ENG-1946 — Page 86

HOUSING.

Urban Housing.

The majority of the population lives in the older Chinese These tenement houses of Victoria City and of Kowloon. houses, which are built back to back in rows separated by scavenging lanes, vary in height from two to four storeys, the poorer section of the population being housed mainly in the upper floors.

Each floor is sub-divided into rooms or cubicles of not less than 60 square feet and may accommodate three or four families. A communal kitchen is provided, but in the old type of building no provision is made for latrine or ablution accommodation: public latrines and bathrooms have been erected to meet this shortcoming. Buildings of this type are now disappearing, being replaced by more modern struc- tures. Virtually all such tenement houses are owned by Chinese landlords though some of the larger industrial under- takings, both Chinese and European, provide housing for their employees. A large proportion of the city of Victoria was erected in the early days of the Colony when town planning was little practised even in Europe, and the major defects of housing are due to the absence at that time of planning and of modern legislation. The Buildings Ordinance of 1903 was framed to conform with the standards of structure and hygiene then accepted. In the light of modern practice many of its provisions and many of the buildings originally con structed in accordance with those provisions are out of date. Control of domestic building is now effected by the operation of a newer Buildings Ordinance, introduced in 1935, which provides also for improved lighting and ventilation in build- ings originally made to conform with the less advanced legislation.

The urban sections of Hong Kong Island and of Kowloon are divided into five areas, with a Health Officer responsible for the cleanliness of each; the areas are divided into districts and each district is under the charge of a Health Inspector. House to house inspection is part of the Health Inspector's daily routine and the residents of each house and each storey are required by law to carry out the cleansing of their premises Tanks under the supervision of the Health Inspector's staff. containing kerosene emulsion solution are provided for cleans- ing purposes generally, and for complete immersion of smaller articles of furniture, such as bedboards. During the period from 1st May, 1946, to 31st December, 1946, the whole of the urban district was cleansed in this way on three occasions.

Rural Housing.

The housing of the rural population is very different. Only the urban area is affected by large-scale influxes of population such as took place in 1939-1941 and during the year under review. The population of the New Territories is