25th anniversary of the return. Livable｜Four questions for Hong Kong: What do you want to leave for the next generation?

How can Hong Kong become a livable city in the next 25 years?

This is a torture for every future politician.

The issue of land and housing has plagued Hong Kong people for many years. Since the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Mr. Xia Baolong, put forward the governance goal of "farewell to subdivided housing" last year, the current government has indeed tried to reduce the process of finding land and building houses, but they have obviously ignored the different elements of "livability". .

What citizens need is not just four white walls and an eaves, but a city that will make them feel comfortable.

"Hong Kong 01" put forward "Four Questions about Livability", and talked with Professor Ye Jiaan of the Department of Urban Planning and Design of the University of Hong Kong from the four aspects of suitable living, smart travel, public space and urban landscape. They reviewed the past and looked forward to the future. To build Hong Kong into a truly liveable and sustainable city.

"25th Anniversary of the Return of Hong Kong" In-depth Report Series

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development signed by UN member states in 2015 has reference value.

Among them, there are 17 SDGs, covering the four areas of planet, people, prosperity, peace and partnership; and the 11th goal - "Building inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and human settlements The seven indicators listed in the "District" can all hit the heart of Hong Kong's problems. Among them, four points involving residence, transportation, leisure, and conservation need Hong Kong's focus in particular:

(1) ensure adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services for all, and upgrade slums; (2) provide all people with safe, affordable, accessible, sustainable transportation systems and improved roads Safety, especially the expansion of public transport, pays special attention to the needs of persons in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly; (3) universal provision of safety, Inclusive, barrier-free and green public space; (4) Further efforts to protect and defend the world's cultural and natural heritage.

"Hong Kong 01" puts forward "four questions about livability" in this regard.

How can Hong Kong become a livable city in the next 25 years?

This question should be a torture for every future politician.

(file picture)

Can citizens live in suitable housing?

"Ensure access to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services for all, and upgrade slums."

- United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

"Slums", as defined by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, are "high-density populated areas characterized by low standards and poverty", including housing estates that have declined due to the relocation of indigenous peoples to better parts of the city, and development There are a large number of temporary residences in the Central Region, such as the former Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong, which can be called "slums".

Since the handover, such large-scale slums have disappeared in Hong Kong, but another form of "slums" has emerged - sub-divided and pre-planned housing. match.

However, the number of residents in such unsuitable housing has been increasing continuously over the past 25 years. As of March last year, there were more than 100,000 subdivided housing units in Hong Kong, with as many as 220,000 residents.

At the same time, due to the shortage of housing supply, not only grassroots citizens will face housing problems, but also middle-class citizens can only live in small units and pay the highest rent or property prices in the world.

"We have made continuous progress in the methods and concepts of urban planning, but unfortunately, we still cannot solve the housing and land issues that Hong Kong people care about." Ye Jiaan sighed, pulling his thoughts back to the British colonial period of Hong Kong fifty years ago.

In 1972, the then-Governor MacLehose announced the "Ten-Year Housing Plan", and at the same time launched a new town planning in the New Territories. Lehigh also expects the new town to provide a self-sufficient community for people to live in.

Ye Jiaan described that MacLehose was a visionary governor. At that time, there were less than 20 urban planners in Hong Kong, and the planning method was relatively backward, but the plan was able to achieve good results. In the early days, new cities such as Shatin, Tai Po and Yuen Long were The residents of the town can also be called "living and working in peace and contentment".

However, this kind of visionary planning was rare after the handover, resulting in a lag in land development and a shortage of housing.

Ye Jiaan believes that the problem is not whether there is a plan, but the government has not decided.

In the 1970s, Hong Kong's industry developed, and then Legislative Council member Deng Linru pointed out that there was insufficient land to supply the industrial market, which might lead to lower productivity. Therefore, the British Hong Kong Government established the "Special Committee on Land Production" in 1977 in response to the demands of the business community. ), responsible for a 10-year rolling land inspection to address land shortages in a timely manner.

Since then, the Hong Kong government has started to use geographic information systems (GIS) to estimate future land supply, and since then, it can be said that the data of Hong Kong’s land supply is well known. year to complete.”

Ye Jiaan told "Hong Kong 01", "We should make good use of this land, 'Remaking of Hong Kong' (reshape Hong Kong)." (Development Bureau website)

In addition, Ye Jiaan also pointed out that the 1997 Asian financial turmoil was also a key node for the lagging of land development.

