Download
1 / 34
E N D
Introduction Throughout the years, the population of Hong Kong has been increasing continuously, nearly seven millions until 2005, for various reasons such as prolonged immigration from the Mainland China, constant replacement rate, etc. At the present, Hong Kong is one of the cities with the densest population. In order to settle the large population, urbanization has become an important issue of the Hong Kong government. However, at the same time, urbanization has caused different kinds of environmental pollution in Hong Kong. Also, transport and housing problems must be considered.
Urban planning • To settle the increasingly large population, the Hong Kong government has started to develop a lot of new towns since 1970s. Until now, near half of the total population of Hong Kong is living in these new towns. Besides, the urban areas, which have a long history of development, are also carrying a large population. However, as the living condition of these areas is poor, implementing urban renewal has become an important issue.
Redevelopment • Redevelopment requires pulling down old and ruined building and planning the way land is to be used in the area. It aims at improving the living environment at the renewal sites. The example of redevelopment is the 8 Waterloo Road completed in late 2004, which is a commercial and residential redevelopment in Yaumatei.
Rehabilitation • Rehabilitation is to prevent the decay of the built environment by promoting and facilitating the proper repair and maintenance of buildings. Rehabilitation will extend the useful life of buildings to alleviate the urgency of redevelopment. The Authority promotes and assists in the maintenance of building by individual owners. The example of rehabilitation is 250-254 Reclamation Street, Yau Ma Tei, which was built 1972. The construction was completed in February 2004.
Revitalization • Revitalization is the deployment of appropriate means of renewal to revive and strengthen the economic and environmental fabric of different districts. The example of revitalization is Sheung Wan Fong which is under progress.
Preservation • Preservation is an important principle of urban renewal in Hong Kong to preserve the unique cultural heritage. Buildings with Historical, cultural and architectural value are preserved. The local colour and character of different districts will also be retained. The example of preservation is 18 Ship Street in Wan Chai which was built in 1930s.
Building Environmentally Friendly apartments • In recent years, the government has been encouraging land developers to build environmentally friendly apartments. Such apartments may have balconies, wider common corridors and lift lobbies, communal sky gardens, etc. the government also suggests construction companies to use more renewable sources.
Conserving the Countryside • Country parks provide recreational and educational resources for the public. They also contribute to the objective of nature and landscape conservation.
Transport Problems • Hong Kong's roads are among the most heavily used in the world. There are about 270 licensed vehicles for every kilometre of road. While Government has been expanding the road and railway transport infrastructure to cope with the increasing travel demand for economic, social and leisure needs, it is becoming more and more difficult, expensive and environmentally unfriendly to implement such new projects. In other to relieve the traffic congestion, the government has developed vast transport networks.
Route 8 ( Tsing Yi---Cheung Sha Wan---Sha Tin) • Route 8 is a high-capacity trunk road linking Lantau Island, Kwai Ching, West Kowloon and the Northeast New Territories. • The link of Cheung Sha Wan and Sha Tin is expected to completed in August 2007 . • The link of Tsing Yi and Cheung Sha Wan is expected to completed in December 2008.
Pedestrianization • Full-time Pedestrian Street (Paterson Sreet ) • Part-time Pedestrian Street (Sai Yeung Choi Street South ) • Traffic Calming Street
(1)Air Pollution Air pollution can be classified into two types: (a) Local Street-level Pollution (b) Regional Smog Problem
Measures dealing with vehicles • Incentive schemes (replacing diesel light buses with LPG or electric light buses ,etc.) • Increasing penalty ( from $450 to $1,000 ) • Kicking off campaign (“switching off engines while waiting" )
Improvement • In 2005, emissions of particulates and nitrogen oxides from motor vehicles have been reduced by about 80% and 40% respectively • Particulates and nitrogen oxides levels on the street have dropped by 14% and 17% respectively since 1999 • The number of smoky vehicles on the road has also reduced by about 80%.
Measures dealing with stationary sources • Limiting the emissions of air pollutants of power stations • Encouraging power stations to use resources which is more environmentally-friendly • Recommend setting air-conditioning temperature at 25.5 degrees Celsius in summer
Cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangdong • In terms of total emissions, Hong Kong accounts for about 5% to 20% of regional air pollution while the PRD accounts for 80% to 95% • Hong Kong and Guangdong are necessary to join together.
Water Pollution • The number of beaches meeting the Water Quality Objective for bathing water was only 24 in 1995. The number of river monitoring stations with bad or very bad water quality was 52% in 1988. Like other major cities in the world, Hong Kong is working diligently to improve its water quality. Our pollutants come from human and industrial sources and livestock farms, and programmes are underway to reduce pollution loads.
The Harbour Area Treatment Scheme • Stage 1 has not resulted in uniformly better water quality • In stage 2A, disinfection would be introduced at the Stonecutters plant and deep tunnels would be built • In stage 2B, building biological treatment facilities would be introduced
Other measures • Polluter pays ( from $11 per month to $30 per month ) • Villages Sewage Works • Regional Collaboration with Guangdong
Waste Pollution • Over the past nine years municipal solid waste loads have increased by about three per cent annually while the population has grown on average by only 0.9 per cent. The three existing landfills (Nim Wan, Tseung Kwan O and Ta Kwu Ling) are under enormous pressure. In early 2005, it was estimated the three existing landfills would be full in six to 10 years.
Measures • The separation of wastes • Charging for wastes disposal
Construction • A low-level radioactive waste storage facility was commissioned on Siu A Chau in 2005, enabling the waste to be moved out of urban areas. Its storage capacity is estimated to be sufficient to accommodate existing and future waste arisings in Hong Kong for the next 100 years.
Noise Pollution Poor planning in the past and cramped development have resulted in noise pollution. The growth in the economy during the 1980s and 90s, which brought more construction and more traffic, has also contributed to the noise problem. One million people are affected by excess traffic noise alone, making it the biggest noise problem in the SAR. Traffic noise construction noise and aircraft noise are the main noise pollution
Ways to relieve traffic Noise • Building Barriers • Building buffer zones • Building enclosures • Apply low-noise surfaces
