Evaluating the Impact of Informal Institutional Arrangements on the Transfer of Development Rights for Built Heritage Conservation in Dense Cities

Abstract

Transfer of development rights (TDRs) is an attractive method in theory, contributing to a city’s conservation effort while balancing the need for sustainable urban development. Operationally, the implementation of TDRs is complex and problematic due to conflicting interests of stakeholders under the influence of different institutional arrangements. This study aims to show from a theoretical perspective how TDR cases for built heritage conservation are evaluated to examine the impact of TDR institutional arrangements, and then propose strategies to improve the institutional system. Through a review of established theories, an evaluation framework with a set of criteria and associated sub-criteria related to the outcomes of institutional arrangements was established for detailed impact analysis, which has been supported with feedback from semi-structured interviews with experts and interested groups. The outcome includes conflicts associated with Ostrom’s (2005) evaluative criteria for economic efficiency problems, social inequity, inadaptability and non-resilience with existing planning systems, unclear accountability, and undesirable “conformance with general morality”. The results of this case study reveal the gaps between the theory and practice of TDR implementations, particularly the conflicts with government planning systems and threats to public interests. Based on the results of this study, strategies have been provided that improve institutional arrangement for TDRs and highlight the specific measures needed to minimise the bilateral challenge between private development interests and public conservation goals.

Acknowledgments

The work described in this paper is supported by the following research funds: Anhui Provincial Planning Projects of Philosophy and Social Sciences, AHSKQ2019D057

Notes

1 Capacity means the maximum amount of substance that something can contain. Traffic capacity is the maximum traffic density a road can accommodate at a given speed without delay.

2 Transfer ratio is a term used in many TDR programmes to describe the numerical relationship between the amount of development potential forgone on sending sites and the amount of additional development allowed on receiving sites.

3 A TDR bank is an entity operated by a local jurisdiction, regional government, or private non-profit organisation for the purpose of buying, selling, and holding development rights or facilitating private TDR transactions

4 The Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) is one of the two types of statutory plans in Hong Kong, which shows the land use zones, development restrictions and major road systems of an individual planning area. The second type is the Development Permission Area (DPA) Plan. DPA Plans are prepared to provide interim planning control and development guidance for rural areas in the New Territories, pending the preparation of more detailed OZPs (Source: Planning Department in Hong Kong).

5 In-situ TDR means transfer within the same parcel of land. The concept is from the perspective of the property owners’ plan. The unused development right of the built heritage is transferred to another part of the same parcel of land within the heritage site, which means the owner keeps the built heritage and carries out the new development near the heritage building. It is similar to the first TDR case of Grand Central Station in New York, where a balanced plan finally proposed is to transfer the unused development rights of the ‘Station’ to its adjacent two buildings (Source: development rights transfer in New York City 1972). We use this term to show a compromised plan between conservation and development, which is different from a normal development plan.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jun Hou

Dr Jun Hou is an assistant professor at Hefei University of Technology in China. She is a national registered urban planner. She holds an MSc and PhD from the Department of Real Estate and Construction at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She was also awarded a Bachelor of Urban Planning from Harbin Institute of Technology. Her teaching areas are principles of urban and rural planning, constructive detailed planning design and theory and method of urban planning. Her research area is land development and utilisation under the background of urban renewal and sustainable urban design. She has published in top refereed journals in the area of land use and urban planning.

Edwin H. W. Chan

Edwin H.W. Chan is a professor in the Department of Building and Real Estate at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong S.A.R. He was awarded a PhD from the University of London. He is a Professional Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. His research interest is sustainable urban development. He has published over 100 papers in top refereed journals and 26 books and monographs in the area of conservation, sustainable urban construction and management.

Esther H. K. Yung

Dr Esther Hiu Kwan Yung is an associate professor in the Department of Building and Real Estate at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong S.A.R. She holds an MSc and PhD from the Department of Real Estate and Construction at the University of Hong Kong. She was also awarded a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of New South Wales, Australia. Her teaching area is development control law, urban planning and urban design, and research methods. Her research areas are built heritage conservation, urban planning and development, urban sustainability, ageing and urban environment. She has published extensively in top refereed journals in the area of built heritage conservation and ageing and built environment.