170 · MAKING HONG KONG
ratios on Hong Kong Island. The population growth trend in these two districts
bore witness to the success of planning. (See Table 4.9.)
Planning of the Kowloon Peninsula
After the war, the replanning of the districts on the Kowloon Peninsula south of
Boundary Street was on the whole later than that of Hong Kong Island. Although
Tsim Sha Tsui was the most prosperous commercial district on the Kowloon
Peninsula before the war and was the second core of the city of Hong Kong,
during the Japanese occupation the Japanese military government established
Tsim Sha Tsui as the political centre, with the construction of many wartime
military facilities such as arsenals and trenches that had to be cleared away as a
matter of priority when peace returned. After the war, Tsim Sha Tsui remained
the most important commercial district of the Kowloon Peninsula, with many
hotels, department stores and entertainment venues. Important transport facili-
ties in the district included the Ocean Terminal, the Kowloon–Canton Railway
terminus and the Star Ferry Pier.73 In the first year after Hong Kong was liber-
ated (1946), the government undertook reclamation at Hung Hom Bay (today’s
area around East Tsim Sha Tsui). The project lasted for 20 years and was com-
pleted in 1966, yielding 160 acres (64.8 hectares) of land.
In 1967, the government approved the first statutory plan for Tsim Sha Tsui,
with a keen view to developing Tsim Sha Tsui as the city’s cultural and transport
hub, in tandem with Central across the harbour. The plan was to expand the
Hong Kong Technical College (today’s Hong Kong Polytechnic University) on
the then newly reclaimed land and design the district’s major traffic routes, such
as the location of the Kowloon exit and the traffic-diversion road network of
the Cross-Harbour Tunnel,74 and implementing the 1958–1959 plan of relocat-
ing the Kowloon–Canton Railway terminus, which was originally at Tsim Sha
Tsui, to Hung Hom.75 In 1968, the government designated the land of the new
Kowloon–Canton Railway terminus for commercial, residential and other uses,
and developed the railway terminus building, a multi-storey car park, an indoor
stadium and public transport terminal. In 1975–1976, the government began
building roads on the newly reclaimed land at Hung Hom Bay (East Tsim Sha
Tsui) to prepare for future development.
Increasing public space could help improve the ecology in Tsim Sha Tsui, and
this was also the focus of the planning in 1967. This included building the water-
front promenade from the Star Ferry Pier to the new Kowloon–Canton Railway
terminus, planning the Signal Hill (Blackhead Point) Garden, extending the road
between east of Chatham Road and Austin Road to Salisbury Road, and preserving
73
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Tsim Sha Tsui Outline Uses Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1967, p.1.
74
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Tsim Sha Tsui Outline Uses Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1967, p.1.
75
Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Director of Public Works, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1958–1959, p.39.
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Table 4.9 Population distribution of Hong Kong Island (1961–1976)
District 1961 1966 1971 1976
No. % No. % No. % No. %
Central 47,799 5 41,040 4 22,892 2 17,010 2
Sheung Wan 142,815 14 99,380 10 67,885 7 56,600 6
West (Kennedy Town, Shek Tong 158,847 16 154,660 15 145,941 15 146,040 14
Tsui, Sai Ying Pun)
Peak 8,235 0.8 8,040 0.8
Mid-Levels and Pok Fu Lam 46,299 4.6 53,740 5.2
Mid-Levels, Pok Fu Lam and Peak 48,425 5 51,930 5
Wan Chai 186,169 19 146,510 14 142,679 14 124,230 12
Tai Hang 97,342 10 100,530 10 94,418 9 104,060 10
North Point 132,994 13 151,520 15 175,998 18 193,400 19
Shau Kei Wan 136,184 14 195,910 19 162,525 16 161,030 16
Aberdeen 108,940 11 140,800 14
South 20,371 2 21,920 2
Aberdeen and South 54,300 5 89,490 9
Total population of the Island 1,004,875 100 1,030,970 100 996,183 100 1,026,870 100
Total population of Hong Kong 3,129,648 3,708,920 3,936,630 4,402,990
Notes: In 1971, the area of Tai Hang included Causeway Bay and Happy Valley, the area of Shau Kei Wan included Chai Wan, and the area of North Point included Quarry Bay. In 1981, the
demarcation of districts for census purposes in Hong Kong Island was changed to three districts: North Point and Quarry Bay, Shau Kei Wan and Chai Wan, and Tai Hang. The area of Tai Hang
included Causeway Bay and Happy Valley. In 1991, Hong Kong Island was divided into four districts: Central and Western District, Wan Chai, Eastern District and Southern District.
Sources: K.M.A. Barnett, Hong Kong Report on the 1961 Census, Volume II, Hong Kong, Census and Statistics Department, 1962; K.M.A. Barnett, Hong Kong Report on the 1966 By-census, Volume II, Hong Kong,
Government Printer, 1968; Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Population and Housing Census 1971: Main Report, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1972; Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong
By-census 1976: Main Report, Volume II, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1979.
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172 · MAKING HONG KONG
8.5 acres (3.44 hectares) of private green belt east of Cox’s Road. One-third of the
land of Whitfield Barracks was originally intended to be developed as a commercial
and residential area, but was instead handed over to the Urban Council in 1968
to be developed as a leisure park. This eventually became today’s Kowloon Park,
adding a dash of inspiration to a district that emphasised cultural development.
In the mid-1970s, after the Kowloon–Canton Railway terminus was relo-
cated to Hung Hom, the original site was used for the construction of the
Cultural Centre and Space Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui, while the construction of
the Museum of History and the Science Museum began after Hung Hom Bay’s
traffic network was completed. It could be said that Tsim Sha Tsui becoming the
cultural and commercial centre it is today is the fruit of planning after the war.
