Urban Problems of Hong Kong

1. Housing Problems… Transport problems… Environmental Problems… Urban Problems of Hong Kong

2. Content Introduction P. 3 Housing Problems P.4 – P.8 Transport Problems P.9 – P.12 Environmental Problems P.13 – P.16 Own Opinions P.17

3. Introduction Hong Kong is named as ‘Pearl of the East’ because of its prosperity and the energetic citizen. But behind this good reputation, it also bears a lot of problems on account of the prosperity. These problems include housing problems, transport problems and environmental problems. Housing problems are very serious in Hong Kong due to large population but small area of land in proportion. The government has carried out a certain of measures and policy to relief the problems. Another troublesome problems in Hong Kong are environmental problems, for instance, air, solid waste and water pollutions. Environmental problems are not only the responsibility of Hong Kong Government, the Pearl River Delta have to bear some. The last main urban problems of Hong Kong are transport problems, it tormented Hong Kong for a long time. To relief the problems, many overpasses and subway were built or will be built. The land use development of Hong Kong will also be analyzed in this report.

4. Housing problems

5. Housing problems Since the 1940s, more and more immigrants moved to Hong Kong from Mainland China. The urban planning at that time was not comprehensive enough to settle down the people with good living environment. Hong Kong people who cannot pay for private housing were forced to live in the public estates. There are also some old buildings in the inner cities, which were developed long time ago, such as Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po. The living environment of those buildings and public estates were poor. The population density was high, little open spaces were available for citizen to take rest. To accommodate the large number of immigrants moved to Hong Kong, the government constructed a lot of poor quality buildings and public estates. Up to now, those buildings and estates are ageing, the living environment are more uncomfortable. On one hand Hong Kong is developed in a fast rate, on the other hand the number of old buildings and estates increase. Many policies are carried out to renew urban area or revitalize it.

6. Housing Problems There are different types of housing problems : • Poor living conditions • Lack of open spaces • Poor hygiene • High population density • Hinder the development of the city • Because of emotional problems among people who live in the district • The cost of urban renewal is high • Time-consuming to arrange the development • Difficult to identify the real owner of those old buildings • Lack of recreational land use - The government did not concern residents’ need when they construct those buildings or village • Land were arranged to other land uses. e.g. Institutional land use • Little land was available

7. Housing Problems Measures to resolve or solve the housing problems : • ‘4R’ strategy 4R strategy include redevelopment, preservation, revitalization and rehabilitation. They are carried out by The Urban Renewal Authority, the aim is to assist setting the policy of urban renewal and to try the best to attain sustainable development. • Urban planning Good urban planning can help a city to attain sustainable development. If the plan is good, urban renewal can be arranged smoothly and efficiently. Better living condition can be obtained when a good urban planning is carried out. • Civil education The elder generation always insists to live in the old villages and buildings no matter how uncomfortable and dangerous they are. It is because of their affections on them. The government should publicize them with the concepts of safety and comfort are more important than anything. • Building new towns In the New Territory, many new towns were built to resolve the housing problems of the urban area. New towns are usually located on the reclaimed land. They had good urban planning before construction, facilities and recreational land uses are desirable.

8. many immigrants moved to Hong Kong Many low quality buildings were built poor living condition New towns are built to resolve housing problems Better living environment 4R strategy carry out by the government Housing Problems ----> ----> ----> <---- <----

9. Transport Problems Hong Kong, as a city of prosperity, has a very comprehensive transport network. It extends to all directions. As it has a comprehensive network, the traffic is busy on and under ground. The most serious transport problem is traffic congestion. Roads in Hong Kong are narrow, number of cars are many. There are too many cars compare to the road capacity. The situation is even worse during peak hours. Another transport problem is the uneven distribution of traffic. For example, most of the cars use the Hung Hum Cross Harbour Tunnel instead of the Western Harbour Tunnel. It is because of the price variance between them. The government did a lot of things to resolve the problems. Such as construct some overpasses, subways and bypasses.