Property prices have dropped by 30% to 50% in a year, and a large number of homeowners and first-time homebuyers have committed suicide due to insolvency because the market value of their properties is lower than the mortgages they borrowed from banks, resulting in a large number of "negative equity".

In order to stabilize the property market, the SAR government announced nine policies (commonly known as "Sun's nine tricks") in 2002, when the then director of the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau, Sun Mingyang, included no more land auctions, no HOS sales, and abolition of rent control, etc., resulting in a fatal situation in the housing supply. For example, the total number of completions once decreased from an average of 82,000 units per year from 1997 to 2001 to an average of 31,000 units per year from 2002 to 2011.

In addition, taking the waiting time of general applicants for public housing as an example, in 1997 it was 6.6 years, and today, twenty-five years later, as of the end of March 2022, it is 6.1 years. It can be said that not only has there been no progress, but Back to the year.

Ye Jiaan said that during that decade, there were also some "very subtle" things that increased housing demand: first, the quantitative easing monetary policy in the United States led to a decline in real estate market interest rates, and people tended to buy more than rent; second, Hong Kong The population grows every year, and the "post-80s" and "post-90s" start to set up families after the handover, and the demand for housing will increase again. Finally, China's entry into the World Trade Organization, the rapid economic development, and the increase of mainlanders The number of properties purchased in Hong Kong.

"These things are developing very fast. On the one hand, the demand for housing has risen sharply, and on the other hand, the supply of land and housing has lagged behind, so things have happened. At the moment, the (government) is still deliberating. "Lantau" is all about "getting a word"." Ye Jia'an explained the root cause of the land and housing problem in this way, which is not only affected by the external environment, but also has internal problems.

When asked how to speed up land resumption and "farewell to subdivided housing" in the next 25 years, Ye Jiaan believes that the most important thing to improve is the government's decision-making ability: "If you want to review the past and look forward to the future, you should learn from 1974." He explained , when new towns were developed, the government set up offices for each development project and used a corporate planning approach - each office was managed by a project manager, including all professionals related to land development, such as engineers , planners, architects, etc., to effectively speed up land acquisition and house building.

Ip Ka-an believes that if Hong Kong can successfully develop "Lantau Tomorrow" and "Northern Metropolis", the future land and housing issues will be resolved. Therefore, the government needs to give confidence to the public at this stage and set up special offices for the two projects. related affairs.

In particular, the development of the "Northern Metropolitan Area", he believes that the project is expected to develop into a new town that allows grassroots citizens to be self-sufficient. If the supply of public housing is the mainstay, the housing burden can be eased. In addition, this area also has potential. To become another Shanghai Pudong District - to strengthen close ties and cooperation with Shenzhen, and become an international innovation and technology center.

The shortcomings of Singapore's HDB policy have emerged in recent years.

In the past ten years, the price of second-hand HDB properties has risen sharply, and many Singaporeans have complained that the resale price has exceeded one million Singapore dollars one after another.

(Getty Images)

Is it easier to travel?

"Provide safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all and improve road safety, especially by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of people in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons .”

- United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

In the aforementioned Sustainable Cities Index 2018, the consultancy assessed that Hong Kong has a good transportation system, so that Hong Kong's score in the "social" element is high enough to mask housing problems.

This is due to the two "Hong Kong Overall Transport Studies" conducted by the British Hong Kong Government in 1976 and 1989, and the "Third Hong Kong Overall Transport Study" and "Railway Development Strategy 2000" conducted by the SAR Government in 1999 and 2000 after the handover. , laying down the policy guidelines of "taking the railway as the backbone" - these plans have laid an important foundation for the development of Hong Kong's transportation network, so that this small land can be "extended in all directions".

Ye Jiaan explained that the SAR government has been carrying out transportation planning based on "transit-oriented development" for many years, which means that the entire transportation system is based on public transportation as the center, so urban planning will also be developed along the public transportation line. This improves the accessibility of public transport and makes citizens more willing to use public transport when traveling.

According to the "Public Transport Strategy Research" published by the Bureau of Transportation and Housing in 2017, the number of people using public transport services at that time was 12 million per day, accounting for nearly 90% of the number of users, the highest proportion in the world.

"However, one thing that is very strange is that the road traffic does not seem to have improved much; secondly, the subway is very "crowded", like Tokyo (subway)." Ye Jiaan pointed out the inadequacy of Hong Kong's transportation.