Planning of Ma Tau Kok and Hung Hom on the eastern side of the Kowloon
Peninsula was earlier than that of Tsim Sha Tsui after the war, mainly owing to
the housing pressure brought on by the population explosion of the 1950s and
the resulting urgent need to develop the district into an industrial and high-
density residential area. The earliest comprehensive plan appeared in 1957. The
Town Planning Board originally intended to designate the area west of Ma Tau
Wai Road for high-density residential use, with the area to the east of the road
for industrial or industrial/residential mixed use.76 In the 1960s, with insuffi-
cient residential land, a lot of industrial land east of Ma Tau Wai Road was devel-
oped for residential use instead.77 In 1969, 30 per cent of the land in the district
was for residential purposes, and only 13 per cent for industrial purposes.78 Low-
cost housing estates that were completed in the 1960s included the Ma Tau Wai
Estate built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority in 1962 and the Chun Seen
Mei Chuen Estate constructed by the Hong Kong Housing Society in 1965. In
the 1950s when the area was not yet too densely populated, Ma Tau Kok already
had public facilities including a clinic, Sung Wong Toi Park, a post office, a fire
station and government department offices. In the 1960s, a number of schools,
recreational parks and other ancillary facilities that improved the quality of life,
such as water supply, drainage, electricity, gas and telephone, were added in
tandem with the population growth.79 To increase development space, To Kwa
Wan underwent reclamation, yielding 17 acres (6.89 hectares) of land for indus-
tries, warehouses, schools and parks.80 Hoi Sham Park, completed in 1972, is a
leisure space constructed on reclaimed land, highlighting Ma Tau Kok’s charac-
teristic as a high-density residential area.
Hung Hom, neighbouring Ma Tau Kok, had its first statutory plan approved
76
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Ma Tau Kok Outline Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government Printer,
1969, p.1.
77
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Ma Tau Kok Outline Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government Printer,
1969, p.1.
78
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Ma Tau Kok Outline Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government Printer,
1969, p.1.
79
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Ma Tau Kok Outline Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government Printer,
1969, pp.2–3.
80
HKRS No. 896, D & S No. 1/75, ‘Town Planning – Kowloon Planning Area No. 9 (Hung Hom District)’,
28 April 1964, p.3.
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High-density development planning (1945–1979) · 173
in 1957, and its second outline zoning plan approved in 1972. In the 1950s and
1960s, the government levelled Tai Wan Shan and Kwun Yam Shan to build
public housing, in order to solve the housing problem for new immigrants. The
Tai Wan Shan Resettlement Estate and Hung Hom Estate were completed in
1956 and 1968, respectively. In 1972, industrial land accounted for 40 per cent
of the district’s area. Large sites included Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock,
China Light and Power Co. Power Station and Green Island Cement Works,81
all of which had been in business before the war. In the 1960s, the ground floor
of most residential buildings was used as shops, and the commercial-cum-res-
idential development mode was common. This laid the foundation for today’s
mixed commercial and residential uses in Hung Hom.
Yau Ma Tei, on the western side of the Kowloon Peninsula, had been a place
where the Chinese settled and commercial activities thrived before the war.
After the war, the restoration of the district was swift. The first statutory plan
was approved in 1956,82 and the plan showed that most of the land was reserved
for high-density residential buildings, with considerable space designated for
public facilities. Industrial and residential land was concentrated on Tong Mi
Road.83 From the 1950s to the 1970s, in response to the needs of a dense popu-
lation, many public facilities were constructed; some of the important facilities
included the expansion of the Yau Ma Tei Police Station (1955–1956), Queen
Elizabeth Hospital (1958–1963), a 20-storey-high General Post Office (1967–
1968), a shipyard (1970–1972), King’s Park Fire Station (1971–1972), a leisure
park (1969–1970) and a school.
According to the Hong Kong Preliminary Planning Report of 1948,84 Tai Kok
Tsui, on the western side of the Kowloon Peninsula, would be developed as an
industrial centre as well as one of the districts where offensive trades would be
allowed. Owing to the shortage of government resources after the war, the gov-
ernment had not conducted comprehensive planning for the district. In order to
resettle refugees living in temporary housing, the district, just like Ma Tau Kok,
was developed as a high-density residential and industrial district. In the early
1960s, the government formed land for public housing construction, and the
Ho Man Tin Resettlement Area (1952) and the Valley Road Estate (1964) were
completed one after the other. Tai Kok Tsui kept its pre-war characteristics.
By the 1970s, the government had begun to deploy more resources in building
public facilities such as schools, public bathhouses, leisure parks, health centres
and markets.85 However, the traffic and transport problems brought about by
industrial development were also in dire need of solutions. Separately, to tie
81
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Hung Hom Outline Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government Printer,
1972, p.1.
82
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Yau Ma Tei Outline Development Plan, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1957.
83
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Yau Ma Tei Outline Development Plan, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1957.
84
Patrick Abercrombie, Hong Kong Preliminary Planning Report, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1948.
85
Planning Report: Planning Area No. 3, Hong Kong, Planning Branch of Crown Lands and Survey Office,
Public Works Department, 1973, p.2.
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174 · MAKING HONG KONG
in with the comprehensive development of West Kowloon, ferry piers, cargo
working areas and car parks were redeveloped. One influential road project that
could not be ignored was the West Kowloon Corridor.
Before the war, Ho Man Tin Hill, located in central Kowloon Peninsula, was
a cemetery. Shortly after the war, as a large number of immigrants were build-
ing temporary houses by the hill with crude materials, the government allowed
local organisations to build cottages in Ho Man Tin, to be used as housing for
the general public. Man Wa Village, Po Man Village, Chi Man Village, Ho Man
Tin New Village, Carmel Village, Faith Hope Village and others were completed
one after the other. To tie in with the long-term housing development plan,
Oi Man Estate, with a total of 12 blocks, was completed in 1974. The estate
was predominantly designed with a mix of ‘twin-tower’ and ‘slab’ blocks. Each
block consisted of two square-shaped structures. The twin-tower blocks were
20 storeys tall, with a lift lobby in the middle connecting each floor as well as
the two towers. There was a light well between the two towers, with each house-
hold’s door facing the light well to enhance lighting and ventilation for each unit
and the corridors. This was an improvement on the design of Mark IV resettle-
ment blocks, where the central corridor was used for cross-ventilation. Each unit
had water and electricity supply, and its own balcony, kitchen and toilet.86 These
buildings were more effective in solving the housing problems of the grassroots.
