Revitalisation of industrial buildings in Hong Kong: New measures, new constraints?

•This research focuses on recent progress in revitalisation of industrial buildings in Hong Kong.•This paper investigates Government regulations and market responses in the process.•New revitalisation measures by the Government have led to new constraints in revitalisation.•It is necessary to discuss policy effectiveness from a perspective of urban competitiveness to cope with policy lag.•The paper advocates some general principles and goals to be taken into account in making revitalisation policy.

Like many post-industrial cities around the world, Hong Kong has been experiencing de-industrialisation since the 1980s, and revitalisation of multi-storey industrial buildings within a high-density development context is necessary. Focussing on recent progress in revitalisation of industrial buildings in Hong Kong, this research investigates the Government regulations and market responses. It is found that simply relieving the regulations and institutional constraints in revitalisation does not work, either for the policy aim in a narrow sense or for the local economy in a broad sense. New revitalisation measures by the Government have led to new constraints in revitalisation. It is necessary to address the policy lag. This paper presents an opening statement of discussing effectiveness of revitalisation policy in terms of urban competitiveness. It advocates some general principles and goals been taken into account in making revitalisation policy, including industrial diversity, indigenously owned companies, social costs and quality of life.