Page 134 - Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Proceedings 2017-18

School of Humanities and Social Science
Division of Social Science

demonstrate that live-in domestic helpers in Hong Kong would exert negative influence on the development of
communication, problem-solving and personal social skills of preschool children.

Environmental movement in the midst of Democratization: The case of Hong Kong

Supervisor: WONG James K. / SOSC
Student: WONG Alvin Y H / EVMT Course: UROP1100, Spring

The environmental movement in Hong Kong has transformed from focusing on collective actions to a more lifestyle-
based movement. Several factors have contributed to this change, including the institutionalization of environmental
NGOs into advisory organizations for the government; the specialization of environmental groups which limits the
opportunity for collective actions; and Hong Kong government’s activeness in social media and co-ordinations of
environmental groups in setting the agenda for environmental issues. As a result, environmental groups have become
less able to pressure the government with collective actions for environmental policy change.

Supervisor: WONG James K. / SOSC
Student: WU Wai Ming / CHEM Course: UROP1100, Summer

Many lands in Hong Kong’s New Territories have high ecological values. For most cases, property development and
environmentalism are antagonistic, especially in the development of the Deep Bay Wetland, which has become a major
battlefield in Hong Kong’s environmental movement for the past three decades. How do developers, governments and
society make trade-offs between development and conservation? This report focuses on three construction projects in
the Yuen Long Deep Bay Wetland, namely Nam Sang Wai, Fung Lok Wai and Park YOHO, to investigate the attitudes of
developers towards environmental conservation and the wrestling among various stakeholders behind the development
of ecologically valuable lands.

Innovations in Environmental Governance: Smart Cities

Supervisor: WONG James K. / SOSC
Student: JAIN Shlok / CEEV Course: UROP1000, Summer

This report investigates the smart city initiatives for Tokyo and New Delhi by reviewing various government documents,
proposed plans, and declarations of upcoming legislations. The focus is on how the smart city initiatives relate to
environmental sustainability and what the reasoning behind these initiatives are. The report will serve as a foundation
for future research on the feasibility for governments to focus on smart city development in lieu of economic growth or
development of social infrastructure.

Supervisor: WONG James K. / SOSC
Student: LI Zonghao / GCS Course: UROP1000, Summer

Smart cities are flourishing in many parts of the world. Apparently, we are entering a new stage of urbanization when
many smart solutions are on the plate for innovative cities to choose. This report will introduce the new stage of
urbanization as such and present several cases on how cities under the challenges of global warming find their ways in
smart and sustainable developments. In particular, the report will focus on the core values these initiatives share in

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