| Abstract | The issues of urban renewal are of a pressing concern in the cities around the globe. Decay and dilapidation due to aging, neglect and lack of maintenance, cause a loss to the existing and much required housing stock. Hong Kong, which is a relatively young city, also faces this problem. The scale of the problem is extensive with over 8,500 private tenements over 30 years of age, in a dilapidated state requiring some measures of renewal. The different approaches to urban renewal in Hong Kong, i.e., redevelopment, rehabilitation and business-as-usual, have been outlined and analyzed through a case study of Chungking Mansion, which is a 38-year-old private tenement facing decay and deterioration. Located in a prime land and is in a dilapidated condition, this building is inhabited mostly by a population that is under-represented in the process of decision-making. Divided into five blocks, and consisting of some 500 residential and 400 commercial units, it is home to a dense multi- cultural and low-income population comprising mostly of the native elderly, and migrants from South Asian sub-continent. The research rests on the qualitative and quantitative information gathered through survey, interviews, discussions, and observation along with the reliance on a lot of secondary information. Redevelopment is a financially lucrative option because it accrues a profit of about I-IK$ 1 Billion to the developer. However, its socio-economic outcomes are drastic as it causes dislocation and loss of business and employment. Hence it is socially and politically undesirable. The findings revealed that worst to be affected would be the tenants of the building, who would loose both financially as well as socially and may end up squeezing into the overcrowded old areas in the city, thus giving rise to another slum rather than reducing it. Rehabilitation, on the other hand, is a socially acceptable, but financially unremunerative renewal approach. If a simple and low-grade rehab is done, it would cost app. H1($ 12 Million, i.e., about I-[K3 450/household/month and extend the life of the building by about 15 more years. If an extensive rehab were undertaken it would cost HKS 140 Million, which is unafibrdable for the inhabitants, but would extend the life of the building by 20 more years‘ If left to its present state, the conditions would deteriorate and it would not be long before the bulldozers strike it down. Thus business-as-usual approach fails to solve the problems. The comparative analyses of the three options revealed that none of them succeeded in providing an acceptable solution on grounds of financial, social, and political desirability. Hence a middle approach, which integrates the benefits of both redevelopment and rehabilitation, has been devised using the principles of building sharing to create a win-win scenario for various stakeholders given their respective priorities. The strategy aims at acquiring the units ready for sale, temporarily settling the remaining occupants in two blocks, rehabilitating about one third of the building and resettling the original occupants in the rehabilitated units, while commercially redeveloping the remaining two third of the building. This approach is deemed feasible as it would not only improve the living environment of those occupants who wish to remain, but also extend the useful life of the building, and provide a scope of a profit of about I-[K5 275 Million. Hence it would be financially profitable, and socially and politically acceptable. |