From the end of the war to the 1970s, plans for the districts on the Kowloon
Peninsula first appeared as early as 1967. These plans showed a roughly similar
size, ranging from some 200 acres (81 hectares) to some 400 acres (162 hec-
tares). Within Kowloon, Tsim Sha Tsui was to be developed into a commercial
and cultural centre. It occupied a relatively large area, and its planning com-
menced earlier than that of other districts. Tsim Sha Tsui also had more com-
mercial and residential land, government land, public space and road facilities
than the other districts. In addition, traffic planning in Tai Kok Tsui was a focus
of the Kowloon Peninsula at the time. It is therefore clear that concrete planning
for the development of West Kowloon had been set in motion very early. (See
Table 4.10.)
New Kowloon and the New Territories
Post-war development in New Kowloon greatly helped Hong Kong in accom-
modating the increased population and developing the processing industry. In
the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, land to the north of
Boundary Street and to the south of the Shenzhen River was referred to as the
New Territories, the lease period of which was only 99 years. In order to expand
the urban areas, the government called the zone on the fringe of Kowloon’s
urban areas New Kowloon (i.e. land to the north of Boundary Street in Kowloon
and to the south of Kowloon’s mountain range, which today includes the
86
Hong Kong Housing Authority, Hong Kong Housing Authority Annual Report 1976–77, Hong Kong,
Hong Kong Housing Authority, 1977, p.40.
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High-density development planning (1945–1979) · 175
Table 4.10 Overview of land planning of the districts of the Kowloon Peninsula
(1967–1979)
Land use Tsim Sha Mong Kok Ma Tau Hung Hom Tai Kok Total (acre
Tsui (1967) (1968) (acre Kok (1972) (acre Tsui* (hectare))
(acre (hectare)) (1969) (hectare)) (1979)
(hectare)) (acre (acre
(hectare)) (hectare))
Residential – 90.5 83.6 14.2 121.8 310.1
(36.7) (33.9) (5.8) (49.3) (125.6)
Commercial/ 186.4 1.5 – 58.8 – 246.7
residential (75.5) (0.6) (23.8) (99.9)
Government, 92.8 32.1 36.2 17.2 31.2 209.5
institution and (37.6) (13.0) (14.7) (7.0) (12.6) (84.8)
community
Industrial – – 35.2 99.7 18.4 153.3
(14.3) (40.4) (7.4) (62.1)
Open space 58.5 13.9 41.0 27.6 49.1 190.1
(23.7) (5.6) (16.6) (11.2) (19.9) (77.0)
Other specified 22.1 1.0 – – 0.8 23.9
uses (9.0) (0.4) (0.3) (9.7)
Roads, etc. 119.1 91.4 84.0 30.5 164.1 489.1
(48.2) (37.0) (34.0) (12.4) (66.4) (198.1)
Warehousing 9.4 – – – – 9.4
(3.8) (3.8)
Undetermined 0.3 50.8 – – – 51.1
(0.1) (20.6) (20.7)
Total area of 488.4 281.1 280.0 248.0 385.4 1,682.9
planning area (197.8) (113.8) (113.4) (100.4) (156.0) (681.6)
Estimated 233,000 118,774 200,000 150,000 – 701,774
population on
full development
Notes: * The Tai Kok Tsui Planning Area was covered by Mong Kok and Cheung Sha Wan Planning Areas
after 1987. The statistics of the Tai Kok Tsui Planning Area could not be identified separately, as it was
included in the Mong Kok Planning Area.
Sources: Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Tsim Sha Tsui Outline Uses Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1967;
Hong Kong Town Planning Board, Ma Tau Kok Outline Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1969; Hong Kong Town
Planning Board, Hung Hom Outline Zoning Plan, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1972; Tai Kok Tsui Outline Zoning Plan,
Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1979; HKRS No. 337, D & S No. 4/2458, ‘Mong Kok Outline Development Plan’, Hong Kong,
Public Records Office, 26 April 1968.
districts of Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin, Kowloon City and Kwun Tong, among
others). In fact, New Kowloon was part of the New Territories.
After the war, the government did not change its immigration policies even
though Chinese civil war refugees kept coming to Hong Kong to look for oppor-
tunities. The government’s yearbook of 1953 reported that the population of
Hong Kong increased from around 860,000 in September 1943 to 1.8 million in
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176 · MAKING HONG KONG
Table 4.11 Statistics of fire victims in Hong Kong (1948–1955)
Year 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55
Total 1,312 37,957 9,100 8,576 26,410 60,262 53,699
Sources: Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Social Welfare Officer for the Financial Year 1948–54, Hong Kong,
Government Printer, 1954, p.23, Appendix 14, pp.54–55; Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Social Welfare
Officer for the Financial Year 1954–55, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1955, Appendix IV, p.40.
1947 and soared to 2.36 million in the spring of 1950.87 The permanent resident
population of Hong Kong increased by 56,000 in just seven months between
February and September 1956.88 In the 1950s, refugees constructed hut-type
squatters on the edge of the city centre with crude materials, with the number of
squatters reaching 300,000. In 1961, the number of hut-type squatters surged to
1 million. From the 1940s to the 1960s, fires broke out frequently in the squatter
areas, which could render tens of thousands of squatter dwellers homeless in one
night (see Table 4.11).
From resettlement areas to low-cost housing
Safety and sanitary problems in squatter areas became the most challenging
problems in urban development. The problem of squatters illegally occupying
government land continued to worsen, which severely hindered post-war urban
planning. The government realised how urgent it was to address the housing
needs of the grassroots. In order to prevent the problem of illegal occupation
of land by squatters from becoming aggravated further, the government set up
resettlement areas on undeveloped land to monitor the quality and quantity
of temporary housing in the resettlement areas, including cottages and huts,
while also accommodating fire victims and residents affected by clearance of
temporary housing. To better regulate and control the environment in squat-
ter areas, the government formulated new policies in July 1951 to divide the
resettlement areas into: approved areas, in which the government’s recognised
contractors and Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corporation constructed semi-
permanent cottages with compliant specifications to accommodate eligible resi-
dents; and tolerated areas, where the construction of squatters was allowed and
the regulation of structures was more lenient. The roads, fire protection facili-
ties, water supply systems and public hygiene facilities in the resettlement area
were planned and constructed by the government.
