Open spaces are valuable public goods in cities. They are conducive to social and recreational behaviors which enhance social capital, health, and wellbeing of communities Hong Kong's open spaces differ from counterparts in other developed economies. The high-density cities experienced rapid economic growth in past decades as well as land scarcity. The majority of open spaces are designed, managed, and maintained by the public sector. Not only are Hong Kong's open spaces in short-supply measured in area per capita, they are also often tightly regulated with explicit rules discouraging behaviors considered undesirable. So, the Questions rise of how does occupant behaviors respond to the rules and design of open spaces in Hong Kong? How well does the current design and management strategy meet the needs of the community? This paper aims at identifying the relation between rules and behaviors in Hong Kong's open spaces. It hypothesizes that the management and design affect user behaviors in Hong Kong's open spaces in measurable ways. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied to test the hypothesis. This research observed behaviors in nine open spaces under diverse regulatory conditions. Results show that rules are significantly influential on people's attendance and activities performed in public open space. People's attendance and activity Diversity is higher in fewer rules in open space than over rules. Cultural, political, social trends, and current planning practices are conducive for restrictive design and overrules in the open space of Hong Kong.
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