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Public housing in Hong Kong is a major component of the housing in Hong Kong. About half of Hong Kong residents now live in public housing estates (Chinese: 公共屋邨) and other tower blocks with some form of subsidy.[1] The history of public housing in Hong Kong can be traced back to 1953, when a fire in Shek Kip Mei destroyed the shanty homes of approximately 53,000 people. As a consequence, the Hong Kong Government commenced a programme of mass public housing, providing affordable homes for those on low incomes.[2]
Public housing estates in Hong Kong are mainly built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society. Rents are cheaper than for ordinary housing, and are heavily subsidised, financed by financial activities such as rents and charges collected from car parks and shops within or near the estates.
The public housing estates have typically been built in the remote or less accessible parts of the territory, although urban expansion has put some of them in the heart of the urban area. They have been built in every district of Hong Kong, except in the highly urbanized Wan Chai District. The vast majority of the estates are high-rise buildings, and the recent buildings of 2005 reach 40 storeys.
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Population
According to the 2006 census,[1] 3.3 million people, or 48.8% of the Hong Kong population lived in public rental housing or subsidized sale flats not tradeable in the open market. The breakdown is: 31% living in public rental housing, 17.1% living in Housing Authority subsidized sale flats and 0.7% living in Housing Society subsidized sale flats.
History
The 1950s
On 25 December 1953, a major fire in Shek Kip Mei destroyed the makeshift homes of refugees from Mainland China, leaving 53,000 people homeless. After the fire, and facing a surge of immigrant population, then governor Alexander Grantham launched a public housing program to introduce the idea of "multi story building" for the immigrant population living there, thus commencing a programme of mass public housing, providing affordable homes for those on low incomes.[2] Some scholars have argued that the government has been overstating the role of the fire in the history of public housing in Hong Kong.[3]
The Shek Kip Mei Estate, ready for occupation in 1954, was the first tangible manifestation of this policy. In those early days, housing units were little more than small cubicles, and the original plan was to allocate 24 square feet (2.2 m2) per adult and half that for each child under 12.[4] However, they were in reality often occupied by more than one family, due to the extreme shortage of available housing.[5] Facilities and sanitation were rudimentary and communal. Rents were pitched at between HK$10 and 14, without caps on income. That year, the first Housing Authority was formed out of the Urban Council, through enactment of the 1954 Housing Ordinance.[6] The Shek Kip Mei estate has now been extensively redeveloped.
The 1960s
In 1961, the "low-cost housing" scheme was introduced through the construction of 62,380 flats (capable of housing 363,000 people with monthly household incomes of no more than HK$600) in 18 estates, whilst HA accommodation would be available to those whose household incomes were between $900 and $1500.[6]
In 1963, due to the rapid escalation of squatter numbers, squatters' eligibility for public housing was frozen, and future squatter areas came under licensing per the 1964 White Paper. The Housing Board was set up with the role of coordinating between agencies responsible for domestic housing. It made recommendations to have annual evaluations of supply and demand of housing, as well as increasing the minimum standard floor area per person to 35 sq ft (3.3 m2).[6]
Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate, built between 1967 and 1970, was among the first group of resettlement estates built with elevators. All blocks were 16-floor high, and elevators from the ground floor could reach the 8th and the 13th floors.[7]
The 1970s
In 1973, the Colonial Government of Hong Kong announced a ten-year plan for the public provision of housing, to provide everyone in Hong Kong with permanent, self-contained housing with a target of housing. The objective was to provide 1.8 million people with "satisfactory accommodation".[6] The Government saw as its responsibility to provide accessible housing for "the poor" - defined as those whose monthly household income was between HK$2,100 (for a family of 3) and HK$3,150 (for a family of 10).[8]
In 1975, the Government officially opened the Oi Man Estate, a housing estate built on a concept of "a little town within a city". The estate of 6,200 flats, constructed on a site of 21 acres, and capable of housing 46,000 people would have a self-contained environment complete with commercial amenities ranging from markets and barber shops to banks. This represented an innovation in that the commercial premises would serve the local estate, whilst paying a rent determined by public tender. Banks, restaurants, and other large premises would be let out on a 5 year contract, competing on a monthly rental offered, whilst tenants for smaller premises would compete on premium paid based on fixed monthly rentals. Unlike the generations of housing estates which preceded it, there would be designated market stalls and cooked-food stalls. Street vendors would be no longer be tolerated.[9]
The 1980s
A new town to be constructed on 240 hectares of reclaimed fishponds and wetland was conceived in 1987 to house 140,000 people. Since Tin Shui Wai was entirely a virgin development, it was conceived with wider walkways and larger open areas when compared to other urban developments in Hong Kong.[10]
Design
Several designs have been used for the blocks of the public housing estates, including:
- Old Slab, New Slab
- Single H (1980s), Double H, Triple H
- Single Tower, Twin Tower (1970s)
- Single I, Double I, Triple I
- Harmony 1, 1A, 2, 3, New Harmony 1
- Linear 1, 3, L, B
- Trident 1, 2, 3, 4
- Mark III, IV, V, VI
- Cruciform, New Cruciform
- Concord
- Ziggurat
- Rural Housing
- Non Standard
- Converted Block
Awards
Several public housing estates have received awards from the Hong Kong Institute of Architects:[11]
- 1965: Choi Hung Estate - Silver Medal
- 1981: Sui Wo Court - Silver Medal
- 1981: Cho Yiu Chuen - Certificate of Merit
- 1982: Mei Lam Estate Phase 1 - Certificate of Merit
- 1985: Siu Hong Court - Silver Medal
- 1987: Mei Lam Indoor Recreation Centre - Silver Medal
- 1989: Heng On Estate - Certificate of Merit
- 1991: Clague Garden Estate - Certificate of Merit
- 1992: Kwong Yuen Estate Commercial Centre - Certificate of Merit
- 1998: Verbena Heights - Silver Medal
Subsidized ownership
Several subsidized home ownership programs have been implemented, including: Home Ownership Scheme, Flat-for-Sale Scheme, Tenants Purchase Scheme, Sandwich Class Housing Scheme and Private Sector Participation Scheme.