On 25 December 1953, the worst fire since the war broke out at the Shek
Kip Mei squatter area in New Kowloon, with the number of victims reaching
58,000.89 Under the urgent circumstances, the government handled the victims’
accommodation problem by referring to pre-war strategies of public housing
87
Hong Kong Annual Report, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1953, p.21.
88
Hong Kong Annual Report, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1956, pp.31–32.
89
Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Social Welfare Officer for the Financial Year 1948–54, Hong
Kong, Government Printer, 1954, Appendix 14, pp.54–55.
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High-density development planning (1945–1979) · 177
construction. In the public housing development blueprint drafted on 6 April
1923, land was granted to private developers at a low price to construct 200 to
300 two-storey cottages that would be rented to the grassroots. The government
would provide low-rate loans to contractors and prohibit them from transferring
the cottages. However, contractors would be allowed to collect from tenants
an annual rent equivalent to 5–6 per cent of the construction costs, i.e. 4,000
to 5,000 Hong Kong dollars. A cottage accommodating 30 people which had
an area of 800 square feet (74.32 square metres) per storey and 1,600 square
feet (148.65 square metres) for two storeys was estimated to have 0.70 Hong
Kong dollars collected per month per person and thus 20 Hong Kong dollars
could be collected per cottage each month. In 1935, the government estab-
lished the Housing Commission to study Hong Kong’s housing policies. The
Housing Commission put forth the 1923 proposal again and strongly stated the
importance of assisting citizens who were unable to afford open market rents. It
also suggested that the rent paid by the grassroots on housing provided by the
government should not exceed one-fifth of their household income, and this
concept is still adopted nowadays. In 1937, the Sino-Japanese War broke out
and interrupted the work of the Housing Commission.
In 1954, the Urban Council appointed an emergency response team to study
the problems of hut-type squatter areas. The team believed that constructing
low-rise cottages and squatters on the limited land resources of resettlement
areas would not satisfy the housing demand of the residents in the hut-type
squatter areas and recommended the construction of six- to seven-storey reset-
tlement blocks to increase the living area. It also suggested that the government
establish a department responsible for the clearances of squatters and resettle-
ment areas. The government resumed the fire site of Shek Kip Mei and the land
at Pak Tin Estate in the same year.90 It gradually cleared the hut-type squatters
in the area and built resettlement blocks. By the end of 1954, the first eight six-
storey, H-shaped (Mark I) resettlement blocks were completed in Shek Kip
Mei; construction of 21 seven-storey resettlement blocks followed successively.
There were a total of 29 H-shaped resettlement blocks in that resettlement area.
The government also officially established the Resettlement Department to be
in charge of constructing and managing resettlement blocks, managing existing
squatter areas, preventing the building of illegal structures, and squatter clear-
ances, among other responsibilities related to resettlement. The Resettlement
Department was placed under the management of the Urban Council.
Apart from the two-storey ‘Bowring cottages’ which were completed in 1954,
a total of five public housing estates were built in Sham Shui Po District during
the 1950s and 1960s:91 the Shek Kip Mei Resettlement Area, built between 1954
and 1967; the Tai Hang Tung Resettlement Area, built between 1954 and 1959;
the Lei Cheng Uk Estate, completed in 1955; the So Uk Estate, completed in
90
Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Director of Public Works, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1953–1954, p.35.
91
Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Director of Public Works, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1953–1954, pp.22–23.
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178 · MAKING HONG KONG
1960; and the Cheung Sha Wan Estate, finished in 1964. At the same time, the
government constructed low-cost housing of higher quality in the district, such
as the Shek Kip Mei Low-cost Housing Estate built between 1961 and 1966, and
the Pak Tin Estate, which was constructed between 1962 and 1970 as a result of
redevelopment of the Shek Kip Mei Resettlement Area.
At the end of the 1950s, the government also progressively looked for land
in areas near Shek Kip Mei to construct resettlement blocks. In 1958, the Tung
Tau Estate in Wong Tai Sin District was the first to have preliminary studies
and resettlement planning carried out. Roads had been developed in the area as
early as 1952–1953, while small-scale sewerage improvement works had been
conducted in 1953–1954. In 1961, the Tung Tau Resettlement Estate was com-
pleted. Facilities were built to support development of the area, including roads
and footbridges constructed in 1960–1962, along with 175 rooftop primary
school classrooms constructed in 1964–1965.
In the 1950s and 1960s, various resettlement and low-cost housing estates
were completed successively, such as Lo Fu Ngam (1958), Choi Hung Estate
(1962), Wang Tau Hom Estate (1963), Tsz Wan Shan (1965) and Shatin Pass
Estate (1968). There were only simple facilities in these housing estates, and
they lacked community facilities; after completing initial investigations and
plans on Wong Tai Sin, the government immediately constructed resettlement
blocks and several public facilities from 1958 to 1963, such as sewerage systems,
waterworks and roads. Amenities that facilitated everyday life such as schools,
police stations, clinics, post offices and parks not only served residents of the
Wong Tai Sin Resettlement Area, but also provided daily necessities for those
living nearby.
In the 1950s and 1960s, resettlement policies were utilised to deal with a large
number of urgent cases. A vast area was covered and construction time allowed
was short, while the design of the buildings had to be cost saving and be able
to provide a large amount of housing in a short period of time, so as to meet
the pressing needs of victims. The dates of temporary housing clearances were
therefore planned beforehand. It was most important that the time of clearance
matched the completion time of resettlement blocks so that residents would
suffer less pain from homelessness after the clearances of temporary housing
while the use of land could be optimised. An estate with dozens of resettle-
ment blocks could accommodate tens of thousands of residents. Resettlement
policies use multi-storey resettlement blocks to rehouse residents of squatters
nearby and thus reduced many unnecessary confrontations.