It is undeniable that the government has not tried to solve the problem of road traffic congestion. For example, in July 2019, the Transport Department published the "Hong Kong Smart Mobility Roadmap", which sets out the future transport vision and projects, which include a lot of traffic data related to the record. The measures to deal with road congestion and the measures to deal with road congestion have attracted more attention from the outside world "Central Electronic Road Pricing Pilot Scheme".

The principle of "electronic road pricing" lies in "congestion levy", which means that electronic road pricing areas are set up in areas prone to congestion, and fees are charged on the principle of "user pays", thereby increasing the cost of use and reducing the use of need.

However, the plan has been studied four times by the British Hong Kong government and the Hong Kong SAR government since 1983. Almost every time, the implementation was shelved for various "irrelevant" reasons. Until today, "Electronic Road Pricing" has not been fully implemented. .

Although Hong Kong focuses on public transport, it has always faced the problem of road congestion.

(Photo by Zhang Haowei)

With the return of the operation rights of the West Tunnel to the government in August next year, the Three Tunnels should implement a "congestion levy", but this will not be enough to solve future traffic problems.

Some commentators believe that since the government chooses to use technology to solve problems, such measures must be popularized in Hong Kong to alleviate the traffic problems in Hong Kong; Population mobility and travel habits for one to twenty years for long-term traffic planning.

However, Ye Jiaan believes that smart travel is not the fundamental solution to Hong Kong's traffic problems: "It is not the problem of the transportation network that causes these (congestion) problems, but the problem of land use transport."

Ye Jiaan pointed out that in the 1970s, the government's policy of developing new towns was not yet mature, and the new towns could not achieve the level of self-sufficiency and job-housing balance, which made local residents need to work across districts - this was the biggest "culprit" causing traffic problems. .

Although the government later reserved some land in the New Territories for industrial development, many manufacturers were reluctant to move into remote areas; in the 1980s, under the Guangdong-Hong Kong economic cooperation model of "front shop, back factory", processing, Manufacturing and assembly plants have moved north, while Hong Kong "stores" are responsible for overseas promotion and sales, which has led to a surge in demand for offices on both sides of the Victoria Harbour.

Ip Ka On believes that to solve the traffic problem in the long run, Hong Kong needs an "industrial location policy", which provides preferential incentives to attract companies to relocate to the New Territories, so as to achieve a job-housing balance in future urban planning.

By then, the number of people using public transportation to travel to other areas will be reduced, and congestion on roads or subways will also be reduced.

He believes that with the coordination of work-housing balance and smart travel system, the travel experience of citizens can become more convenient and accessible.

It is worth mentioning that while Hong Kong is still struggling with the need to fully implement "electronic road pricing", Singapore started to build Tengah into a "Forest City" with the theme of "sustainable development" as early as 2018. "town" and "car-free city", the ground is restricted to pedestrians and cyclists, and cars are driven underground.

HDB has conducted environmental, topological and hydrological assessments to ensure the integration of residential and natural ecology.

It will rebuild a forest corridor running through the town from east to west, 100 meters wide and 5 kilometers long, and a 0.2 square kilometer central park.

Yip Ka-an believes that if the traffic problem is to be solved in the long run, Hong Kong needs to have an "industrial location policy" to allow more companies to enter the New Territories, so that work and housing can be balanced.

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Have a relaxing space to breathe?

"Provide universal access to safe, inclusive, accessible and green public spaces for all, especially women, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities."

- United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Among the new towns planned by the British Hong Kong government, Tin Shui Wai, which is left to the lead of developers, is extremely controversial.

After the reunification, Tung Chee-hwa proposed the "85,000 Housing Plan" in his first "Policy Address", which led to the continuous construction of public housing in Tin Shui Wai North. , causing many difficulties in the lives of residents.

According to a research report published in 2021 by the knowledge transfer project "Abundant Life and Sustainable Development" of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a people-oriented, landscape-based urban design is directly proportional to the psychological well-being of citizens.

It can be seen that the reason why Tin Shui Wai has become Hong Kong's "Sad City" is inseparable from improper planning.

But what is even more tragic is that since the handover, the urban planning of various districts in Hong Kong may have fallen into the edge of the "sorrow vortex", because the community planning of almost every district has not kept up with the speed of urban development and the pursuit of a better life by citizens For example, new development areas in the New Territories generally lack basic facilities such as public markets and clinics, and there are few green public spaces in urban areas where citizens can rest.

The "culprit" that caused the planning mistakes for many years is an overall planning document that spans the period before and after the handover and is still in use today - "Planning Standards and Guidelines".

