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builders, the development of low-cost housing schemes by Government, the imposition of penalties on unused private land, the conversion of godowns (warehouses) into tenements by adding on further storeys, the publication of standard house designs, the use of labour-saving machinery, the provision of large supply depots at convenient locations for building materials, the setting up of local industries in the New Territories for the manufacture of building materials, the establishment of bamboo and fir tree plantations for scaffolding and the continuation of rent controls.
Whilst development in the Kowloon Peninsula gathered momentum, little became of the recommendations made by the Housing Commission and with the further growth of the population to almost 841,000 persons by 1931, of whom 79% lived in the urban areas, the housing situation reached serious proportions. Some indication of the congested living conditions is given by the densities which prevailed in the Western district where, on average, there were 917 persons per acre.20
The economic "depression" of the 1930s greatly reduced the prospects for effective action to help meet the Colony's pressing housing requirements. The situation was further aggravated by the continued arrival of people from China, which resulted in an increase of the population from 841,000 in 1931 to 988,000 by 1936.
However, in 1935 new legislation was introduced whereby the Public Health and Buildings Ordinance of 1903 was split into a separate Buildings Ordinance and a series of Public Health Ordinances. One of the changes brought about by the new Building Ordinance was that the maximum depth of domestic buildings was reduced from 40 ft. to 35 ft. although this could be exceeded if every storey were provided with windows to ensure that the whole storey was adequately lit. The provisions of the 1903 Ordinance regarding the height of buildings were also modified, but differential controls continued to apply in favour of property owners who had leased land before 1903. In short, the height of buildings was still governed by the width of the street but, within this limitation, buildings could not exceed 3 storeys unless built of fire-resistant materials; in order to exceed 5 storeys the consent of the Governor-in-Council was required.
20 Commissioner of Census, "Report on the Census for the Colony for 1931" Sessional Papers. Laid Before the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Sessional Papers 1928-1932, Hong Kong 1932, pp. 108-109.