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CU-ASK
The CUHK Actionable Social Knowledge (CU-ASK) programme at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) promotes an approach to education that connects academic research with real-world social challenges through field-based, interdisciplinary learning. Emphasising experiential engagement, the programme encourages students to translate knowledge into action by working directly with communities, environments, and spatial conditions. Within this framework, projects developed in the Liquid Territories Lab, including Reimaging Port City Territories and Live with Water, investigate urban and territorial systems through site-driven research, integrating mapping, fieldwork, and critical analysis to address pressing questions of environment, infrastructure, and society.
The CUHK Actionable Social Knowledge (CU-ASK) programme at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) promotes an approach to education that connects academic research with real-world social challenges through field-based, interdisciplinary learning. Emphasising experiential engagement, the programme encourages students to translate knowledge into action by working directly with communities, environments, and spatial conditions. Within this framework, projects developed in the Liquid Territories Lab, including Reimaging Port City Territories and Live with Water, investigate urban and territorial systems through site-driven research, integrating mapping, fieldwork, and critical analysis to address pressing questions of environment, infrastructure, and society.
Re-imagining Port City Territories: Promoting Social Equity through Port-driven Development is a research and teaching project developed under the CU-ASK Programme in Faculty of Social Science at CUHK, led by Prof. Jiaxiu Cai and Yanyu Sun, in collaboration with four students from the Year 3 and 4 Urban Studies Programme: Shun Lam Wong, Yin To Leung, Chun Ho Chan and Chin Nam Tsang. The project investigates how port cities operate as complex socio-ecological systems shaped by the interaction of water, infrastructure, economy, and everyday life. At its core, it asks how port city territories evolve under shifting relationships between water, ecology, economy, and society. Rather than treating ports as isolated infrastructures, the project reframes them as territorial systems, where logistics, landscapes, governance, and lived experience are deeply intertwined. Grounded in the Pearl River Delta / Greater Bay Area (GBA), the research focuses on Gaoming District in Foshan, a third-tier, river-based city historically shaped by waterborne trade and agriculture, and now undergoing uneven development and transformation. This makes it an ideal site for examining the transition from industrial port landscapes to post-industrial and ecological futures.
Live with Water: Sustainable Development of the Water Heritage is a research and teaching project developed under the CU-ASK project at Faculty of Social Science at CUHK , led by Prof. Jiaxiu Cai and Yanyu Sun, in collaboration with Angeline Sudari from Year 2 Architceture Studies and Jiayuan Huang from Year 2 Global Studies. The project investigates how water-based infrastructures operate as living heritage systems, shaped by the long-term interaction between ecology, settlement, governance, and everyday practices. At its core, it asks how water heritage can be understood beyond static preservation, as an evolving territorial system embedded within contemporary environmental and socio-economic transformations. Rather than approaching heritage as isolated sites or monuments, the project reframes it as a dynamic spatial framework, where landscape, infrastructure, and community practices are deeply intertwined. Grounded in the Pearl River Delta / Greater Bay Area (GBA), the research focuses on the Sangyuanwei Embankment System and its surrounding villages, particularly Zuotan Village, where historical water management systems continue to structure daily life and spatial organisation. This makes it an ideal context for examining how inherited water systems can inform adaptive strategies for climate resilience and future territorial design.
(Cover photos by LEUNG Yin To and HUANG Jiayuan）
Student Profiles
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The greatest takeaway from this CU-ASK project is the shift in my own perspective: I started perceiving water as an active component of urban development. In urban studies, we often prioritize the solid and tangible, like buildings, open spaces, and transport networks. This project made me realize that the fluid systems like water, are quietly shaping the city's form, and I should not overlook or underestimate it. Also, by working with peers from different majors and listening to people’ stories during site visits, it reminded me that urban planning is ultimately about people and their relationships with place.”
- TSANG Chin Nam (Janice ) , Year 4 Bachelor of Urban Studies
- TSANG Chin Nam (Janice ) , Year 4 Bachelor of Urban Studies
“My major in Global Studies focuses on world politics and global economy.
Through CU-ASK, I gained new perspectives on urban planning and mapping—novel experiences beyond my major—and collaborating with Angie from Architecture taught me design and visualization skills. Moreover, it was a precious opportunity to conduct field research and focus on real cases, making the learning experience deeply meaningful. The most enjoyable moment was during the Zuo Tan village field visits, when we interviewed and chatted with local residents. We once amid a heavy rain, a kind uncle invited us into his courtyard and offered steaming hot tea.”
- HUANG Jiayuan (Jessie), Year 2 Bachelor of Global Studies
“ In Hong Kong, waterfront industries, including ports and power plants, are generally located at a distance from residential areas or are somewhat isolated. Through this course, I had the opportunity to explore issues of industrial planning and the spatial conflicts that lie behind them in Pearl River Delta. The CU-ASK project also allowed me to work with students from other majors, such as architecture, which gave me a new understanding of spatial presentation.”
- LEUNG Yin To（Marcus), Year 3 Bachelor of Urban Studies
“This is my 2nd course of CU-ASK! Personally, I really like the field work that I have nerver done before. Going to Foshan, back and forth is the place i never went before, we went to old villages, sanshui, learning local life through ethnographic techniques is my fav part of this course:) Meanwhile getting to know academics people cross geographical boundaries through lecture series genuinely leveraged my interdisciplinary knowledge.“
- MOOLSRI Chayanisa (Inko), Year 3 Bachelor of Urban Studies
- HUANG Jiayuan (Jessie), Year 2 Bachelor of Global Studies
“ In Hong Kong, waterfront industries, including ports and power plants, are generally located at a distance from residential areas or are somewhat isolated. Through this course, I had the opportunity to explore issues of industrial planning and the spatial conflicts that lie behind them in Pearl River Delta. The CU-ASK project also allowed me to work with students from other majors, such as architecture, which gave me a new understanding of spatial presentation.”
- LEUNG Yin To（Marcus), Year 3 Bachelor of Urban Studies
“This is my 2nd course of CU-ASK! Personally, I really like the field work that I have nerver done before. Going to Foshan, back and forth is the place i never went before, we went to old villages, sanshui, learning local life through ethnographic techniques is my fav part of this course:) Meanwhile getting to know academics people cross geographical boundaries through lecture series genuinely leveraged my interdisciplinary knowledge.“
- MOOLSRI Chayanisa (Inko), Year 3 Bachelor of Urban Studies