This document, which was formulated 25 years before Hong Kong's handover, has determined the planning standards for all housing, transportation, and public facilities in Hong Kong in the past 25 years, and is very likely to become the planning guidelines for the next 25 years.

After the refugee wave in the 1950s and the economic take-off in the 1960s, the British Hong Kong Government prepared the "Land Use Plan" in 1965 to review population distribution and land use, which was revised and renamed "Hong Kong Development Plan" in 1974. ; In 1982, the Land Development Policy Committee established the Planning Standards Group, which was originally responsible for reviewing the "Hong Kong Development Plan". Later, it was decided to prepare a separate document for the development strategy. The original document was renamed "Planning Standards and Guidelines" and is still in use today. However, the authorities have always been criticized for failing to strictly abide by the guidelines, and the relevant guidelines have long since been out of date, and there are many problems.

For example, some criteria do not have definite quantitative indicators. For some community facilities, such as halfway houses, dormitories for the mentally handicapped, comprehensive community centers for mental health, etc., the first column of criteria only states that "determined after considering service needs and whether suitable premises are available. ".

In addition, most of the guidelines do not provide scientific justification. For example, as to how the Planning Department stipulates that 10 hectares of open space should be provided for every 100,000 people, the document only states that the figures are formulated by the Planning Standards Subcommittee.

The "Planning Standards and Guidelines" have determined all the planning of traffic and facilities in Hong Kong in the past 25 years or even earlier.

(Photo by Liang Pengwei)

There are many voices calling for a comprehensive review of the "Planning Standards and Guidelines", but Ye Jiaan believes that urban planning has not been improved since the reunification. "For example, the waterfront promenade is well done, and the regional open space has also improved a lot. These They are all through different channels, including land planning and district councils.” He pointed out that the establishment of district councils has indeed led to the addition of many community facilities in the 18 districts of Hong Kong, and the Urban Renewal Authority also places great emphasis on public space when carrying out redevelopment projects. .

Due to the small housing space in Hong Kong, public space is becoming more and more important to the citizens. It is a breathing space. It can be seen that the demand will continue to increase.

Ye Jiaan also said that the use of public space will change in the future. For example, citizens will choose to rest in shopping malls in summer. Therefore, it is suggested that the development of public space should follow the direction of "Privately Owned Public Space" (POPS). Make good use of private spaces such as shopping malls for public purposes.

Ye Jiaan also proposed the concept of "intergenerational open space", which means that this public space is suitable for citizens of different age groups to enjoy, "It is an integrated public space, and different people's different needs can be accommodated in the same space. Solution.” The concept of inclusiveness is a key element for the livability and sustainable development of a city, and in an ageing society, it is also the trend of future urban planning.

On the other hand, exercise is crucial to people's quality of life and physical and mental health.

The government has always threatened to attach importance to the development of local sports, and has set the standard of "universal, elite, and event-oriented".

However, the lack of sports facilities in Hong Kong has stagnated the popularization of sports, making it difficult not only to promote the sports industry, but also to improve the quality of life of the people.

Until the end of 2017, many recreational and sports facilities in Hong Kong still failed to meet the minimum requirements stipulated in the "Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines". People provide a large gymnasium (sports center), which includes at least two basketball courts, three squash courts, one activity room, and one fitness room - but at the end of 2017, there were 97 gymnasiums and a population of 7.41 million in Hong Kong, that is, the average Each gymnasium serves 76,400 people, exceeding the recommendations of the Planning Standards. Among them, the gymnasium in Tuen Mun District is the most in short supply. There are only four gymnasiums in this district. Based on the population of Tuen Mun District in 2016 of 489,300 people, an average of one gymnasium is shared for every 122,300 people.

Yip Ka-an said that there are many regional sports facilities projects in progress, and the government should "improve" large-scale sports facilities to attract more international events to be held in Hong Kong.

With the cooperation of the two aspects, Hong Kong will have more opportunities to promote the development of the sports industry in the future, and citizens can also choose the sports they are interested in, which will enrich their lives.

Yip Ka-an said that there are many regional sports facilities projects in progress, and the government should "improve" large-scale sports facilities to attract more international events to be held in Hong Kong.

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Do development and conservation go hand in hand?

"Further efforts to protect and defend the world's cultural and natural heritage."

- United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development states that every government has a responsibility to "protect and promote the world's cultural and natural heritage in order to build inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities" and make cities more liveable.