With poor sanitary conditions and a population density far in excess of a rea-
sonable level, public housing was hardly ideal accommodation. Designs of early
housing estates were unable to balance between comfort and privacy. It was
not until the 1970s that the necessities of daily life were gradually considered
from the users’ perspective when constructing public housing. Suitable ancillary
facilities and open space would be provided so that residents would feel at home
despite a small living space. In the 1950s, residents were happy to accept the
crudely designed resettlement blocks. Compared with the multi-storey build-
ings that were made of steel and concrete, squatters lacked even basic facilities,
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High-density development planning (1945–1979) · 179
while the residents worried about fires day after day. The squatters were also
under the threat of typhoons during the summer, and the lives and safety of
residents were at risk. In the 1960s, resettlement blocks with six, seven or eight
storeys built in Sham Shui Po District and Wong Tai Sin District accommodated
almost 500,000 people, while resettlement areas also became an important part
of Hong Kong’s urban development.
Even after it had been implemented for ten years, the resettlement scheme
was still failing to solve the squatter problem in Hong Kong. From 1963 to
1964, there were as many as 600,000 people living in squatters. In 1964, the
government carried out a comprehensive review of housing policies and
released a white paper titled Review of Policies for Squatter Control, Resettlement
and Government Low-cost Housing.92 Apart from strict controls over newly built
squatters, construction of resettlement areas and government low-cost housing
was also accelerated, as over 2 million flats for adults were to be built within ten
years. At the same time, eligibility criteria for residing in resettlement blocks
were relaxed, while the Temporary Housing Scheme was launched to provide
accommodation for those who were currently ineligible for permanent public
housing. Under the new policies, the resettlement blocks constructed became
taller, and the number of blocks in resettlement areas increased significantly.
By the end of the 1960s, the number of public housing residents had surpassed
1 million. Some resettlement areas, such as those in Wong Tai Sin, Tsz Wan
Shan and Sau Mau Ping, had a population of over 100,000 each. The housing
facilities and living area per resident had also improved. Planning of public
housing estates had accelerated urban planning of the city. (See Figure 4.3 and
Table 4.12.)
Planning and development of New Kowloon
Lai Chi Kok and Cheung Sha Wan
Post-war industrial development was the driving force behind the economic
boom in Hong Kong. Located in the westernmost part of New Kowloon, Lai
Chi Kok District and Cheung Sha Wan District had already been developed
before the war. After the war, both districts were industrial-intensive and shared
a similar approach in development, providing job opportunities for public
housing residents nearby. Lai Chi Kok and Cheung Sha Wan were both com-
mercial-cum-residential zones before the war, and the area along the coast was
developed to accommodate offensive trades after the war.93 Lai Chi Kok Road
was the most prosperous spot in Lai Chi Kok. There were dozens of tenement
buildings where the ground floors were commercial shops such as tea houses,
hair salons, grocery stores, snack shops and herbal shops, while the upper floors
92
Working Party on Squatters, Resettlement and Government Low-cost Housing, Review of Policies for
Squatter Control, Resettlement and Government Low-cost Housing, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1964.
93
HKRS No. 115, D & S No. 1/54, ‘Town Planning Report’.
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Source: Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Director of Public Works 1970–71, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1971; or HKRS41-2A-34-2, Hong Kong Public Records Office, Annual Department Report –
Public Works Department, 1968–1972.
Figure 4.3 Distribution map of resettlement estates, resettlement blocks and cottage areas in Kowloon District (1970)
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Table 4.12 Statistics of population living in different types of housing in Hong Kong (1954–1972)
Year Government-aided housing Private Temporary Estimated Projected territorial
housing housing population population by
Resettlement Government Housing Housing Resettlement Census and Statistics
estates low-cost authority society cottage areas Department
housing estates estates
1954 8,653 – – 1,812 45,906 – – – 2,364,900
1955 66,598 – – 5,545 58,224 – – – 2,490,400
1956 105,404 – – 8,824 70,393 – – – 2,614,600
1957 139,797 – – 8,824 73,704 – – – 2,736,300
1958 158,662 – 12,265 12,700 77,546 – – – 2,854,100
1959 196,958 – 16,157 21,494 81,640 – – – 2,967,400
1960 246,821 – 26,688 27,937 82,482 – – – 3,075,300
1961 292,371 – 38,488 32,123 87,519 1,608,600 1,004,149 3,063,250 3,168,100
1962 373,274 5,264 56,128 36,907 79,656 – – – 3,305,200
1963 462,582 5,715 72,974 45,841 73,377 – – – 3,420,900
1964 544,155 25,373 110,198 51,102 82,899 – 1,103,700 – 3,504,600
1965 681,107 57,968 139,890 77,317 74,729 1,562,700 1,002,900 3,596,611 3,597,900
1966 770,869 80,331 146,222 89,563 74,702 1,556,700 931,900 3,650,287 3,629,900
1967 861,213 84,509 149,484 96,205 72,484 1,545,000 910,400 3,719,295 3,722,800
1968 967,184 103,300 153,322 107,878 72,986 1,542,000 864,300 3,810,970 3,802,700
1969 1,030,022 130,357 163,453 107,878 68,058 1,608,400 802,700 3,910,868 3,863,900
1970 1,077,094 176,037 171,905 113,392 57,585 1,594,300 797,800 3,988,113 3,959,000
1971 1,100,277 196,743 209,025 122,321 55,825 1,971,100 405,400 4,060,691 4,045,300
1972 1,154,792 232,217 217,798 124,787 50,293 2,025,200 375,300 4,180,387 4,123,600
Sources: Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Commissioner for Resettlement for the Financial Year 1967–69, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1968–1969, Appendix 1; Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report
by the Commissioner for Resettlement for the Financial Year 1969–73, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1970–1973, Appendix 3; Report of the Housing Board 1964–72, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1964–1973;
Colony Outline Plan, Book 1, Volume 2; Commissioner for Census, Report of the 1961 Census, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1961; Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Statistics, 1947–1967,
Hong Kong, Census and Statistics Department, 1969; Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Population Projections 1971–1991, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1973; Hong Kong Census and Statistics
Department, Demographic Trends in Hong Kong 1971–82, Hong Kong, Government Printer, 1983.
