Tai O Village: Vernacular Fisheries Management or Revitalization?

This article offers a socio-cultural perspective on what happens to a once thriving fishing village when the traditional fishermen retire, their children seek safer and more lucrative work in an adjacent cosmopolitan city, and the population diminishes leaving the village facing economic hardship and general decline. The article explores these issues and the related aspects of 'place' and 'space' in the context of Tai O village, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. The article treats 'space' as a blend of social experience and physical structure in order to examine the tensions between the vernacular architecture of Tai O and the Hong Kong government's plans to 'revitalize' the area.