October_1966 — Page 62

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SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS

POPULATION projections indicate that some 21⁄2 million people may have to be housed in New Towns outside the main urban centres of Hong Kong Island and Kow- loon over the next 15-20 years if we are to avoid further congestion and urban chaos.

This is an enormous task for any administration but one which has to be faced in Hong Kong and one which calls for the utmost care in the use of land and considera- tion of the far-reaching social and economic problems which are likely to become involved.

It is plain common-sense that we must select the most attractive sites for the new and expanding industry needed to provide employment for our people, and that living conditions must be greatly improved if we are to attract people to move to New Towns and, most im- portant, to enjoy their new environment, taking an active part in the New Town's social and economic development.

In a talk. given four years ago, I suggested that a planning and engineering study should be made of the island of Lantao, in particular with regard to the possi- bility of a major reclamation scheme for the area of ap- proximately 5.000 acres of shallow water off the north- east coat between Lantao and Peng Chau, Hayling Chau and Sunshine Island. This area might provide additional land for a major industrial city of about a million people and relieve the pressure on the existing urban areas where living conditions were already very congested.

I concluded this talk by urging the Government to prepare and exhibit a Colony Development Plan to pro- vide an overall guide for development and investment of both private and public funds, in order that the develop- ment of New Towns and the location of industry could proceed to the better social advantage of the community and with some measure of confidence in the future.

Three Proposals

In the four years that have passed since these sug- gestions were made the Hong Kong Town Planning Board has published for public comment three major proposals for the development of New Towns. Regrettably it has been most difficult for all but a few professionally quali- fied persons to appreciate the implications of these plans, due to the absence of any published Colony Development Plan, which would enable these three major proposals to be related one to the other.

Indeed it is very doubtful if the Town Planning Board has itself any Master Plan into which these proposals could be fitted.

I refer to the development plans which have been published for Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin and Castle Peak, which provide for ultimate estimated populations of 1.4 mil- lion, one million and one million respectively. A simple addition of the populations of these New Towns gives a total of 3.4 million. The indication is that the Town Planning Board has completed its work in planning for our additional population for the next 15-20 years, and the members can now retire, leaving the foundation for future investment in roads, drains, schools, water supply, houses, factories, clinics, markets, telephones, gas, elec- tricity and all the other expensive items which go into the building of New Towns by both public and private funds.

In fact the chartered town planners in Hong Kong have firmly opposed all three of these New Town schemes and have written formal letters of objection to the Town

56

OF TOWN PLANNING

by J. E. Jackson

Chairman

Town Planning Institute

Hong Kong Branch

Planning Board relating to the most important and fun- damental aspects of these plans.

It is perhaps opportune here to explain why the members of the Town Planning Institute are more quali- fied to advise on the use of land than the members of other professions. By his training and understanding of the work of the engineer, the architect, the surveyor, the economist, the sociologist, public health, education, law, public administration and all the many facets of land use which the late Sir George Pepler, a past president, des- cribed as "the platform of all human activity", the Char- tered Town Planner is able to assess the best use of land in relation to the overall needs of the community.

This may not be the easiest or simplest use of land. but the town planner is concerned with the social and economic whole of the community in which he is working.

Separate Profession

To quote from a recent opinion of Judge Frank J. "The Kingfield given in New Jersey earlier this year. fact that historically planning evolved from architecture and engineering is of little or no consequence. This may be an unfortunate fact, but it is now recognised that the profession of planning is a separate and distinct profes- sion. The evidence does not bear out the fact that an engineer, architect or land surveyor by the education he has received and simply with the training in his respective field possesses the qualifications of a professional planner.”

Surprisingly, Hong Kong with its major land problems has only 15 professionally qualified town planners, and they have opposed Government's three major planning proposals published during the last four years.

The main objections concern the social aspects of land use contained in the plans and the unfortunate living conditions which are likely to result if these plans are approved and implemented.

We are all becoming more acutely aware of the in- separable relationship between social and economic_con- ditions, and I think our understanding of these problems is greater when we have an understanding of the use of land.

This has been brought sharply into relief in recent weeks in Hong Kong by the evidence presented at the Commission of Inquiry into the Kowloon disturbances. In particular I refer to the evidence of Mr. Alexander Murdock Keith. Director of the Hong Kong Council of Social Services, who has been active in social work since 1936.

From talks with social workers of some of the 78 agencies co-ordinated under the Council, one of the strong factors that emerged was that Yaumati and Mongkok, where the Kowloon disturbances centred, were the two highest-density population areas on that side of the har- bour, said Mr. Keith. This followed the world pattern of riots, not only centring on cities, but also on the most congested area of cities.

Far East Architect & Builder October, 1966