E. G. PRYOR
for households with monthly incomes of less than HK$300 per month. In 1970, the monthly family income limit was increased to HK$600. Over the period 1965-1971 some 187,000 persons benefited from government low-cost housing schemes.
From the above, it will be seen that government and government-aided housing provided accommodation for 1.5 million persons in 1971 (Figure 7). It is thus evident that the administration is taking seriously its responsibilities towards providing homes for lower-income families. Indeed, Table 1 shows that between 1965 and 1970 government and the other two main housing agencies built more domestic units than private developers, so that by the end of that period the total amount of subsidised accommodation was greater than the total in the private sector (Table 2). The significance of this achievement is brought into sharper perspective when it is considered that the provision of housing by government, the Housing Authority, and the Housing Society on such a vast scale has been accomplished only since 1951.
However, whilst in quantitative terms these efforts have been impressive by any measure, there is scope for qualitative improvements. In this context, many of the older resettlement estates are now in need of modernisation, and this is a future task which the government has plans to undertake. There is also an increasing awareness of the need to ensure that large housing estates, especially in the new towns of Tsuen Wan, Castle Peak, and Shatin, need to be designed and built on a comprehensive basis with a view to the creation of a wholesome environment that provides for the many diverse forms of human activity. Unfortunately, this approach could not be followed in the development of many of the earlier estates, which had to be built on an emergency basis. The needs of the rural population for decent housing have also had to be held in abeyance, but this matter is now receiving closer attention.
Whilst the government can be expected to continue to play a significant role in the provision of housing, the achievement of private developers over the immediate past years indicates that a substantial contribution from this sector can be expected in future, given stable economic and political conditions (Table 1). However, some concern must be expressed over the distribution of government and private housing, for whereas the bulk of private residential accommodation is located in the old congested districts of Hong Kong Island North
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