Guest Editors
Sidney Cheung, Dept. of Anthropology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Thomas Chung, School of Architecture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Submission deadline for extended abstract: 30th September 2022
Submission deadline for full papers: 31st March 2023
Aims and Scope
Countryside conservation has received more attention not because people want to retain the rural landscape for traditional farming but because urbanites can enjoy the cultural diversity opposing the pressured lifeways of the modern city. Again, countryside conservation takes place in a physical location which is neither rural nor urban, and it is the zone in which urban visitors are most welcomed while rural inhabitants’ values and experiences are fully respected. To enhance the kind of rural-urban symbiosis in the countryside area, built heritage will probably play a significant role for both the local host and urban guests to engage with each other in the new countryside zone. During the last decade, countryside conservation and rural revitalization have gained increasing public attention in Hong Kong after the recent launching of conservation policies and funding mechanisms. Besides integrated conservation of natural and cultural heritages, village revitalization involving interactive partnerships between non-governmental organizations, villagers and stakeholders is encouraged. In this special issue, we welcome articles contributing to the discussion of continuity-in-change of socio-ecological knowledge and traditions in rural landscapes of Hong Kong and its surrounding areas; and issues of timely pertinence should include: 1) the revitalization of remote areas; 2) better appreciation and management of remaining rural heritages vis-à -vis local place-identity, and; 3) the fostering of alternative lifestyles, local tourism and rural activation from the perspective of historical monuments and countryside conservation.
Proposed Timeline
Extended abstracts (500-800 words) due:30th September 2022
Decision on the abstracts: 15th October 2022
Full paper drafts for workshop: 31st March 2023
Paper drafts for peer review due: 30th June 2023
Comments from reviewers expected by: 31st August 2023
Final full papers accepted by: 31st October 2023
Publication of the special issue: Fourth quarter of 2023
All submissions to this collection will go through rigorous peer review. Reviewers will follow Springer Nature's and the journal's more detailed Peer-Review Policy. Accepted articles will be published online first. The issue is planned to be published in the Fourth quarter of 2023.
We have plans to hold a hybrid format workshop with the authors that have abstracts accepted. The workshop will take place in Shanghai in April 2023. More information will be provided in the end of 2022.
Extended abstracts should contain the title of the paper, research question(s), methodology and the main (expected) findings and conclusions. Abstracts should be submitted to: Sidney Cheung (sidneycheung@cuhk.edu.hk), and Thomas Chung (tchung@cuhk.edu.hk) (include Special Issue on Countryside Conservation in the subject).
Further Information
Questions may be addressed by email to: built-heritage@tongji.edu.cn