2022 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Service Hubs in East Asian City-regions: From Self-development to Self-preservation?
| Project/Area Number |
19K13444
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| Research Institution | Kyushu University |
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Principal Investigator |
コルナトウスキ ヒェラルド 九州大学, 比較社会文化研究院, 准教授 (00614835)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | Service hub / homelessness / foreign workers / Social inequality / Urban inclusivity / Third sector geographies |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
For the final year of this research I have interviewed several homeless organizations in Hong Kong. While the overall emphasis in service provision has shifted to social housing in recent years, more attention has been put to reemployment due to the economic fallout caused by the pandemic. It is clear that the pandemic has led to further consolidation of the service hubs, because of its ability to provide effective frontline services to precarious populations. There is still an overlapping of services to be seen, yet all major homeless organizations are now connected through a common platform, named the Homeless Alliance. The alliance is further proof to the hubs' consolidation process witnessed over the course of this research project. The same trend could be seen in Singapore, although its service hubs have spatially expanded due to a proliferation of civil organization networks that moved beyond the concentration of inner-city services. This expanded network was able to provide services to foreign workers who had their spatial mobility circumscribed due to lockdown measures. On the theoretical level, the bottom-up thickening of services to precarious populations during the COVID19 crisis has had far-reaching implications to the concept of urban inclusivity. Service hubs are an integral feature of East Asian city-regions with high rates of social inequality. The COVID19 crisis has more than illustrated their advanced proficiency in service delivery methods and overall social importance. Both in Singapore and Hong Kong, there was no pressure for displacement/relocation.
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Research Products
(11 results)
