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Design errors in an airport passenger building can be extremely costly. Failure to plan may result in configurations and systems that are inappropriate for the future. The performance of an optimal building configuration depends to a large extent on the kind of technology provided for the transportation of passengers and baggage. Poorly selected technology can undermine the operational efficiency of a good configuration and vice versa. With massive growth in air travel and the scale of modern passenger buildings, more reliance will be placed on transport technology to achieve acceptable walk distances and travel times. Therefore it is critical to consider in the overall design strategy how a particular building configuration and its associated technology will perform under conditions of change. Good design practice dictates that performance be assessed using multiple criteria over a broad range of possible conditions. The difficulty in predicting future conditions makes the selection of a robust system critical to the long‐term success of an airport. This paper examines the various systems available and concludes that different system combinations are appropriate for airports with different levels of passenger throughput.

Airport design has improved significantly in the last 20 years. Design has moved from simple protection from the elements to almost full automation. Many older airport facilities are now outdated and require replacement. The decision to replace must be made based upon benchmarking with similar airport facilities. Summarises the current position with airport design and suggests that efficient use of facilities cannot depend upon shareholder return alone but must be based on national interest and efficiency demonstrated through external benchmarking. Suggests that facilities managers must be aware of the expectations of the airlines and passengers and the indicators used in the assessment of performance. Outlines the reasons that influence an airport’s decision to upgrade or replace its terminal facilities.

The purpose of this paper is to trace the changing pattern of identity politics in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It shows that in response to the massive urban renewal projects in the 2000s, “civic localism” in the form of cultural preservation movement emerged to protect local community culture against the government-business hegemony. However, due to the deepening of social integration between Hong Kong and the mainland, a new “anti-mainland localism” emerged in the 2010s against the influx of mainlanders. In 2015–2016, as a result of Beijing’s active interference in Hong Kong affairs, localism is further transformed to Hong Kong “independence.”

This paper uses a historical methodology to trace the changing pattern of identity politics in Hong Kong after it becomes a special administrative region of China in 1997.

It shows how the interaction among the following three factors has shaped the pattern of localism in Hong Kong: macro historical-structural context, social movement dynamics and the response of Hong Kong and mainland government.

This paper argues that Beijing’s hardline policy toward Hong Kong localism may work in the short run to all push the pro-independence activities underground. However, unless the structural contradiction of the HKSAR is resolved, it seems likely that anti-mainland localism and Hong Kong independence sentiment and movement will come back with a vengeance at a later stage.

The literature tends to discuss Hong Kong localism in very general terms and fails to reveal its changing nature. This paper contributes by distinguishing three different forms of localism: civic localism in the mid-2000s, anti-mainland in the late 2000s and early 2010s, and independence after 2016. It shows how the macro historical-structural transformation, social movement dynamics and the responses of the Hong Kong SAR government and Beijing government have led to the changes of civic localism to anti-mainland localism, and finally to independence.

This paper aims to review the current state of building decay in Hong Kong, and attempts to identify and analyze the perceived benefits of implementing the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS) via an industry-wide empirical questionnaire survey.

A total of 340 professional respondents who have gained hands-on experience in either new building works or building management or building repair/maintenance were requested to complete a survey questionnaire to indicate the relative importance of those benefits identified in relation to MBIS. The perceived benefits were measured, ranked and compared according to the different roles of industrial practitioners, and between the residents in private premises and those in public estates.

The survey findings suggested the most significant benefits derived from implementing MBIS to be: raise the overall building safety toward residents and the general public; create more job openings and business opportunities in building repair and maintenance services; and MBIS is an effective solution to address the problems with building decay (e.g. dilapidation and control over the existing unauthorized building works). The results of factor analysis indicated that the 13 perceived benefits of implementing MBIS were consolidated under three underlying factors: addressing building dilapidation and assuring building safety; improving the living environment and upgrading property values; and creating more job openings and business opportunities.

As MBIS was officially launched on June 30, 2012, it is expected to be one of the proposed effective measures in resolving the long-standing problems of building neglect and deterioration in Hong Kong and overseas, especially to those existing old private premises.

In the long run, the number of prematurely ageing buildings would be reduced, and the service life span of existing private premises would be prolonged. This is in line with the sustainability principle of providing a better living and the working environment within the community as a whole.