Public Housing Development in Hong Kong
On Christmas night 1953, a fire broke out in the squatter area in Shek Kip Mei. Over 53 000 people were made homeless. The Government built resettlement blocks to house both the fire victims and other squatter dwellers. The government announced a Ten-year Housing Programme in 1972 and established the Hong Kong Housing Authority in 1973, putting management of all resettlement blocks and low-cost housing estates under one roof.
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Over the past decades, the design of public housing has seen continuous improvements. Various designs including “H” shape resettlement blocks, slab blocks, twin tower, trident and harmony blocks were developed. Today, construction of public housing is site-specific with flexible non-standard designs and green concepts integrated to foster an eco-friendly living environment.
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The environment, local facilities and estate management including security and cleansing services of public housing estates have seen tremendous improvement over time. Estate Management Advisory Committees are also formed in public rental housing estates to involve tenant representatives in their own estates’ management.
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‘Universal Design’ has been widely adopted in both common areas and inside flats providing barrier-free access to all people and rendering an environment embracing “ageing in place” in public housing estates. A host of activities are also organised on a regular basis in collaboration with NGOs to foster a harmonious community.
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The Hong Kong Housing Authority has been helping low- to middle-income families to buy their own homes through the Home Ownership Scheme and various subsidised housing programmes. To further assist sitting tenants and eligible applicants to achieve home ownership, the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme was also regularised in 2018.
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To achieve sustainable development in public housing, low carbon construction methods and energy saving measures are adopted in the new public housing projects. At the same time, maintenance and improvement works in the older estates are carried out to extend their life span. Eco-friendly lifestyle is also promoted among the tenants.
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