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were used for residential purposes.94 The Hong Kong Preliminary Planning Report
of 1948 suggested that offensive trades should be concentrated in the district.95
It was believed that this concept came about because existing facilities such as
Mobil Oil’s kerosene rig, Kailuan Mining Company’s storage yard and Lai Chi
Kok Prison had already had a negative impact on the residents’ daily life. As Lai
Chi Kok was further away from the city centre, there was more space for devel-
opment. Before the war, Lai Chi Kok Army Swimming Shed Public Sea Bath
and the Chinese YMCA Swimming Area were both immensely popular leisure
grounds during the summer.96
Lai Chi Kok lies next to Kwai Chung, and it was only natural to develop
transport in the district to connect it with other areas in the New Territories.
From 1958 to 1965, the government expanded the Lai Chi Kok Hospital–Lai
Chi Kok Valley and Lai Chi Kok Valley–Kwai Chung sections of Castle Peak
Road.97 In 1968, the Lai Chi Kok Bridge was constructed, which connects Lai
Chi Kok with Kwai Chung. In 1961, the government attempted to develop the
area around Au Pui Wan, which lies to the north of Lai Chi Kok, but was unable
to fully develop it.98 The government built an incinerator plant in 1963, con-
structed a landfill in 1966 and planned to reclaim land within the landfill area in
May 1966. Additional public facilities constructed after the war in the district
included a fire station (built in 1959–1961) and the new Lai Chi Kok Hospital
(built in 1963–1969). In 1967–1968, work began on the construction of Mei
Foo Sun Chuen, a private housing estate located in Lai Chi Kok. Industries
and housing were developed in parallel in Lai Chi Kok, closely followed by
public ancillary facilities. Lai Chi Kok gradually developed into a comprehen-
sive development area.
The early post-war development of Cheung Sha Wan followed the pre-war
mode. In the 1950s, nearly 80 per cent of Hong Kong’s fir was landed in Cheung
Sha Wan. Along the coast were a considerable number of China fir factories and
shipyards, which handled 70 per cent of ship repairs in Hong Kong.99 Annual
economic benefits reached millions of dollars.100 Cheung Sha Wan was also a
place where the grassroots lived; the government constructed the Cheung Sha
Wan Resettlement Estate in 1964, which was able to accommodate 48,000
residents, and carried out planning for the Un Chau Street Estate (low-cost
94
Jiangshan guren, ‘Xianggang xinjie fengtu mingsheng daguan jianbaoji’ (Newspaper Clippings of Local
Conditions and Scenic Spots of the New Territories, Hong Kong), Wah Kiu Yat Po, 1935–1936, Article 187.
95
HKRS No. 115, D & S No. 1/54, ‘Town Planning Report’.
96
Jiangshan guren, ‘Xianggang xinjie fengtu mingsheng daguan jianbaoji’ (Newspaper Clippings of Local
Conditions and Scenic Spots of the New Territories, Hong Kong), Wah Kiu Yat Po, 1935–1936, Article 187;
HKRS No. 115, D & S No. 1/54, ‘Town Planning Report’.
97
Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Director of Public Works, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1958–1968.
98
Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Director of Public Works, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1960–1961, pp.38–39, 1961–1962, p.31.
99
HKRS No. 156, D & S No. 1/4377, ‘Cheung Sha Wan Reclamation – Complete Record of a Special
Meeting of Executive Council Held on 15 September, 1960’, 1960, Enclosure II, p.2.
100
HKRS No. 156, No. 1/4377, ‘Letter from the Director of Public Works’, 26 September 1958.
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High-density development planning (1945–1979) · 183
housing) in 1967.101 The active industrial and commercial activities provided
plenty of job opportunities for residents of the district. Comprehensive planning
is indispensable to converting the increased population into cheap labour, and
the development process of Kwun Tong set an excellent example.
Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong was the first industrial area that the government developed in New
Kowloon East after the war. It was chosen as the pilot trial for an industrial area
for the following reasons:
1. Kwun Tong had been used as a landfill since the 1930s and had since accu-
mulated a considerable amount of new land. Also, only 1,000 people lived
in the district in the 1950s,102 the majority of whom lived in Ngau Tau Kok
Cottage Area and the local villages.
2. The hillsides to the north of Kwun Tong consisted of weathered rocks,
which made it easier geologically to level. Rocks excavated could be used
to reclaim land in Kowloon Bay.
3. Although not an integrated community itself, Kwun Tong borders
Kowloon’s urban areas and could still enjoy other community services
from Kowloon’s urban areas.
4. Freight transport would be quite convenient for warehouses and piers
near Kwun Tong after improvements of the road systems.
In 1954 the government established an inter-departmental working group103
that aimed at developing Kwun Tong as a pollution-free industrial area through
the planning of various aspects such as reclamation, land use and community
facilities.104 The pollution-free policy targeted smoke nuisances that might affect
aircraft landings and take-offs at Kai Tak Airport,105 as well as offensive trades
such as the shipbuilding industry, soy sauce factories, steel-rolling factories and
101
Hong Kong Annual Departmental Report by the Director of Public Works, Hong Kong, Government
Printer, 1964–1968.
102
Wah Kiu Yat Po, 18 April 1973.
103
‘An Inter-Departmental Committee was appointed in January, 1954 under the Chairmanship of the
Acting Director of Commerce and Industry to investigate the development of new industrial sites’ (Annual
Departmental Report by the Director of Commerce and Industry, Hong Kong, Government Press, 1953–54,
p.7).
104
HKRS No. 270, D & S No. 1/1, ‘Memorandum from the Colonial Secretary to the Department of
Commerce and Industry’, 14 May 1954, item 1, p.2.
105
‘The Inter-departmental Working Committee on the new industrial area at Kun Tong, under the chair-
manship of the Director, continued to function as a planning, co-ordinating and advisory body, and in April,
1956, submitted a revised report to Government. This dealt more fully than the initial report with the prob-
lems of preventing a smoke nuisance such as might be a hazard to aircraft using the new airport’ (Annual
Departmental Report by the Director of Commerce and Industry, Hong Kong, Government Press, 1956, p.11).
