Case Study on living spaces in Hong Kong

Case Study on Hong Kong

The living spaces in Singapore and Hong Kong are similar in such a way that in both countries, the houses are getting smaller and smaller due to the lack to space and rise in population. The space in Hong Kong is limited due to the topographic constraints and government planning policy. These limitations have led to the compact design for houses and also urban developments. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated country in the world, with an overall population density of over 6350persons/km2 and 194,178 domestic households in 2006. There were arguments in favor and against the compact living spaces. It is being praised for the way houses are built as a large amount of residents are able to share common spaces and facilities within a massive housing estate. However, when there is a high concentration of residents it will result in a congested environment. Some buyers in Hong Kong are willingly to pay for desired attributes such as more floor area, access to facilities and also a nice view but they are also forced to pay for common spaces and facilities that are shared among other households too.

Compacted and high-density area

Limited space to have a proper meal inside a household

With the limited space that are meant for building of houses, high density development is one of the viable solutions in providing affordable housing to the citizens in Hong Kong. The government keep in control the amount of private developments that are being built through land sales and planning mechanisms. The land price is the highest cost component in private housing development. This causes the cost of private houses to rise as private developers try to maximise their profits by maximising the saleable area. The extremely high population results in majority of the residents living in higher-density housing development. These multi-storey housing are associated with smaller units for the large population whereas lower density housing have larger and more spacious units for the higher-income households. More than half of the housing units (55.3%) are private sector while the rest are under public housing.

There are no standards on the minimum amount of living space per capita in Hong Kong. The estimated average ‘saleable area’ of private housing was 15.6m2/person which is much lower compared to Japan with 18m2/person.

Quality living spaces can be of benefit to our community. These benefits can be from an environmental perspective, where green spaces provides shade, moderate local air temperature, and filters air pollutants and noise. These green spaces also gives a space for communities to come closer as recreational spaces are provided.