Co-creation of knowledge in the urban planning context: The case of participatory planning for transitional social housing in Hong Kong

Drawing on organizational knowledge theory, this paper investigates collaborative knowledge creation for social change in the urban planning context through an in-depth case study of Hong Kong's recent participatory planning exercise for transitional social housing. Using the concept of ‘ba’, the enabling context of knowledge creation, this paper explores how ‘ba’ contributes to or limits participatory planning for social innovation. The study found that while the conversion between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in participatory planning takes place in a manner similar to that in organizational knowledge creation, collaborative knowledge creation in planning is largely influenced by the ‘ba’ that has been in place on the city and neighborhood scale for a long time and the availability of capable institutions as knowledge activists. Understanding collaborative knowledge creation in participatory planning from the organizational perspective advances the theoretical discourses to understand the dynamics of the new modes of participatory planning, but also expands the empirical application of organizational theory to the urban context.