Data Analysis

Question 1 - 7: Demographic

Figure 1: Question 1: How old are you

As shown in Figure 1, the majority of respondents of this survey are evenly spread among the

17 to 25, 26 to 35 and 36 to 50 years old age group, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the

total number of respondents, which means the results and findings of this survey would better

represent these three age groups. The 16 and below and 51 to 64 age groups only accounts for

around 10 percent together, 65 and above has no respondent. This could be due to the lower

popularity of Facebook, which was used extensively to identify suitable residents group and
users for this survey, among the new generation and the tendency of lower proficiency in

technology and social media among individuals aged above 65.

Figure 2: Question 2: What is your ethnicity

As shown in Figure 2, the ethnic composition of the respondents consists of mainly Chinese,

which accounts for nearly 70%. While the other ethnicities each account for only a small
percentage, they still amounts to about 30%, which exceed the official number of 8.4% of the

overall population in Hong Kong (Census and Statistics Department, 2021). It shows that the

results about the results from these ethnicities as a single group could be used to generalize

onto the non-Chinese minority group in Hong Kong.

Figure 3: Question 3: What is your average monthly income?

Figure 4: Question 4: Are you currently or previously a long-term resident of Hong Kong? (On average, residing in Hong
Kong for at least 6 months every year)

Figure 5: Question 5: How long have you been a long-term resident in Hong Kong?
Figure 6: Question 6: Were you born in Hong Kong?

Figure 7: Question 7: Can you understand Cantonese?

Figure 3 to 7 shows five other variables about the demographic information of the

respondents that could be used as independent variables to conduct further bivariate analysis

later.

Questions 8 – 11: Cultural Sustainability

Figure 8: Question 8: I think historic buildings have more character and uniqueness
Figure 9: Question 9: I think commercial and luxurious residential buildings with modern design have more character and
uniqueness

As shown in Figure 8, 91.6 percent of respondents voted above 5, with a mean of 7.04,

meaning that the majority find historic buildings with more character and uniqueness to

different degree. In Figure 9, it can be seen that votes are evenly distributed across the

scaling, with around 45 percent of respondents on both the disagreeing and agreeing sides.

Neutral votes accounts for 10.08 percent. It was inferred that the neutral votes could be

because the respondents’ answer would vary depending on the specific modern architecture

and no definitive answer could be made. The mean is 4.86, resting on the disagreeing side.

While Figure 8 and 9 are not designed to be mutually exclusive, it could be inferred from the

higher mean that respondents find historic buildings to have more character and uniqueness

than modern and luxurious buildings.

Figure 10: Question 10: I think historic buildings foster a more diverse culture

Figure 11: Question 11: I think commercial and luxurious residential buildings with modern design foster a more diverse
culture
As shown in Figure 10, 94.12 percent of respondents voted that they agree to a different

degree that historic buildings can foster a more diverse culture, with a mean of 6.8. In

comparison, Figure 11 shows a mean of 4.58, again on the disagreeing side. Over half of the

respondents voted below 5 to disagree, while about one-third agreed. It should be noted that

73.95 percent of votes are 4-7, indicating that the preferences on both sides are not strong on

this topic. Overall, it could be said that historic buildings are found to foster a more diverse

culture than modern and luxurious commercial and residential buildings.

From the findings of Figure 8, 9, 10 and 11, it could be derived that historic buildings not

only embodies different culture, but also serves as a breeding ground for culture diversity. It

is worth noting that the “historic buildings” definition of including not only artistically and

historically significant buildings but could also include all other buildings with long history

has been clearly communicated to the respondents in the preface section of the questionnaire.
Figure 12: Bivariate Analyse of Question 9 with Age Groups

As shown in Figure 12, it could be found that teenagers, aged 17 to 25, tend more to disagree

that luxurious and modern commercial and residential buildings having character and

uniqueness, with over half votes on the 1-4 scale and only about 26 percent on the 6-9 scale.

When it moves to the young adult, aged 26 to 35, the distribution evens out with about the

same number of votes on both sides. The same is with the 36 to 50 group, but the 51 to 64

group leans heavily to the agreeing side.

Figure 13: Bivariate Analyse of Question 9 with Ethnicity group

As shown in Figure 13, it could be found that majority of local Chinese tend to disagree that

luxurious and modern commercial and residential buildings have character and uniqueness,

while majority of non-Chinese ethnic group are more able to interpret and appreciate the

culture of these buildings.

Figure 14: Bivariate analysis of Question 11 with Age group

The same trend with age group shown in Figure 12 could also be seen in Figure 14. Younger

respondents lean more towards the disagree side and older respondents leans more towards

the agree side.

Question 12-13: Social sustainability

Figure 15: Question 12: Living in or visiting a historic building improve my quality of life and increase my level of
satisfaction

As shown in Figure 15, it could be found that 77.31 percent of respondents voted 6 to 9,

meaning they all agree on the question to different degree.

Figure 16: Question 13: Living in or visiting luxurious residential building or commercial building with modern design
improve my quality of life and increase my level of satisfaction
As shown in Figure 16, 100 percent of respondents agrees to Question 13 to a different

degree.

Comparing Question 12 and 13, Question 12 has a mean of 6.2 while Question 13 has a mean

of 7.36. Unlike Questions 8&9 and 10&11 where the weighted averages of the opposing

questions rest on the agree and disagree sides distinctively, respondents agree on both

Question 12 and 13. However, the higher mean of 7.36 of question 13 means that respondents

find that luxurious and modern residential and commercial buildings have a higher effect on

quality of life and level of satisfaction than historic buildings. It could be further inferred that

materialistic enjoyment brought by luxurious modern buildings is preferred by the

respondents over the non-materialistic cultural enjoyment brought by historic buildings.

From Figure 15 and 16, it could be found that both historic building and modern luxurious

commercial and residential buildings have a positive impact on people’s quality of life and

level of satisfaction, which would contribution the social sustainability of a society. That

being said, it was also found that luxurious and modern buildings impact it to a higher degree.
Figure 17: Bivariate analysis of Question 12 with Average monthly income

From Figure 17, while the mean of different income group differs only by a small margin, it

should also be noted that the majority of 1-4 votes were made by lower income group. As the

question combines the experience of living and visiting historic buildings into one, it could be

estimated that this trend in lower income group could be due to people focusing on the

“living in historic buildings” part, which is generally associated with lower standard of living.