Built Environment in Urban Space Affect Protests: A Cross-Sectional Study in Hong Kong

The built environment is indispensable for conducting protests. However, we still know little about the role the built environment plays in either supporting or hindering protests. In this study, we investigated the relationship between built environment characteristics and the spatial distribution of 348 protests that occurred in Hong Kong from June 2019 to January 2020. We innovatively distinguished between peaceful and violent protests as well as legal and illegal (authorized vs. unauthorized) protests. Our study revealed several significant patterns. First, in general, areas with a higher level of building density, government and commerce point-of-interest (POI) density, metro accessibility, park density, and street greenery experienced more protesting activities. Second, illegal and violent protests, those which are less constrained by authorities and thus more likely to reflect the autonomous choices of the protestors, are more likely to occur in regions with more government and commercial buildings, high metro accessibility, and a high level of street greenery. Based on these findings, we also proposed a new framework to illustrate the relationship between certain built environment features and choice of protest locations, which we hope will provide preliminary guidance for future studies.