HKRS No. 270, D & S No. 1/1, ‘Report of the Working Committee on the New Industrial Area at Kun Tong’,
27 January 1956, item 12.1, p.2; HKRS No. 270, D & S No. 1/1, ‘Memorandum from the Department of Civil
Aviation to Director of Commerce and Industry’, 6 January 1956, item 12.2.
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184 · MAKING HONG KONG
foundries.106 The policy also encouraged existing industries to expand and work-
shops operating illegally to move to the newly developed industrial sites, thus
boosting development of new industries. Development of small-scale industries
in the urban areas was not sustainable in the long term, and the development of
new industries could help improve the situation. In July 1954, the inter-depart-
mental working group suggested increasing the space available for development
in Kwun Tong by 140 acres (56.70 hectares) through reclamation. The works
were carried out in three phases, with 78 acres (31.59 hectares) reclaimed in
the first two phases,107 with a budget of 10 million dollars funded by the Hong
Kong Development Funds.108 Kwun Tong Road would be used to separate the
industrial area from the residential area; reclaimed land would be developed as
an industrial area, and a residential area would be developed close to the hills.
In 1956, the government established the Kwun Tong Advisory Committee,
responsible for reporting on the development of Kwun Tong. In May 1956, a
Working Committee of the Executive Council suggested the development of
244 acres (98.82 hectares) of land in Kwun Tong, 111 acres (44.96 hectares)
of which would be allocated for industrial use by building 19 blocks of indus-
trial units with sizes ranging from 930 to 1,860 square metres; 84 acres (34.02
hectares) of land would be used for the construction of 1,080 residential flats;
37 acres (14.94 hectares) would be allocated for the construction of resettle-
ment areas; and 12 acres (4.86 hectares) would be reserved for commercial use.
Phases I and II of the reclamation works were completed in mid-1959, creating
82 acres (33.21 hectares) of land; Phase III of the reclamation works was carried
out in the same year. Between 1956 and 1966, the area of land developed in
Kwun Tong reached 274 acres (110.97 hectares), which was 30 acres (12.15
hectares) more than the planned 244 acres (98.82 hectares). In the 1950s, the
living environment and transport in Kwun Tong lagged behind those of the
more mature and developed urban areas. Advantages of Kwun Tong included
lower land prices and more space for development compared with the urban
areas. After the government developed it as an industrial area, more land in
Kwun Tong was auctioned off than in any other district in Hong Kong in terms
of quantity and total area between 1956 and 1961. (For details of Kwun Tong
land sales revenue, see Table 4.13.)
In September 1955, the government invited industrialists to invest in the
Kwun Tong Industrial Area. Nine hundred and ninety-three applications were
received by the deadline date of 31 October 1955.109 Director of Commerce
106
HKRS No. 277, D & S No. 1/4, ‘Minutes of the Seventh Meeting of Kwun Tong Advisory Committee’,
21 December 1959, item 77.1, p.1, Appendix 2.
107
‘The first two stages of this scheme comprise the reclamation of about 78 acres of land, and it is expected
that 59 acres will become available by 1957, as follows: 17.5 acres for allocation early in 1956, an additional 26
acres towards the end of 1956, and a further 15.5 acres in 1957’ (Annual Departmental Report by the Director of
Commerce and Industry, Hong Kong, Government Press, 1954–1955, p.12).
108
Guantang jinmao (Kwun Tong Today), Hong Kong, Kwun Tong District Kai Fong Welfare Association,
1969, p.16.
109
HKRS No. 270, D & S No. 1/1, ‘Report of the Working Committee on the New Industrial Area at Kun
Tong’, [April 1956(?)], item 12.1, pdf p.17.
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High-density development planning (1945–1979) · 185
and Industry H.A. Angus wrote in a memorandum dated 25 October 1956
that, excluding the Crown rent of 50,000 Hong Kong dollars per year and resi-
dential land obtained from levelling the hills, land sales revenue of 20 million
Hong Kong dollars would be earned on Phases I and II of reclamation and
be transferred to the Development Funds. As buyers paid in instalments, the
Development Funds would not be able to collect all the revenue from land sales
immediately.110 The first land sale of the Kwun Tong Industrial Area took place
in September 1956, and a total of 50 industrial sites had been sold by March
1957.111 Residential sites were auctioned in November 1957.112 The govern-
ment retained higher-value land for industrial or commercial use, while prices
for residential land were lower, which was significantly different from the situ-
ation today. Certain investors did not immediately develop the land lots after
successfully bidding for them. The Kwun Tong Advisory Committee thus sug-
gested that the government build multi-storey industrial blocks itself and sell
them to companies that were interested in operating such buildings. The land
use of such lots could be altered for government facilities such as government
offices or schools.113 A number of factories were already operating in the area by
1958. In the early period, most workers came from Kowloon’s urban areas, and
inadequate transport made it difficult to attract workers to Kwun Tong, which
dissatisfied manufacturers. (See Figures 4.4 and 4.5.)
On 27 August 1955, the government released a planning report on Ngau Tau
Kok and Kwun Tong,114 in which the Director of Public Works estimated that
the population of Kwun Tong would rise to 90,000 in 1960 and to 200,000 by
1965. When conducting planning for residential land in Kwun Tong District,
the Committee also made five-year and ten-year housing plans. (According to
the 1961 census, Kwun Tong District had a population of 81,293; the popula-
tion was 251,680 in 1965. The population density exceeded 3,000 per hectare
(i.e. a population density of 1,214 per acre).) It can be observed that the govern-
ment intended to adopt the migration approach to increase the labour force in
Kwun Tong District.115
When planning in the 1950s, the Kwun Tong Advisory Committee hoped that
manufacturers would build dormitories for workers to solve their housing problem.
