To mark the centenary of the University of Hong Kong, a ‘City Planning Forum – Taipei Challenge: New Planning Initiatives’ was held by the Centre of Urban Studies and Urban Planning as one of the celebratory activities in January 2012.

Professor John Lin Chien-yuan, former Deputy Mayor of Taipei and Professor of the Graduate Institute of Building and Planning, National Taiwan University, was invited to give a public lecture themed ‘Taipei Challenge: New Planning Initiatives’, covering the economic, social, environmental, technological and political challenges that Taipei has encountered, the ways to deal with these issues and strike a balance between development and the expectations of society. In attendance were not only the general public and students who were interested in the topic, but also experts in the field, including Mrs Carrie Lam, Secretary of Development of the HKSAR Government.

Following Professor Lin’s presentation was a Panel Discussion moderated by Professor Rebecca Chiu of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, with Mr K.K. Ling, Deputy Director of the Planning Department of the HKSAR Government, Dr Peter Cookson Smith, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Planners, and Dr Roger Chan, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Architecture as discussants. They noted that many of the challenges facing Taipei were relevant to Hong Kong and that Taipei provided many lessons for Hong Kong in terms of community-based planning, especially Taipei’s Beautification Project and the reuse and refurbishing of old industrial buildings and districts.