REVIEW OF HOUSING CONDITIONS IN HONG KONG
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On the question of the resumption and reconstruction of slum properties on the scale envisaged by Chadwick, the government was sympathetic to the idea but in view of the heavy commitments to other more urgent public works, it was not prepared to make a specific regular financial allocation for the purpose.
The difficulty and reluctance of enforcing the new building and health regulations plus the reluctance of government to undertake redevelopment on any effective scale compounded the housing problem of Hong Kong, the population of which had reached 457,000 persons by 1911, of whom 314,000 lived in the congested urban areas. Any intention of effective action in subsequent years was overcome by the Chinese Revolution in 1911, which brought an influx of refugees into the Colony, and also by the events which culminated in the Great War of 1914-1918.
The Inter-War Years: 1918-1940
Despite the imposition of overseas trade barriers, the Colony quickly re-established itself as an entrepot port after the 1914-1918 War. With the resurgence of commercial activities, and therefore employment opportunities, the population increased rapidly, so that by 1921 over 625,000 persons were resident in Hong Kong. Of this total, over 347,000 lived on Hong Kong Island and some 123,000 resided in the rapidly developing Kowloon peninsula, where extensive reclamations had been carried out (Figure 2).
The question of providing adequate housing for the community again became a matter of some concern for the Government, and a commission was appointed to consider what measures were possible to increase the quantity and decrease the cost of residential accommodation in the Colony.19 The commission reported in 1923, and recommended that the government should undertake the development of extensive areas for building in the Kowloon peninsula. The removal of military establishments from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and the use of these sites for housing, was also put forward, together with the recommendation that communications to outlying areas should be extended and improved so as to open up new districts for development. Other suggestions made by the Commission included the provision of cheap loans and land to house builders.
19 Report of the Housing Commission, Hong Kong, 1923.