City Spaces and Human Relations in Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway: From Circulation to Everyday Life

Abstract

Subways have experienced a tremendous variety of development, securing their positions within cities and producing unique spaces whose characteristics have influenced human relations. This study focuses on the relationships between subways and the cities, spaces, and human relationships that surround them. It explores the connections between subways and the aforementioned elements (city, space, and human relations) to provide insight into how best to pursue improvements. The Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway's fame as a representational subway on a global scale makes it the ideal choice for a case study.

Keywords:

• City
• everyday life
• human behavior
• Mass Transit Railway
• space
• subway

Notes

The authors would like to acknowledge research grants from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for the study. Massachusetts Institute of Technology provided visiting scholarship support during the final data analysis and preparation of the paper. The authors would also like to thank the Editors for their constructive comments that further refined the paper.