HOUSING
119
1 Jan. 55.
31 Dec. 55.
Temporary cottage areas
57,000.
68,000.
Emergency 2-storey structures built by
Government at Shek Kip Mei .....
35,000.
36,000.
Permanent 6- and 7-storey buildings
built by Government
19,000.
49,000.
111,000.
153,000.
It is of interest that over 87,000 of these 153,000 persons are now living in premises owned by Government.
As with other forms of assisted housing, the greatest obstacle to further resettlement operations is the difficulty of finding more large sites for multi-storey estates, each block of which requires an area of over one acre, when allowance is made for access roads and the minimum amount of open space. The sites must be within easy reach of the places of work of the settlers, many of whom cannot afford daily bus fares. Future progress depends on the availability of large sites. The limiting factor is land.
URBAN BUILDINGS
Building standards in Hong Kong are reasonably high; the best building materials and the most up-to-date methods of construction are widely used. The Colony's best buildings-apartments, private residences, banks and com- mercial offices-compare favourably with those of any other city.
Minimum standards of design, material and construction (covering all aspects of housing, including health, ventila- tion, drainage, and safety) are laid down in the Buildings Ordinance, which has been revised from time to time to meet changing conditions and views on housing standards. The latest of these revisions has recently been completed, a new Buildings Ordinance (see chapter on Legislation) becoming law at the end of the year.
Under the Buildings Ordinance, no building may be erected in Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Kowloon unless plans of it have been previously submitted to, and approved by, the Director of Public Works in his capacity as the Building Authority.
As in every year since the war, private building develop- ment was on a large scale. It has been often said that it is