Author：Yu-Hung Hong
Date：2009-11-10
Summary：
In recent years, the communicative planning theory has gained a wide recognition among planners and scholars in the West. Yet, the applicability of this new planning approach to some Asian countries where democracy is not well developed remains understudied. This paper examines this issue using Hong Kong as a case. By combining Habermas’s practicaldiscourse concept with Hirschman’s exit-voice idea, the author developed an analytical framework that suggests four potential strategies—exit, voice, persuasion, and coercion—for settling policy disputes. In applying the framework to two Hong Kong cases related to land-use conflicts, the author found that involved citizens mainly chose voice as a strategy to express their discontent. In response, the government countered their tactic through coercion. The parties selected these strategies because the political structure of Hong Kong was undemocratic, and their tactical choices were path-dependent. If planners in Hong Kong want to adopt the communicative planning practice, the government and the community must work together to invent new institutional arrangements. Some arrangements could include direct election of the Chief Executive, community empowerment, mediation, and education on reflectivity.
Keywords：communicative Planning; Undemocratic System; Hong Kong
