香港人占领街道 试图改善城市体验
HONG KONG — As Dennis Wu sat with hundreds of people in the middle of a busy Hong Kong street recently, the scene felt to him like the pro-democracy protests of 2014 all over again.
香港——当丹尼斯•胡(Dennis Wu)最近与数百人坐在一条拥挤的香港街道中央时，他感觉2014年支持民主的抗议行动的场景仿佛又回来了。
Except that Mr. Wu, an 18-year-old student, and those around him were not looking over their shoulders, worried about a police crackdown. This time they were taking part in a car-free experiment in Hong Kong’s Central district, where the protests erupted two years ago and blockaded the area from traffic for weeks.
只不过，18岁的学生丹尼斯•胡和他周围的人没有在小心提防，不用担心警察来镇压。这一次，他们只是在香港中环参加一项无车实验。两年前，这里曾经爆发抗议行动，令该区域的交通中断了数周。
“The only difference is the mood,” he recalled.
“唯一的不同之处是气氛，”他回忆道。
Though the protests petered out without achieving their goals, they showed that Central, a busy financial district usually clogged with vehicles, was much more pleasant without traffic. After the initial chaos of the demonstrations subsided, a nearly mile-long stretch of a busy thoroughfare turned into a public space fertile with ideas and aspirations.
尽管抗议活动在没能达成目标的情况下逐渐平息，但他们证明了中环这个通常挤满车辆的繁忙金融区，在没有车辆通行的情况下要宜人得多。示威行动最初引发的混乱减弱之后，一段近一英里长的繁忙大道变成了一片充溢着想法与热望的公共空间。
Protesters and their supporters set up makeshift study rooms, libraries and even a roadside organic farm. Office workers took strolls in the tent city, freed from the usual debilitating sound of roaring bus engines and the choking smell of exhaust.
抗议者及其支持者搭起临时的学习室、图书室，甚至还在路边设了一个有机农场。上班族在这个帐篷城里散步，没有往常的巴士引擎的轰鸣，也不用闻呛人的汽车尾气。
Patrick Fung, the chief executive of Clean Air Network, one of the organizers of the car-free experiment, said the demonstrations had inspired residents to rethink Hong Kong’s lack of pedestrian-friendly areas.
这次无车实验的组织者之一、健康空气行动(Clean Air Network)首席执行官冯建玮(Patrick Fung)表示，示威行动启发了居民，使他们反思香港缺少适合步行的区域。
“At least during the protests, people did enjoy the freedom of a public space, having their lunch and biking there,” Mr. Fung said. “Many of them said the air quality was good, and the commute time between places was improved.”
“至少是在抗议期间，人们享受到了公共空间的自由，在那里吃中饭，骑单车，”冯建玮说。“他们中有许多表示，当时的空气质量很好，通勤时间也减少了。”
Last year, his group formed an alliance with several academic and environmental groups to advocate turning the greater part of the Des Voeux Road Central, a main thoroughfare near the 2014 protest sites, into a pedestrian- and tram-only precinct. (The trams run on electricity and have no tailpipe emissions.)
去年，他领导的组织与多个学术和环境团体结成联盟，倡导将靠近2014年抗议活动地址的德辅道中更大一部分区域，改成一个只许行人和有轨电车通行的步行区。（有轨电车靠电力行驶，没有尾气排放。）
Renderings in their proposal depict a version of the road that almost seems too good to be true: grass-lined tram tracks, restaurants with outdoor seating and people relaxing rather than grumbling their way through the crowd.
他们这项提议的建筑效果图中描绘的道路看起来太过完美，几乎令人难以置信：铺在绿地上的电车轨道，有户外座椅的餐厅，神情放松而非在竭力穿过人群的人。
The alliance hopes to replicate the success of pedestrian zones in Times Square in New York; La Rambla in Barcelona, Spain; and Martin Place in Sydney, Australia. By holding a trial run, the organizers hoped to move the needle by giving the public a taste — albeit a limited one — of their vision.
该联盟希望能复制纽约时报广场步行区、西班牙巴塞罗那布兰拉大道和澳大利亚悉尼马丁广场的成功。通过这次试运行，组织者期待通过让公众感受他们的设计——尽管规模十分有限——能令情况有所改变。
On a Sunday in late September, one side of a 650-foot stretch of Des Voeux Road Central, lined with banks and cha chaan tengs, or Hong Kong-style diners, was closed to traffic.
在9月末的一个周日，德辅道中一个650英尺长、银行与茶餐厅林立的路段一侧，车辆被禁止通行。
There were music and dance performances, art displays and activities catering to children. But the most popular attraction seemed to be sitting on the artificial grass and chatting, without pressure to move along.
那里有音乐舞蹈表演和艺术展，还有适合孩子参加的活动。但最受欢迎的似乎是坐在人造草坪上聊天，没有继续往前移动的压力。
Many people said that they found the experience refreshing and that they yearned for more public space like this.
许多人表示，他们觉得这种体验很新鲜，渴望有更多这样的公共空间。
“I used to work here — I’m surprised that it’s possible to make this a relaxing place,” said Rachel Chan, who had brought along her 8-year-old daughter. “We’re constantly living in such a stressful, overcrowded environment that it’s refreshing to have more space like this.”
