ENG-1971 — Page 41

18

REVIEW

worked out against drug trafficking, as well as a more effective scale of treatment for those who are addicted.

The shifts in population mentioned in the opening of this chapter were mainly brought about by the development of new government housing estates, and housing is the one major social service that remains to be reviewed. It is a key to so much-health, standards of behaviour, family solidarity, community spirit, distribution of labour, communications needs, to name a few factors only. In 1961 the resettlement programme had been in operation for seven years. There were 11 estates and the number of people housed was 291,431. At the end of 1971 there were 25 resettlement estates with a total population of 1,147,860.

The primary purpose of the resettlement estates was to provide homes, at very low rents, for squatters who were illegally occupying land that was required for development. This did not provide for the many thousands of people living in overcrowded tenements or substandard accommodation not needed to be cleared for redevelop- ment, and in 1954 the Housing Authority was set up with the task of providing housing of a good standard, at non-commercial rents, for families in this category. The first estate, at Java Road, was completed in 1958; at the end of 1971 there were nine Housing Authority estates with a total population of 218,450.

These estates were designed for what might be called, in Hong Kong terms, lower middle class families, with a maximum income of about $1,000 a month. In 1959 a further category of housing was evolved, known as Government Low-Cost Housing, to provide for families with a maximum monthly income of $500. The standard of accommodation and rents were to be slightly higher than those of the resettlement estates and just as the Housing Authority flats, they were to be allocated to applicants living in overcrowded conditions. Fifteen of these estates have now been built, with a population of 258,373.

The Hong Kong Housing Society and other private associations have, with subsidies from the Government, provided accommoda- tion for about 130,000 people; and there are 52,000 people living in the old government-controlled cottage areas.

In all, government and government-subsidised accommodation has been provided for some 44 per cent of the population, compared with about 16 per cent in 1961. There are few governments or com- munities in the world which can boast of such a record of achieve-

ment.