Magic Lanes

With one of the highest population densities in the world, Hong Kong suffers from a lack of public open space. Despite this situation, open spaces provided by government authorities or private developers often do not meet residents’ needs or include residents in the planning and design process. To explore one way that this issue is being addressed, this chapter describes an ongoing placemaking project within Hong Kong’s interstitial network of laneways (里) and alleys (巷). The key historical, sociocultural, and physical features, opportunities, and constraints of these in-between spaces are discussed. This is followed by an in-depth exploration of the case study Magic Lanes, a pilot project that aims to provide more inclusive public open spaces through placemaking and community co-creation.