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WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 1987
BUT THIS WOULD NOT ALONE ACHIEVE EVEN THE KIND OF STANDARDS HONG KONG WAS NOW SEEKING TO ACHIEVE IN THE NEW TOWNS, LET ALONE THE STANDARDS TO WHICH ONE MIGHT EXPECT THE BETTER-EDUCATED AND MORE AFFLUENT HONG KONG CITIZEN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY TO ASPIRE.
THE PROBLEM WAS DENSITY OF BUILDINGS, OF PEOPLE AND OF ACTIVITY. TO A CERTAIN EXTENT THE NEW TOWNS PROGRAMME WAS HELPING AND WOULD CONTINUE TO HELP SORT OUT THE DENSITY OF PEOPLE.
SINCE 1961, THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE LIVING IN THE CENTRAL PARTS OF CENTRAL, WESTERN, WAN CHAI, EASTERN, YAU MA TEI, MONG KOK, SHAM SHUI PO, AND KOWLOON CITY HAD DECREASED FROM ABOUT 2.1 MILLION TO 1.8 MILLION, DESPITE THE DEVELOPMENT OF RECLAMATIONS AND OTHER HITHERTO UNPOPULATED AREAS IN THEM WITHIN THIS PERIOD.
THIS PROCESS MUST CONTINUE, BUT BUILDING VOLUME IN THESE AREAS HAD INCREASED ENORMOUSLY AND NO PARALLEL INCREASE IN CIRCULATION AND OPEN SPACE HAD BEEN ACHIEVED, AND ACTIVITIES AT GROUND LEVEL IN TERMS OF PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT, ILLICIT TRADING AND INDUSTRIAL OPERATIONS CONTINUED TO CONGEST DOWNTOWN STREETS AT LEVELS WHICH SEEMED AT LEAST AS OPPRESSIVE AS 25 YEARS AGO.
THE GOVERNMENT'S FORWARD DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY WHICH WAS ANNOUNCED IN 1985 A IMED THAT URBAN EXPANSION TO FOLLOW THE NEW TOWNS PROGRAMME SHOULD BE ON NEW HARBOUR RECLAMATIONS AT KENNEDY TOWN, KOWLOON AND HUNG HOM BAY.
+ IT IS QUITE ESSENTIAL THAT THESE RECLAMATIONS SHOULD NOT BE SEEN AS LAND FOR GRABS, FOR NEWLY IMPORTED POPULATION, OR FOR REVENUE, BUT AS THE MAIN MEANS BY WHICH OVER PERHAPS A VERY LONG TIME THE DENSITY OF BUILDING IN THE OLDER URBAN DISTRICTS MAY BE RELIEVED BY THE REMOVAL OF BUILDINGS AND ACTIVITIES FROM THE BUSIER DOWNTOWN AREAS AND THEIR REPLACEMENT WITH OPEN SPACE AND CIRCULATION AREAS,+ SAID MR BARNES.
IN THE AREAS WHERE PUBLIC HOUSING ESTATES PREDOMINATED, SUCH AS NORTH-EAST KOWLOON, TSUEN WAN AND KWAI CHUNG, SIMILAR IMPROVEMENTS COULD BE ACHIEVED WITH THE REPLANNING OF THE OLDER PUBLIC HOUSING AREAS, ALTHOUGH WITH THE LARGER AREAS TO BE PLANNED AS A WHOLE, THERE WAS NOW POSSIBILITY FOR ARCHITECTURAL INNOVATIONS.
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+FAIRLY RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THE GOVERNMENT'S INTENTION TO PRODUCE A MASTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE WHOLE OF THE METROPOLITAN AREA,+ HE SAID.
+THIS WILL BE A STATEMENT OF POLICIES AND PROPOSALS GUIDING THE USE OF NEW LANDS FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE OLDER AREAS.
+THE MAIN MOTIVATION FOR SUCH A RESTATEMENT IS ENVIRONMENTAL, + MR BARNES SAID.
/HE ALSO
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