Types of public housing estate blocks in Hong Kong

Public housing estates in Hong Kong are the most common kind of public housing in Hong Kong. Typically, estate units are leased to low-income people. There are three organizations that provide housing units. They are Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA), Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS), and Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corporation Limited.

As of 31 March 2016, approx. ⅓ of Hong Kong's population (2.14 million) live in Hong Kong's public housing estates. 760,000 of those units were owned by HKHA^[1] while 140,000 are HKHS^[2] and 1,400 HK Settlers Housing Corp. Ltd.^[3] (Tai Hang Sai Estate)

History

The development of public housing estates in Hong Kong first began in December 1953. To rehouse the fire victims affected by Shek Kip Mei fire, the Resettlement Department built two-story bungalows.^[4]

Before HKHA, most public housing units at the time were provided by the HKHS (founded in 1948) and HKS Housing Corp Ltd. (founded in 1950). In 1954, more and more resettlement estates are being built. In the 60s, the committee launched public housing estates. At this point, in the 1980s, the HKHA began to introduce shopping malls, wet markets, parking lots, amenities, green space, and leisure facilities. Such examples include Choi Wan Estate, Mei Lam Estate, Butterfly Estate, Sun Chui Estate, and Lok Wah Estate. Since the 1990s, demand for public housing units began to increase. Density increased and the area for green space and facilities decreased. This phenomenon can be found in public housing estates north of Tin Shui Wai, like Tin Yuet Estate, Tin Wah Estate, and Tin Yat Estate. In the 2000s, green space and facilities began to increase. Due to the appearance of Non-Standard Block|non-standard housing blocks, the HKHA has introduces facilities for children, gardens, and plazas. The new features are an improvement compared to its early versions.

List of estates

Types/Designs

The designs of public housing blocks are followed as: First Generation (before 1986):

• Single Tower (Ping Shek Estate)
• Twin Tower
• Slab
• Cruciform (Tai Hing Estate and Shun On Estate)
• I/H-shaped block
• Ziggurat (Butterfly Estate)

Second Generation (1986-1992):

• New Slabs
• Trident
• Linear

Third Generation (1992-2003):

• Harmony Block
• Concord Block
• Harmony Wing
• New Cruciform Block
• Interim Housing

Fourth Generation (2003-2012):

• New Harmony
• New Flexi (Shek Pai Wan Estate)

Fifth Generation (2012–present):

• Non-Standard^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Here are a list of designs found in the blocks of Hong Kong public housing estates (Note: not all of them will be listed, due to too many designs/types):

Floor plans

Here is a list of floorplans for public housing blocks in Hong Kong:

Photography

The social media boom has made people go inside the public housing estates and take photos. It evolved to include the housing estate background into their videos. The estates involved were Nam Shan Estate, Choi Hung Estate, Lok Wah Estate, Ping Shek Estate, etc. Some of them even set up special sections dedicated to these estates.

In 2018, W. Leung, the man who has travelled to 200 public housing estates and took 200,000 photos inside the estates won a National Geographic award due to one of his photos involving a staircase at Jat Min Chuen. It showcased the beauty of Hong Kong's public housing estates.^[13]

Art

Due to the popularity of social media, a lot of foreigners come to Hong Kong's public housing estates. A Japanese artist called Fujiwara launched Engeki Quest at Choi Hung Estate.^[14]

Facilities for deaf residents

The housing authority hasn't installed sufficient fire lights for the deaf or residents with hearing loss. These residents have tried to apply but were rejected.^[15] The Labor Party and a group of deaf people filed a lawsuit against the housing authority,^[16] alleging that they couldn't hear the fire alarms. Chairman Kwok Wing-kin said that people who were deaf or have hearing loss should not be deprived of proper living conditions.^[17] Siu Tsan, founder of Silence, has claimed that at least some of the residents having deafness or have hearing loss live in at least 1,000 public housing estates.^[18][19]

See also

• Mark Blocks
• Shek Kip Mei fire
• List of public housing estates in Hong Kong
• Public housing in Hong Kong
• Home Ownership Scheme & Tenants Purchase Scheme
• Public factory estates in Hong Kong

References

1. ^ 香港房屋委員會. "公共房屋-香港房屋委員會及房屋署". Archived 2013-07-31 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2013-07-16.
2. ^ 香港房屋協會. "香港房屋協會 - 資料庫". Archived from the original on 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
3. ^ "存档副本". Archived from the original on 2010-06-06. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
4. ^ "香港公共房屋發展". www.housingauthority.gov.hk. Archived 2018-04-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2018-04-19.
5. ^ 香港房屋委員會 (1977年). 1976-1977年度香港房屋委員會工作報告. 香港: 香港房屋委員會. pp. 第23頁.
6. ^ Team, Discuz! Team and Comsenz UI. "[公屋資料分享] 愉城苑及汀雅苑本是出租公屋 (附舊剪報)". hkitalk.net. Archived 2020-06-07 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
7. ^ 《大公報》及《工商日報》，1981年2月17日
8. ^ 《華僑日報》及《工商日報》，1979年7月10日
9. ^ 《華僑日報》及《工商晚報》，1980年12月15日
10. ^ 《華僑日報》，1981年6月22日。
11. ^ 「居屋」計劃向北區發展 上水彩園邨兩邨大厦 將來用作居屋用途，《華僑日報》，1982年2月16日。
12. ^ 屯門安定邨打樁工程 房屋委會今招標承投，《工商晚報》，1978年9月8日
13. ^ "【真本土】 得獎攝影師廿萬照片 揮寫屋邨進化史". Archived from the original on 2018-04-07. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
14. ^ "【社區探險】日本藝術家創作遊戲書　帶領港人闖蕩彩虹". Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
15. ^ 公屋聽障戶申請安裝火警閃燈被拒，有線新聞，2017年12月15日
16. ^ 政黨投訴房署拒裝火警閃燈涉歧視，有線新聞，2017年12月18日
17. ^ 公屋無火警閃燈 聾人難逃生 投訴房署歧視 Archived 21 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine，獨立媒體，2017年12月18日
18. ^ 房署研究 公屋聽障戶裝閃燈警鐘 Archived 21 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine，東方日報，2017年12月18日
19. ^ 公屋無火警閃燈 聾人團體抗議 Archived 23 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine，東方日報，2017年12月19日