1959-1960 — Page 12

construction, and management of housing estates of a conventional municipal character, albeit on a substantial scale. In order to make the best use of the few sites available in the urban area, only multi-storied blocks of flats have so far been built-or are planned. Nobody pretends this is the ideal form of dwelling, but there is no practical alternative. With building sites so scarce, densities of 1,500 or more to the acre are commonplace in Hong Kong. No doubt such standards are regarded with horror by European or American housing organizations, but the Authority is proving that good housing can be provided at such high densities.

5. The Authority's policy has been to build self-contained flats, of a good basic standard that will be a permanent capital asset. The lowest possible rents are charged, suited to the requirements and rent- paying capacity of a variety of applicants, drawn from a wide range of occupations. There has been pressure from some directions for the Authority to reduce its housing standards, and in particular to abandon building self-contained accommodation, substituting something along the lines of resettlement-type rooms, with communal sanitary facilities. It is felt, however, that this would be a retrograde step so long as there exists a demand for self-contained accommodation.

6. The five estates already completed, under construction, or being planned, will contain about 17,600 flats, housing some 105,300 people, and representing a capital investment of over $163 millions. This may appear to be a programme of imposing dimensions, in which a good deal of pride may be taken, but it falls very far short of meeting the needs of the income group for which the Authority tries to cater.

7. It will be recalled that in last year's report mention was made of the Special Committee on Housing, appointed in 1956 to investigate and report on the housing situation in Hong Kong. The final report of the Committee was considered by Government during 1959, and the principal outcome was the announcement of Government's intention to embark on a programme of very-low-cost housing, for persons whose family income was less than $300 a month. In the first instance, priority for this accommodation will be given to families displaced from buildings which are either immediately or potentially dangerous, or which must be demolished to make way for public projects.

8. The Committee's recommendation that a separate Housing De- partment should be set up, responsible for collecting and correlating information on housing, and for co-ordinating necessary action, was not adopted by Government.

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