expensive and building costs inflated by expensive piling or site- formation. This applies particularly to the urban areas, where the majority of the population is employed, and as a result land is not available for cheap single-storey building or for schemes of aided self-help. Space can only be found vertically and to find room for all who need it accommodation must be provided in multi-storey flats. This is not the ideal form of dwelling and it is relatively expensive to construct. On these terms private enterprise cannot produce the accommodation required at rents within the means of the poorest of those who need it. Government assistance is essential.
8. Various schemes have been set on foot. Local firms have been encouraged to provide accommodation for their employees and land has been leased to them by Government by private treaty for this purpose. Government itself, which does not provide accommodation for its local staff, except where it is required by the officer's duties, has recently started a scheme of giving loans to local officers to enable them to construct their own flats on a co-operative basis. Finally pilot housing schemes have been initiated which are administered by the Hong Kong Housing Society and the Hong Kong Model Housing Society. All these schemes have been successful in their way but it was realized that they would not be sufficient in themselves to solve the problem. It was therefore decided to form a Housing Authority capable of dealing with the problem on a sufficiently large scale.
ORGANIZATION OF THE AUTHORITY
9. It was against this background that the Housing Authority was created in April, 1954, with the enactment of the Housing Ordinance, Number 18 of 1954. It is composed of all members of the Urban Council, ex officio, together with not more than three persons to be nominated by the Governor. A list of Members is given at Appendix I. Under the terms of the Ordinance the Authority is given wide powers to deal with the housing problem in many of its aspects, subject to general
3
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.