ENG-1956 — Page 180

Chapter 10: Housing

THE housing position appears to grow more serious year by year. The general background of Hong Kong's housing problem, which has been so gravely accentuated by the influx of refugees from China, may be briefly described as follows. The majority of the population lives in the tene- ments of the urban area which are densely overcrowded. Of 80,000 tenement floors existing before the war, 16,000 were damaged or destroyed during the occupation. By 1946, it was estimated that the population had already returned to its prewar figure of 1,600,000; it has continued to grow, by immigration and natural increase, until it is now estimated to be 2,535,000. It is virtually certain that new housing has in no way matched this increase. The housing situation before the war was already giving cause for serious concern; it is by all appearances far more serious today. Although the legal minimum living space in the Colony is 35 sq. ft. per adult, an unofficial survey conducted during the year in four of the worst tenement districts indicated an average of about 15 sq. ft. an adult for the four districts and an average of just over 12 sq. ft. per adult for the worst district. Those who cannot find, or cannot afford, accommodation in the tenements tend to become squatters. Although by the end of the year resettlement accommodation had been provided for over 200,000 squatters, it was estimated that an even greater number still remained in illegal occupation of Crown and other land, and on the roof-tops of the most congested districts.

But the real seriousness of the situation lies in its apparent development from bad to worse. In the last 12 months the population is estimated to have risen from 2,400,000 to 2,535,000. Of this increase of 135,000, only 77,000 can be

Page 180Page 181