Other subsidized housing
Other forms of subsidized housings include or have included:
Estates of note
The following is a list of selected public housing estates and their specificities:
- Shek Kip Mei Estate was the first public housing estate in Hong Kong. All the blocks from the 1950s have been demolished, except Block 41 Mei Ho House, the last remaining example of the "Mark II" building in a single-block configuration. Block 41 has been graded as "Grade I historic building".[12]
- Model Housing Estate is the oldest existing public housing estate in Hong Kong, with blocks built in 1954 still in use.[13]
- Sai Wan Estate, built in 1958, is the only public housing estate in Central and Western District developed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority.
- Ming Wah Dai Ha, built between 1962 and 1978, is the oldest existing public housing estate developed by the Hong Kong Housing Society.
- Lower Ngau Tau Kok (II) Estate, completed in 1967 and scheduled for demolition in 2009. Its upcoming disappearance has attracted many visitors, to the point that tenants have complained about the nuisance.[14]
- Sha Tau Kok Chuen consists of 51 blocks completed between 1988 and 1991. It is the public housing estate with most number of blocks in Hong Kong.[15][16]
- Tivoli Garden, completed in 1996, was the first development under the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme.[17]
- Kwai Chung Estate, redeveloped between 1997 and 2008, it is the largest public housing estate in Hong Kong. It comprises 13,700 apartments in 16 blocks, and houses over 36,000 people.[18]
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Public housing in Hong Kong |
- List of Home Ownership Scheme Courts in Hong Kong
- Hong Kong Housing Authority Exhibition Centre
- Housing Department
- Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, a former governmental position, in charge of public housing
- Public housing in Singapore
References
- ^ a b Census and Statistics Department - Population by type of housing
- ^ a b Choi, Barry (30 June 1975). "Housing means more than a roof" (PDF). South China Morning Post. http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/12_01.01/113571.pdf. Retrieved 7 February 2007.
- ^ Smart, Alan (2006). The Shek Kip Mei Myth: Squatters, Fires and Colonial Rule in Hong Kong, 1950-1963. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9622097928.
- ^ Choi, Barry (14 October 1978). "Focus on small flats" (PDF). South China Morning Post. http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/12_09.01/78.pdf. Retrieved 7 February 2007.
- ^ Choi, Barry (13 August 1973). "Vital task is to satisfy slum dwellers who see luxury on doorstep" (PDF). South China Morning Post. http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/12_07.01/117197.pdf. Retrieved 7 February 2007.
- ^ a b c d Hung, Edward (26 June 1977). "'New' Housing Authority in for bigger responsibility" (PDF). The Standard. http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/12_01.01/113631.pdf. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ Hong Kong Housing Authority - Historical Background of Lower Ngau Tau Kok (II) Estate
- ^ Lee, Mary (7 March 1980). "A disorderly house policy" (PDF). Far Eastern Economic Review. http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/12_01.02/113674.pdf. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
- ^ Sung, C. D. (20 November 1975). "A showpiece of public housing in Hong Kong" (PDF). South China Morning Post. http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/newspaper/view/12_09.01/25.pdf. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
- ^ Maureen Fan (27 October 1987). $820m new town deal will give homes to 140,000, South China Morning Post
- ^ List of Past HKIA Annual Awards
- ^ List of Graded Historic Buildings in Hong Kong (as at 7 Nov 2008)
- ^ Aged public housing estates included in the Comprehensive Structural Investigation Programme
- ^ South China Morning Post: "Warning on Ngau Tau Kok nostalgia visits", 9 April 2009. Reproduced here
- ^ Sha Tau Kok Chuen
- ^ Housing Society Continues to Freeze Rents for Another Year
- ^ Hong Kong Housing Society - 1995 - Tivoli Garden
- ^ Hong Kong Housing Authority - Kwai Chung Estate
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