May 12, 2026 · 《Ming Pao》
Our previous article on the Northern Metropolis (Ming Pao, 7 May 2026) examined the most pressing housing structure issue — that public housing must shift from “rental” to “homeownership”…
Last month, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn was pressed at a forum on how to prevent the Northern Metropolis from becoming a ‘dormitory town’ or a pure industrial park. To answer that, we must push forward on three fronts simultaneously: more flexible spatial planning, deep integration of education and industry, and a proactive population policy.
Break Rigid Zoning, Push for Flexible Mixed-Use Planning
Northern Metropolis zoning is currently rigid, with land uses carved into single categories — residential, commercial, industrial, government — depressing land valuations and dampening developer bidding appetite. The cause is partly historical legacy, partly an underdeveloped planning toolkit.
We recommend following Singapore, Tokyo, and Seoul in introducing district-level “mixed-use, flexible plot ratio” planning: allowing a single block to flexibly house residential, retail, cultural, creative industries, and light manufacturing — without locking in functions from day one.
More importantly, mixed-use planning should make “youth and family friendliness” a co-equal objective: reserve co-living space for young people in well-connected areas, and design innovative “live-work” units, so that the Northern Metropolis becomes not just a “workplace” but a “place to live”.
A 90-Hectare University Town — Not Even the Size of CUHK’s Campus
According to the Government’s public LegCo reply last May, land reserved for the University Town in the Northern Metropolis totals about 90 hectares, of which some 52 hectares sit in the Nga Tam Mei development area. The figure may look sizable, but measured against the University Town’s overall purpose, scale, and quality, the current reservation is still far from adequate.
Our core recommendation: at least double the University Town’s planned area, reserve ample room for expansion, and lay it out on a five-in-one model — “education, research, industry, dormitories, and commercial” — bringing in branches of world-leading universities, corporate R&D centres, youth hostels, and lifestyle amenities, so that the University Town becomes the Northern Metropolis’s “innovation engine”.
Hong Kong has the underlying strength to back this ambition. The city has 5 world top-100 universities, robust IP protection, and an international research network — the Northern Metropolis’s most distinctive asset. Public R&D spending stands at only about 0.8% of GDP, far below Shenzhen and Shanghai, and that gap is precisely the room for the University Town to “flip” Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem.
Talent Grab: Catch Them Young
Hong Kong’s appeal to mainland students is the Northern Metropolis’s most proven “high-quality population flow” source. Over the past three years, the Top Talent Pass Scheme (TTPS) and other talent-grab schemes have drawn some 500,000 professionals and their families to the city. Mainland students at Hong Kong institutions are also rising steadily, and nearly half of TTPS admittees are under 40.
Historical experience shows that “catching talent while young pays off” — those who study in Hong Kong at the undergraduate or secondary level are more likely to settle long-term than those who arrive only at the postgraduate stage. University Town expansion, therefore, is not just a scale question but a student-mix question: actively promote Hong Kong universities to secondary students, and explore simplifying procedures for mainland secondary students entering Hong Kong universities.
At the same time, we must face facts: over the past 20-plus years, Hong Kong university research has lifted rankings but failed to translate effectively into commercial application. This structural problem must be tackled head-on in University Town planning: how can top-tier research genuinely “take root” in the Northern Metropolis and serve industry?
In other words, the University Town should no longer be “an academic enclave behind walls”, but a “super node” tightly connected to surrounding industry, housing, and jobs — where studying, working, and living can all happen within the same district.
Seize the Last ‘Window of Malleability’
The final key question: where should these reforms start?
Looking at planning progress, Kwu Tung North / Fanling North New Development Area Phase 1 is expected to complete in 2026, with the plan largely fixed and little room for adjustment. The Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (Hong Kong side) Phase 2 will not enter main construction until 2027–28.
By contrast, the Hung Shui Kiu / Ha Tsuen New Development Area Phase 2 partners signed a “consortium pledge” last February, with University Town land expected to come on stream as early as 2026. Nga Tam Mei’s University Town land is also planned to break ground in 2026. The window of malleability is now opening for both areas.
We therefore recommend piloting the four reforms — “housing structure adjustment”, “flexible zoning”, “University Town doubling”, and “youth-targeted demand-side package” — first in Hung Shui Kiu and Nga Tam Mei: try first, adjust on the way, and produce a replicable “Northern Metropolis template”.
The Northern Metropolis strategy is on the right track and need not be shaken. What urgently needs refinement and adjustment is its pace, spatial structure, and demographic structure. The supply-side “wall-breaking” has begun. The real test ahead is whether the Northern Metropolis can attract “young families”, “high-quality talent”, and “industrial vitality” to settle — not just to “set up a factory”.
Conversely, if we can seize the current window of malleability in Hung Shui Kiu and Nga Tam Mei and deliver the four key reforms — public housing shift from rental to ownership, flexible zoning, University Town doubling, and youth-targeted demand-side package — the Northern Metropolis can become not only a Greater Bay Area “talent magnet” but the “main engine” of Hong Kong’s development for the next 30 years.
Time is short — and the most critical years are right in our hands.
(Translation supported by AI)
Related articles:
- Northern Metropolis Must Not Repeat Tin Shui Wai’s Mistakes: Public Housing Must Shift from “Rental” to “Homeownership” by Michael Wong, Alex Ngau, Yun-wing Sung
