Public housing estate

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A public housing estate (Chinese: 公共屋邨) is a housing estate in Hong Kong mainly built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society.

Starting in the 1953, precipitated by the rising immigrant population and the Shek Kip Mei fire which destroyed the shanty homes of approximately 53,000 people Hong Kong commenced a programme of mass public housing, providing affordable homes for those on low incomes^[1].

The Shek Kip Mei Estate (石硤尾邨), ready for occupation in 1954, was the first tangible manifestation of this policy. In those early days, housing units were little more than small cubicles, and the original plan was to allocate 24 square feet per adult and half that for each child under 12^[2]. However, they were in reality often occupied by more than one family, due to the extreme shortage of available housing^[3]. Facilities and sanitation were rudimentary and communal. The Shek Kip Mei estate has now been extensively redeveloped.

In 1973, the Colonial Government of Hong Kong announced a ten-year plan for the public provision of housing. The objective was to provide everyone in Hong Kong with permanent, self-contained housing. The Government saw as its responsibility to provide accessible housing for "the poor" - defined as those whose monthly household income was between HK$2,100 (for a family of 3) and HK$3,150 (for a family of 10)^[4].

About half of Hong Kong residents now live in public housing estates and other tower blocks with some form of subsidy. Rents are cheaper than ordinary housing, and are heavily subsidised, financed by financial activities such as rents and charges collected from car parks and shops within or near the estates.

They are usually located in the remote or less accessible parts of the territory, but urban expansion has put some of them in the heart of the urban area. Home Ownership Scheme flats, unlike the public housing estates, are sold to the owners at discounted prices.

The vast majority of the estates are high-rise buildings, and the recent buildings of 2005 reach 40 storeys.

1 References
2 Gallery
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] References

^ Choi, Barry (June 30, 1975). Housing means more than a roof. South China Morning Post. Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
^ Choi, Barry (October 14, 1978). Focus on small flats. South China Morning Post. Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
^ Choi, Barry (August 13, 1973). Vital task is to satisfy slum dwellers who see luxury on doorstep. South China Morning Post. Retrieved on February 7, 2007.
^ Lee, Mary (March 7, 1980). A disorderly house policy. Far Eastern Economic Review. Retrieved on January 29, 2007.

[edit] Gallery

Shun Lee Estate below Kowloon Peak	Lok King House, one end of Lai King Estate	Shek Kip Mei Estate near Tai Po Road	Ping Shek Estate, Kwun Tong
Po Tat Estate, Kwun Tong	Easeful Court, Tsing Yi	Cheung On Estate, Tsing Yi	Cheung Hong Estate Phase II, Tsing Yi
Tin Ping Estate (centre), Sheung Shui	Grandeur Terrace, Tin Shui Wai (Wetland Park in foreground)