38
REVIEW
interest between developers and local believers in fung shui. But a careful study of objections to development proposals often re- veals that small alterations to the plans can be effected to meet genuine fung shui objections. A patient treatment of these problems leads to better mutual understanding between local inhabitants and new developers, whether they be Government or private. This in turn helps to create a better community spirit which is an essential ingredient of progressive development.
THE SEARCH CONTINUES
The value of a review of the past lies in the guide which it provides for the future. Over the years the demand for land in Hong Kong has remained intense and recently it has been insati- able, to meet not only the immediate requirements of an expanding population but also the needs which arise from greater prosperity. The first warnings against over-crowding and the 'remarkable hoarding together of people' were made as long ago as 1849, and the 1887 Land Commission was apprehensive about the consequent dangers to health and social stability. It was pointed out that the Government had a monopoly of all unused land and that the problem of over-crowding was basically a land problem. Since that time and despite the many changes which have taken place and the new areas that have been brought into use, over-crowding and congestion remain the Colony's most serious social problem.
In 1841, a few months after the Colony was founded, there was a scramble for land. The scramble was brought under control but the demand continued. It is greater today than it has ever been. Past experience points the way for the immediate future-policy must be directed to the provision of new land together with adequate services to support intensive occupation and use, notwith- standing the comparatively greater cost of developing marginal land. This policy may mean still greater reclamation schemes, involve longer lines of communication and make greater demands on public services: but the search for land must go on.