The government’s main role was to provide land for businesses, so it did not desig-
nate a housing zone in the plans. Kwun Tong’s development in the early 1950s
110
HKRS No. 270, D & S No. 1/1, ‘Memo from Ag. Director of Commerce and Industry to Hon. Colonial
Secretary’, 25 October 1956, item 16, pdf p.10.
111
Annual Departmental Report by the Director of Commerce and Industry, Hong Kong, Government Press,
1956–1957, p.12.
112
Annual Departmental Report by the Director of Commerce and Industry, Hong Kong, Government Press,
1957–1958, p.7.
113
HKRS No. 277, D & S No. 1/4, ‘Minutes of the Fifth Meeting of Kwun Tong Advisory Committee’, 1
August 1958, item 61, p.4.
114
HKRS No. 156, D & S No. 1/4816, ‘Plan No. L.K. 13/26, Planning Area No. 13 Development Plan
(Draft Plan of Details in Housing Zones)’, item 10.1, p.1.
115
Guantang jinmao (Kwun Tong Today), Hong Kong, Kwun Tong District Kai Fong Welfare Association,
1969, pp.4–14.
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186 · MAKING HONG KONG
Table 4.13 Overview of land sales in Kwun Tong (1956–1961)
Year Kwun Tong New Kowloon Kowloon Island Yau Tong Bay Aberdeen
No. of lots
1956 26 – 6 1 – 1
1957 54 – 1 – – 3
1958 4 – 1 – 14 2
1959 – 1 1 1 21 1
1960 21 11 5 – – 1
Jan to Sept 12 13 6 1 – 1
1961
Total 117 25 20 3 35 9
Average realised value per sq. ft (HK$)
1956 12.98 – 32.21 60.00 – 20.35
1957 14.21 – 59.11 – – 6.65
1958 12.48 – 77.78 – 6.05 11.76
1959 – 29.96 95.71 64.02 6.99 14.10
1960 48.39 54.87 93.15 – – 22.63
Jan to Sept 40.43 35.74 64.91 114.09 – 34.96
1961
Average value 25.70 40.19 70.47 79.37 6.52 18.41
Source: Industry in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, South China Morning Post, 1962, p.22.
proved that it was infeasible simply to rely on businesses to build accommoda-
tion for workers. In the 1956 plan, the Public Works Department designated four
zones116 and reserved them for the Housing Authority, the Hong Kong Housing
Society and low-cost housing estates operated by commercial enterprises, thereby
shifting the responsibility of constructing housing to voluntary organisations and
private developers. In 1958, the Hong Kong Housing Society constructed the low-
cost housing Kwun Tong Garden Estate. Phase I of the project solved the housing
problem for 6,885 people, with the majority of residents being workers.
Construction works for the earliest resettlement area in the district com-
menced in 1959. Two government resettlement areas were completed in 1960,
HKRS No. 270, D & S No. 1/3/1, ‘Memo from Director of Public Works to Director of Urban Services
116
and Commissioner for Resettlement’, 14 June 1956, item 20, p.1.
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High-density development planning (1945–1979) · 187
Kwun Tong New Kowloon Kowloon Island Yau Tong Bay Aberdeen
Area sq. ft
(m2)
349,000 – 75,700 20,000 – 10,000
(32,457) (7,040) (1,860) (930)
1,110,500 – 4,500 – – 40,026
(103,277) (419) (3,722)
290,480 – 7,200 – 200,000 28,450
(27,015) (670) (18,600) (2,646)
– 25,870 4,200 6,560 468,380 10,000
(2,406) (391) (610) (43,559) (930)
418,780 183,040 39,850 – – 3,540
(38,947) (17,023) (3,706) (329)
223,310 174,735 40,778 22,700 – 7,150
(20,768) (16,250) (3,792) (2,111) (665)
2,392,070 383,645 172,228 49,260 668,380 99,166
(222,463) (35,679) (16,017) (4,581) (62,159) (9,222)
Average upset value per sq. ft (HK$)
5.00 – 19.49 60.00 – 6.00
5.09 – 25.00 – – 4.97
5.00 – 35.00 – 2.00 10.00
– 25.00 55.00 4.00 2.00 14.00
15.73 35.85 51.22 – – 5.00
40.43 32.47 52.87 70.00 – 20.00
14.25 31.11 39.76 44.67 2.00 9.99
namely Kwun Tong Resettlement Area and Jordan Valley Resettlement Area,
with a total of 19,124 people moving in that year. In 1965, the population of
Kwun Tong District continued to rise as the Sau Mau Ping Resettlement Area
and Yau Tong Resettlement Area were completed. The number of people living
in subsidised housing came to 123,872, which was a 548 per cent increase on the
1960 figure. From the population growth in Kwun Tong, it can be observed that
the population planning was divided into two stages: the first stage was from
1959 to 1960, while the second stage commenced after 1965.
In August 1955, the Public Works Department drew up Kowloon Planning
Area No. 13 Development Plan (Plan No. L.K. 13/26), which provided for
three housing zones and a commercial centre, while land was reserved for gov-
ernment use and community facilities, including district government offices,
a clinic, markets, schools, a police station, a bus terminal and playgrounds.
Public latrines and a public swimming pool were added in the revised version,
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Source: Hong Kong Public Records Office, Reference No. Map MM-0624, Kun Tong New Town (Kwun Tong), 1956. Drawn by Crown Lands and Survey Office, PWD.
Figure 4.4 Plan of Kwun Tong (1956)
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High-density development planning (1945–1979) · 189
Source: Ho Pui-yin’s collection. Ho Pui-yin, Ways to Urbanisation: Post-war Road Development in Hong Kong, Hong Kong,
Hong Kong University Press, 2008, pp.71–72.
Figure 4.5 Kwun Tong in the 1960s
Plan No. L.K. 13/27E. Since some of the factories were ready for operation by
the end of 1956, ancillary facilities such as water and electricity supply and drain-
age would be ready by the end of the year if residential land could be formed
between June and August 1956.117 It can thus be observed that the government
tried to tie in housing with industrial developments as far as possible.
Although various community facilities were included in early planning, the
implementation dates were delayed considerably. Between 1959 and 1960,
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.