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.