The physical environment and a “sense of neighborhood” in residential communities in Hong Kong

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how design of housing development affects a sense of neighbourhood. Design/methodology/approach – Questionnaire surveys were carried out in two residential communities in Hong Kong with very different design concepts and the results were analysed by ANOVA model. Findings – The residential community with substantial open space allocation creates a greater sense of neighbourhood, even though this community is located in a rather remote part of the city. Research limitations/implications – The sample size is relatively small and in the future more communities should be included. In addition, international comparison can be made, especially with other Asian cities. Practical implications – The findings provide a new perspective to the private developers in their design practice. To the government, more encouragement should be given to the private sector in promoting good community design, Originality/value – This is one of the few papers that looks at the correlation between housing design and residents' feelings of their neighbourhood in Asia.