ENG-1957 — Page 216

LAND AND HOUSING

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of refugees from China, may be briefly described as follows. The majority of the population lives in the tenements of the urban area which are densely overcrowded. Of 80,000 tene- ment 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 pre-war figure of 1,600,000; it has continued to grow, by immigration and natural increase, until it is now estimated to be 2,677,000. The housing situation before the war was already giving cause for serious concern; it is by all appearances far more serious today. From the records, it appears that the domestic accommodation damaged or destroyed during the war was not fully-replaced until 1950; but by that year the Colony was already receiving large numbers of refugees from_main- land China. New buildings were being constructed at a rate of over 1,000 a year. Much of this new building, however, was accomplished at the expense of the demolition of old property; and it is estimated that the average rate of total increase over the last five years has been only about 700 buildings a year, of which 630 buildings a year represents additional domestic accommodation.

By the end of 1957 it was estimated that about 83% of the population, or 2,222,000 persons, were living in the 36 square miles of the urban area (Hong Kong Island, Kow- loon and New Kowloon), the great majority being resident in the ten square miles of the built-up city and tenement areas on the harbour shores and the Kowloon peninsula. 229,000 persons were housed in resettlement accommoda- tion. It was estimated that 325,000 persons were without regular housing, and that the balance of over 1,660,000 were occupying regular housing of some kind.

The domestic accommodation available consisted of 1,244 houses, 8,947 large flats, 12,284 small flats, 82,245 tenement floors, and 5,713 low-cost housing units. About 44% of this accommodation was of post-war construction. The tene- ment house predominated in both pre-war and post-war