and a sizeable portion of local residents makes their way out of the district, without interacting with each other whatsoever. As a result, Kwun Tong, despite of her surging skyline, still remains as the poorest district in the territory.
Supported and commissioned by JP Morgan, MIT HK Innovation Node (“Node”) undertook the challenge to looking into tearing down these barriers in Kowloon East. Prof Sunnie Lau, Director of Smart City Research and Industry Collaboration of the Node, led the charge and shared her key takeaways to a very engaging web audience on 28 April 2020.