However, the aforementioned "Sustainable City Index 2018" shows that Hong Kong has the lowest sustainability score in terms of "environment", which shows that development and conservation have not been properly balanced.

Ye Jiaan also said frankly: "Since the existence of human beings, the development and conservation of historical sites or the balance of nature have been a big issue. Where there are people, it will definitely have an impact on the environment. The two will always be a contradiction."

With the rapid development of the city, the value of historical sites and nature conservation has been declining in the past 25 years. Whether it is the recent sinking of the Jumbo Seafood Boat or the incident at Lung Mei Beach in the past, it is not difficult to find that the government always Put development over conservation, or even put conservation and development on the opposite side, only looking at the economic benefits of things, rather than starting from the purpose of a livable city and sustainable development.

Ye Jiaan believes that every development will have an impact on some buildings or locations with conservation value, and two factors need to be carefully considered: one is the conservation value; the second is whether it can be accommodated in planning.

In terms of environmental protection, Hong Kong’s early environmental protection policies kept pace with the international pace. After the establishment of the Environmental Protection Department in the 1980s, Hong Kong had regulated environmental issues that seriously affected the quality of life of residents, such as the establishment of the Waste Disposal Ordinance. , "Water Pollution Control Regulations", etc. At that time, Hong Kong's development needs were not too great, and more green environments such as wetlands and agricultural land could be allowed to exist.

However, with the increasing demand for land, the government has begun to "put aside" conservation and act with an attitude of "development first, compensation later". Therefore, the future of environmental conservation is rather bleak.

However, the relationship between conservation and development is not antagonistic, and the Government should also strive to strike a balance.

The concept of "Garden City" in Singapore is one of the most successful examples. There are not as many mountains and trees in Hong Kong, but a large number of trees can be planted from platforms or walkways and the method of building a sky garden can combine the city with nature.

Therefore, both the redevelopment of the URA and the development of the "Northern Metropolitan Area" can be planned in a similar way. The urban area needs to create green space, while the development of the New Territories should use special green construction to transform the surrounding natural environment. Combined with the city, it truly achieves a balance between the two.

As the demand for land increased, the government began to put conservation aside, and acted with the attitude of "development first, compensation later".

(Photo by Zheng Zifeng)

As for the conservation of monuments, since the "post-80s" led the struggle for conservation of Star Ferry Pier and Queen's Wharf, the prospect of heritage conservation has begun to become clear.

In particular, the "Defense of Queen's Wharf Incident" in 2007 led the government to announce a series of heritage conservation measures in the same year, including the launch of a key conservation project "Revitalizing Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme".

However, the government’s attitude towards historic sites is mostly from an economic point of view. For example, in the recent Jumbo Seafood Boat incident, the government is reluctant to use public funds to keep it. As a result, the Jumbo Seafood Boat has to leave Hong Kong, and even “floats and sinks” on the high seas. It is foreseeable. It is a tragedy for the conservation of heritage and monuments in Hong Kong.

In fact, the active participation of the government is very important to the conservation of heritage in the future. The government should not regard heritage as a "useless thing". As long as it is properly planned, these old buildings can also contribute to the society.

Taking the conservation of old buildings in Macao as an example, the Macao government has formed a historical city with 22 buildings in the Macao Peninsula area and 8 adjacent former plots, and has successfully applied for inclusion in the World Cultural Heritage List. Not only does the historic district generate considerable tourism revenue, but Macao people can also use the district as a public space.

Therefore, if the SAR government wants to "tell the story of Hong Kong" in the future, it should properly evaluate and count the historical buildings in Hong Kong, and think about how to use them in society, so as to create a "historic city" for Hong Kong.

July 1 this year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. It is also a time when the government needs to think about the direction of urban development in the next 25, 30, or even 50 years.

In the past 25 years, although Hong Kong has made progress, at least it has become an international financial center that many people flock to.

However, Hong Kong citizens do not feel that this is a happy city. Apart from the changes in various environments, they have always been faced with a small and depressing urban space, living in the walls of their families, and it is even difficult for them to breathe fresh air.

When this city needs to change, in the next 25 years, the government should start from the above four questions, and gradually turn Hong Kong into a happy and livable city, just as Ye Jiaan said to "Hong Kong 01": "We should let this land It can be put to good use, 'Remaking of Hong Kong'."

For details, please read the 323rd issue of "Hong Kong 01" e-weekly report (June 27, 2022) "

25th anniversary of the return.

Livable | Hong Kong needs to become a world-class livable city