Believing that “Place” has the power to improve lives through design and collaboration, VeryHK embarked on a Placemaking journey to redefine underused spaces within the community since 2013. Through participatory planning and cross-sectoral collaboration, we worked with the public to activate under-utilised public space as a means to promote community well-being and sustainable urban development.

VeryHK started as a "pioneer" and "advocate" in our earlier days. We open-called for local partners to co-curate free-for-all activities that echo community aspirations in the public realm. Utilizing our extensive network and expertise in design and licensing, we openly recruit partners from all walks of life to deliver proposals for free public participation, bringing together the strengths of the community to respond to the community's vision for public space. Each event attracted over 20,000 visitors and received extensive media coverage.

Stepping up to promote longer-term site activation initiatives, in 2018 VeryHK established CollaborateHK to assist NGOs in overcoming challenges they may face in delivering place activation projects. In four years, we have supported over 150 community groups to further their placemaking proposals across 18 districts. Among which, many have secured government policy support for further implementation. Some of the sites have already been successfully renovated and are open to the public in various districts.

VeryHK is also dedicated to improving data transparency and transmission by launching publications and hosting capacity-building workshops, to foster wider civic participation in neighbourhood improvement projects. For instance, the "Vacant Site Activation 1001" workshop (2020), "Vacant Site Activation 1002" workshop (2021),  “Feasibility Study of Activating Vacant Sites in North District” report release events (2021) and a series of educational programmes co-organized with different universities and professional institutes.

As VeryHK turned ninth in 2022, we brought years of experience into our new role of "incubator". Leveraging on the community's potential and to better equip NGOs to realize their proposals, we launched a 2-year capacity-building programme - "Space+" to sharpen their knowledge and practice skills with a theory-to-practice curriculum. In two years, the team has completed our placemaking venture in Yuen Long, Yau Tsim Mong and Eastern District. 60 NGO representatives and social workers have been trained with practical skills in site audit, community mapping, engagement skills, etc. 

Sustaining our work in various districts, VeryHK is gradually taking up the role of an enabler to embed placemaking efforts at the neighbourhood level. By transforming ubiquitous sites around neighbourhoods into a welcoming community hub for all, “Lau Haa” serves as an inclusive platform that connects families from all walks, encourages proactive sharing, stimulates co-learning, and empowers co-creation for change.