“我以前在附近上班——我很惊讶这里可以变成一个让人放松的地方，”带着八岁的女儿来这里体验的蕾切尔•陈(Rachel Chan)说。“我们的生活经常面对高压、挤迫的环境，有更多这样的地方可以令我感到清新。”
Eric Schuldenfrei, an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong who has developed design concepts for the proposal, said the event allowed the public to use the city streets creatively. He said that was an increasingly common experience in many great cities but lacking in Hong Kong.
香港大学副教授邵达辉(Eric Schuldenfrei)为这项建议提供了设计思路，他表示这项举措能让公众创造性地使用城市街道。他说这是一种在许多大城市越来越常见的体验，而香港则很少见。
“People were not simply moving through the city, but actually using the road in order to meet, have a conversation and participate in each other’s events,” Professor Schuldenfrei said. “As simple as this sounds, it is an element that has been lost in Hong Kong.”
“人们不只是在城市中穿行，他们实际上是在通过道路相遇、聊天，参加彼此的活动，”邵达辉说。“这听起来可能很简单，但它是香港缺失的一面。”
Professor Schuldenfrei said that if Hong Kong wanted to attract more tourists, it had to offer them “a range of experiences.”
邵达辉表示，如果香港想吸引更多游客，必须给他们提供“多样的体验”。
“Simply walking on a city street is an experience that is beginning to disappear in Central,” he added.
“单纯走在城市的一条街道上，就是一种已经开始在中环消失的体验，”他接着讲道。
The initiative, known as Very DVRC, after the road’s initials, has also seized on the business and tourism selling points of the plan.
这项名为Very DVRC的倡导计划是以德辅道中路的首字母命名，它也利用了这项计划的商业和旅游卖点。
Donald Choi, the managing director of Nan Fung Development, a property developer, said he was on board with the idea.
房地产开放商南丰发展有限董事总经理蔡宏兴(Donald Choi)表示，他支持这项计划。
“I couldn’t imagine a better proposal than this,” he said at a panel discussion last year, when the group unveiled its plan. “It’s something that will generate a lot of interest, a lot of attraction, not only for tourists but also for local residents and users.”
“我想不到比这更好的提议了，”他在健康空气行动组织去年公布这项计划时举行的一场座谈会上说。“这是一件会带来很多好处和吸引力的事情，不只是对游客，也有益于当地居民和使用者。”
Mr. Choi, who works in Central, said the air pollution, the roar of engines and the congested sidewalks made the street so unpleasant that he tried to avoid it by taking an overhead walkway farther away.
蔡宏兴的办公地点就在中环，他表示空气污染、引擎的轰鸣和拥挤的人行道使这条大道令人不快，他会竭力避开它，宁愿走更远一些的天桥。
“People couldn’t even stop in front of shops to look at shop windows,” he said. “You’re constantly pushed. It’s very congested.”
“人们甚至无法在店铺前停下脚步，看看橱窗，”他说。“一直被往前推着。非常拥挤。”
The idea of turning nearly a mile of the road into a permanent pedestrian- and tram-only zone was first proposed in 2000 by the Hong Kong Institute of Planners, a professional organization, but has drawn broader attention in recent years as air pollution and congestion have worsened.
这项将一英里长的道路变成只许行人和电车通行的永久步行区的提议，最早是在2000年由专业机构香港规划师学会提出，但最近几年随着空气污染和交通堵塞情况恶化，才引发了更广泛的注意。
In 2014, the Hong Kong government undertook a study of possible solutions, proposing this March to charge drivers for access.
2014年，香港政府对一些可行的方案进行了研究，今年三月提出向经过此地的司机收费。
Even as the Hong Kong government has acknowledged the proposal’s potential to improve air quality, official responses to the plan have not boded well for any immediate change, as the authorities have demanded a detailed feasibility report and traffic analysis.
尽管香港政府承认，该提议有可能改善空气质量，但是从官方对该计划的反应来看，可能不会立刻做出改变，因为当局要求获得详细的可行性报告和交通分析。
Unlike several other smaller areas of the city where the government has temporarily restricted vehicle access — like the steep streets in the Lan Kwai Fong entertainment district — Des Voeux Road Central is home to dozens of bus stations and many intersections.
香港政府在其他几个更小区域进行了临时交通管制，比如兰桂坊娱乐区那些有坡度的街道。但是德辅道中与那些区域不同，这里有数十个公交车站和很多交叉路口。
When asked about the proposal in January, Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, Hong Kong’s transport minister, said the proposal would divert vehicles “to nearby roads with more residential flats, which equally cast impact on the air quality of the residential areas concerned and bring about noises.”
今年一月，香港运输及房屋局局长张炳良(Anthony Cheung Bing-leung)在被问及该提议时称，它将导致车辆“改经附近较多民居的街道，一样会对有关住宅区的空气质素造成影响及带来噪音。”
Despite the lukewarm official response, Mr. Fung, the head of Clean Air Network, said he was encouraged that 13,000 people had visited the stretch of road that Sunday. His group hopes to build public support for more traffic-free days.
尽管官方的反应不太热情，但是健康空气行动的负责人冯建玮称，那个周日有1.3万人来到这条道路，令他深感鼓舞。他的组织希望为更多无车日建立公众支持。
“We started small, but from here we can double or triple our scale,” he said.
“一开始我们的规模比较小，但是我们能扩大到两至三倍的规模，”他说。