10. Transport Problems There are certain kinds of transport problems : - Traffic Congestion • Too many cars • Roads are narrow • Many traffic light • Uneven distribution • Price variance between different roads or tunnels • Convenience, most public transport would use that roads or tunnels

11. Transport problems Measures to resolve or solve the transport problems : • Building overpasses, subways and bypasses Because of the narrow roads, traffic congestion is always a problem in urban area. To resolve this problem, the government constructed some overpasses, subways and bypasses to dredge the traffic. • Take public transports instead of private cars As roads in Hong Kong are narrow, road capacity is not enough to accommodate all cars. If public take public transports instead of private car, the pressure to roads are less. I cannot think of any solutions to resolve or solve the uneven distribution of traffic because tunnels are run by different companies. Government cannot affect the prices they set under the Positive non-interventionist policy.

12. Bridges, subways and bypasses are built to resolve the transport problems Traffic congestion is resolved Many cars in Hong Kong Transport problems

13. Environmental problems One of the most serious urban problem in Hong Kong is environmental problem. During 1970s, industrial development was very vigorous, pollutants emission was serious. The problem get worse in different aspect, noise, air, water and solid waste. Air pollution is one of the environmental problems, air pollutants are usually emitted by cars and factories. It is very serious in Hong Kong. The government carried out a action blue sky to resolve the problem. Victoria Harbour is a precious asset of Hong Kong, but the water pollution is serious in Hong Kong. Many voluntary group raised a harbour protection action, they requested the government to concern more about the water pollution in Hong Kong. Noise pollution and solid waste problem are also the main environmental problems in Hong Kong. It is because of the vigorous growth of economy, people produce more waste as they purchase more. For the noise pollution, population density is high, their activities would affect each other.

14. Environmental problems There are different kinds of environmental problems : • Air pollution • Many cars on roads • Many factories • High population density • High rise buildings are built alongside the road, pollutants cannot be blown away by wind. • Air conditioner are widely used in restaurants and public places - Water pollution • Many factories • Restaurants emit wasted water improperly • People throw rubbish to the harbour • Noise pollution • Too many cars • High population density • Many constructions are in progress • Solid waste problem • Industrial solid wastes are wasted improperly • People purchase a lot • Materials used to pack a product are too much

15. Environmental problems Measures to resolve or solve the problems : - Action Blue Sky It is an action carried out by the government, the aim is to improve the air quality of Hong Kong through a series of activities. - Harbour Area Treatment Scheme The Harbour Area Treatment Scheme is an overall sewage collection and treatment scheme for areas on both sides of Victoria Harbour. It is divided in several stages, stage 1 has already finished in 2001. - Noise measures by government If practicable, the government would set up retrofitting noise barriers to lower the influence to residents. But in some district, they are not practicable. The government introduces a non-engineering solution, a traffic management scheme. The scheme is being implemented in four areas to ban certain types of vehicles from using some streets at night to reduce traffic noise. - Solid waste measures The government carries out a lot of programmes to monitor and educate people to waste wastes properly.

16. Environmental problems are serious in Hong Kong Better environment in Hong Kong Different measures carried out by the government Environmental problems  

17. Own opinions The problems discussed in this report are major urban problems in Hong Kong. In recent years, the Hong Kong government has already done a lot of things to resolve those problems. I think that is not enough to resolve them if residents do not cooperate with the government. People is the basic unit of a society, if people do not follow and cooperate with government’s policies, policies cannot be carried out effectively. Education and publicity are important than any policy because the best policy is to get residents’ support. If the government gets residents’ support, she can carry out different policies easily and smoothly. Not only can the government resolve those problems, we, as a resident, can also do something to improve the situation. For example, people can lower their volume during parties, it is a way to help reducing noise pollution. By cooperation of residents and the government, urban problems of Hong Kong can be resolved and Hong Kong will be a better place to live in.

18. Sources are from the following web sites : • http://hk.search.yahoo.com/search/images • http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/eindex.html