REVIEW OF HOUSING CONDITIONS IN HONG KONG
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and Kowloon, government housing is found predominantly in the outer districts of Hong Kong Island South, New Kowloon and Tsuen Wan/Kwai Chung (Figure 8 and Table 3).
The concentration of private housing in the inner districts has been due to a number of factors including the better prospects for the letting or selling of accommodation in localities which are already provided with various services and community facilities. In addition, the established interests of property owners have favoured redevelopment rather than investment in newly developing peripheral areas where large capital outlay is required for both the acquisition of land, and the construction of buildings. Family ties within the main urban areas and reluctance to change jobs have also probably reinforced the inertia of households to decentralise. By comparison, government housing estates have necessitated the development of large areas which, generally, have been available only in the outer districts.
There is thus a tendency for the peripheral development areas to become "one class" towns comprised mainly of lower income groups. Sociological studies indicate that this can result in a lack of community leaders and thus inhibit the formation of a cohesive neighbourhood structure.26 Nevertheless, this problem is not insurmountable as various administrative and fiscal measures could be applied to encourage the decentralisation of private housing and, conversely, to discourage excessive investment in the central districts.
Looking Ahead
There is no doubt that over the past 130 years Hong Kong has faced many difficult problems in its endeavour to provide housing for its people. Often, these problems have been compounded by other difficulties, such as typhoons, droughts and floods, which have placed severe strains on the resources of private developers and, lately, of the administration. Many of the factors which have contributed to Hong Kong's housing difficulties are still much in evidence but, with the increasing participation of government and
26 Mitchell R. E., Levels of Emotional Strain in S.E. Asian Cities—A Study of Individual Responses to the Stresses of Urbanisation and Industrialisation, Volume II A Project of the Urban Family Life Survey, Hong Kong, 1969, p. 434.