01 perspective
Written by: Comment Editor
2020-03-31 11:05
Last updated: 2020-03-31 11:05The housing problem in Hong Kong is serious. Not only is the price of housing detached from the affordability of the public, the floor space of real estate is getting smaller and smaller, and the government's participation in subsidized housing projects is no exception. The Hong Kong Housing Society, which is preparing five brand-new subsidized housing projects, said recently that the new project will no longer provide open units with only about 200 feet and no gaps. It is determined to "re-humanize" subsidized housing. The approach is definitely worth encouraging. However, institutional capacity is always limited, and the government must provide more assistance if it is to “rebuild” the livability standards of subsidized housing.
Subsidized Housing "Re-Humanization"
The Hong Kong Housing Society is currently preparing a number of new subsidized housing projects in Kai Tak and Anderson Road, Kwun Tong. The Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Housing Society Huang Jielong said that the new project is more than half a two-bedroom unit and will no longer provide only about 200 feet. , Open units with no gaps. He expects the opening of the new project to be "fourth and fourth upright" and has a comfortable environment for residents. He described subsidized housing as "buildings that are resident, not buildings that are speculative." He also said that open occupants are not suitable for owners to organize families. . As a result, the HS seems to want the new project units to be more livable, and the approach deserves recognition.
Subsidized housing is a housing project in which the government is a part, and "livable" should be of the right quality. It is only as the housing market is distorted and the standards of livability have changed. Citizens are gradually adapting to and accepting all kinds of weird residential units. For example, developers will pay the price and build a lot of small-area units or even nano-disks to increase profits. With the large increase in the number of units and the reduction in area, many units have become quite strange. Many developers simply borrow open designs, "black kitchens", "black toilets" (that is, toilet rooms, toilets, Provide windows) and other means to "improve" the unit's space layout and maintain the lowest livability of the unit. Ironically, in recent years, the Housing Authority and the Housing Society have also subsidized the sale of houses. Now that the HKHS is willing to set aside anyway, it has become a social preference, and the Housing Authority, which is also a developer of housing, should follow suit.
In recent years, the projects for subsidized housing sales have seen more than 200 feet of open houses. (Profile picture)
"Black toilet" is difficult to live without a house
However, Huang Jielong also did not rule out the situation of "black toilets" in the Housing Society. According to the Housing Society's earlier survey, he pointed out that more than half of the respondents did not mind subsidizing housing units with black toilets and open kitchen designs. He admits that the "black toilet" design can make the project "narrower" and make the unit larger, otherwise the opening must be lengthened to allow the light to enter the toilet, resulting in a small room area.
The design of the "black toilet" has been criticized for many years. The ventilation of the toilet is changed from window ventilation to mechanical ventilation, which not only easily produces odors, but also becomes a hotbed for virus infection. In recent months, the spread of new crown pneumonia has once again provoked the "black toilet" in the workshop. Anxiety, obviously, this design is not substandard. In fact, Article 36 of the "Building (Planning) Regulations" stipulates that residential bathrooms and toilets must be provided with windows. Therefore, the requirement was "broken" by the developer as early as the 1990s. The Buildings Department relaxed the above requirements on the grounds of advancement in ventilation technology. As long as the toilet design meets certain standards, if the installation of "mechanical ventilation facilities" that meets the five-hour air exchange requirement, the requirement of toilets with windows can be waived, and Hong Kong Island luxury house Beshawan will become the first private property with a "black toilet" design. Since then, it has gradually been imitated by other developers. In recent years, small units have prevailed. Some developers have increased the number of people on each floor. Most units therefore have only one side with windows, so they "sacrifice" kitchen and toilet windows. "Black toilets" have become more popular. It can be seen that these distorted designs were originally the result of exhausting business opportunities.
Of course, this does not mean that the HKHS will continue to adopt the "black toilet" design for profit. After all, if the HS wishes to provide more units with limited standards under limited conditions, the adoption of the "black toilet" is indeed a release unit. One of the ways of space. However, the "black toilet" is not a livable standard. The onset of New Coronary Pneumonia should teach the society to reflect on the shortcomings of this design. The Housing Society should think twice about the problems, not to mention that even if most people accept the "black toilet", this does not represent funding. Houses should adopt this design. In fact, to overcome the dilemma mentioned above, the government can help, such as providing a larger plot ratio or construction area utilization for subsidized housing projects, so that the Housing Society, the Housing Authority and other organizations can build more habitable standards Units, so that the quality and quantity of subsidized housing need not be sacrificed.
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