On resident participation in social movements against locally unwanted land uses in Hong Kong

In spite of their benefits to the society as a whole, locally unwanted land uses (LULUs) like incinerators, landfills, and power plants are not welcomed by local residents because of their negative external effects. While siting conflicts related to LULUs have attracted much academic attention, attempts to explain participation behaviour of local residents against LULUs are limited. Building upon the collective interest model which has been widely employed to explain participation in environmental activism and political movements, this study develops an analytical framework for identifying the factors motivating residents to participate in social movements against LULUs in Tseung Kwan O and Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. The analysis results reveal that perceived group efficacy, perception of unfairness in the siting process, living distance to the subject facility, distrust in the government, collective identity of victim, interest infringed and network impact all entered into local residents’ decision-making calculus of participation in collective actions against LULUs. These findings added to the body of knowledge regarding both the exercise of siting LULU and oppositions from the local communities. The findings also make some potential contributions to better conflict resolution and more informed policymaking under the rise of civil society in Hong Kong.