OBSERVATION: The HKSAR Government continues to express interest in redeveloping the historic Fanling Golf Course for new housing to address Hong Kong’s dire housing shortage
SOLUTION: Provide new low-rise residential housing at existing fairways, topped by an innovative new continuous rooftop “sky course” to preserve the use of the site as a golf course
Hong Kong suffers from an acute housing shortage, often chalked up to a perceived shortage of land. Since 2017, the spectre of controversially redeveloping portions of the 111-year old historic Fanling Golf Course continues to gain traction, despite public outcries.
While the private course arguably benefits relatively few Hong Kong residents, it is renowned as one of the oldest championship golf courses in Asia, and adds significant value to the city’s status as an international hub. Additionally, environmentalists have noted that the site contains heritage-worthy Chinese swamp cypress trees, also known as Canton water pine (Glyptostrobus pensilis).
If such a preposterous redevelopment plan to produce more housing were to go ahead, as a thought exercise, could this 172-hectare Golf Course site be more sensitively redeveloped to provide new housing WHILE still preserving the existing landscaping and the golf course, albeit in a different incarnation?
While this is somewhat of a tongue-in-cheek proposal, if the “powers that be” eventually decide that this site must be redeveloped for housing, COULD there be an innovative and environmentally sustainable redevelopment scheme that might provide a win-win solution to satisfy all stakeholders?
OBSERVATION: Many of Hong Kong’s bland public playgrounds are poorly designed and maintained, and may represent significant safety issues for children.
SOLUTION: Provide safe, well-researched and better designed playgrounds with more appropriate equipment, materials, features and amenities — coupled with more rigorous and frequent inspections.
Hong Kong has a wide variety of playgrounds throughout its many districts; the majority of the 600+ public playground areas are managed by the HKSAR Leisure and Cultural and Services Department (LCSD). Playgrounds within private residential developments and public housing estates are typically within the purview of the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society.
A 2017 Legislative Council report concluded that LCSD-managed public playgrounds suffered from:
uneven distribution through the city’s districts
insufficient provision of play equipment
monotonous playground design
insufficient channels for community participation in the design process
insufficient inclusive facilities
As of 2017, Hong Kong’s public playgrounds provided a paltry average 0.27 sq m per child; a 2018 UNICEF report further lamented that Hong Kong’s open space for play spaces is only a small fraction of other major Asian cities like Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, and Singapore.
Today, it appears nothing has changed.
PLAY EQUIPMENT
Many of Hong Kong’s public playgrounds use commercially-available proprietary plastic playground equipment in a variety of bright colors. However, due to Hong Kong’s climate, many of the darker colored surfaces — ranging from seating to slides –heat up to “untouchable” temperatures in the summer months, rendering them unsafe and unusable.
This dark blue seat heats up to unacceptable temperatures during hot summer days, and is capable of delivering burns to young children.
The protective finishes on many of the factory-painted “high touch” areas of playground equipment tend to rub off due to repeated use, and sometimes results in the premature corrosion of the metal substrate below.
The paint on these neglected high-touch surfaces is flaking off on the hands of young children. Has anyone determined if the paint used is non-toxic, and are young children actually safe?This horizontal member of play equipment is badly corroded and results in sharp rusty edges — if a child were to scrape themselves on this rusty surface, this would likely require an urgent trip to the doctor and a painful tetanus shot. Is the HKSAR Government prepared to accept this level of public liability?
Due to Hong Kong’s coastal climate, the accelerated corrosion of playground members also results in issues of structural instability, and the potential for equipment to structurally fail due to the live loads of multiple children playing.
This member anchoring a section of playground equipment to the ground shows significant corrosion; other members have completely disintegrated resulting in unstable equipment installations that are not properly anchored, which greatly impact child safety.
The selection of playground equipment at public play areas is often heavily criticized by users, and has raised complaints from the HKSAR Legislative Council in recent years. Sometimes, the selection of playground equipment may be purely based on the recommendation of an overseas equipment manufacturer. However, how many installations in Hong Kong have actually been based on local research into local children’s preferences or through community engagement exercises?
As an example, a large stage-like section at the playground below is largely underutilized –even during peak periods — while the very few swings that have been provided at this playground are in extremely high demand throughout the day, resulting in ad hoc queues and frequent playground squabbles involving both children and adults.
Could there be more research put into the design of Hong Kong’s playgrounds and the selection of play equipment to match community expectations?
SHADING DEVICES
Some playgrounds have been equipped with shading devices above select play areas, but these are largely absent throughout many playgrounds. This results in an increased chance of dehydration and heat stroke in children playing beneath the sun for an extended period. This is further exacerbated by a total lack of drinking fountains or rehydration stations at playground areas, which many global cities have mandated by law.
This shading device at Quarry Bay Park playground offers a much needed patch of shade beneath a punishing midday sun; if there were only more of these to increase the usability of this particular playground.
GROUNDSCAPE
While many play equipment areas have been thoughtfully surrounded by rubberized safety pavers to cushion falls, the hardscape areas surrounding these areas — perhaps under the purview of different government departments — have drainage grates that result in significant safety hazards.
The grate below, with it’s wide slats, was responsible for the loss of a 6-year old’s two front teeth, when her two wheeled scooter became entrapped in one of the linear slots while traveling at speed, catapulting her over the handlebars, and landing face-first on the pavers. The author of this post was the child’s father who witnessed the entire traumatic event and rushed her to the dentist!
Why were such drainage grates — which represent significant safety hazards to wheeled play equipment — ever installed at children’s playground areas?
The same type of grate is installed in the middle of a dedicated bicycle path frequently used by children — needless to say, this is an accident waiting to happen.
Why would a drainage grate with slots wider than the width of a bicycle tire ever be installed along a bicycle path? Does this represent a failure in coordination between various Government departments?
Could drainage grates at playgrounds be replaced with a new design with smaller apertures as shown below?
NEXT STEPS
WHAT IF … Hong Kong’s playgrounds were to be revamped to incorporate the following best practices and improvements:
Provide professionally designed playgrounds that are based on extensive research of the demographics of the catchment area, resident surveys, and detailed analysis — instead of relying on potentially outdated planning guidelines, rules of thumb, and manufacturer recommendations
Construct playgrounds that are larger, have more diverse activities, and provide a greater degree of inclusiveness for children of all abilities
Seek community participation in the design of new and existing playgrounds, and increase responsiveness to user needs
Invent more playground concepts based upon a specific theme — instead of the monotonous “standard issue” proprietary playground equipment package used by the LCSD
Diversify and provide attractions that better stimulate other senses such as sound and touch
Integrate nature into playgrounds –even if it’s a pile of large boulders that children can scramble up and overlook activities below
Maximize the use of shading devices above playground equipment geared to younger children
Allocate dedicated areas for the use of bicycles, scooters, skateboards, roller-blades, and other wheeled play equipment — with appropriate smooth finishes, and non-hazardous drainage grates.
Specify lighter-colored climate-appropriate play equipment to minimize heat gain during very sunny periods
Select a wider variety of play equipment, which may include seesaws, merry-go-rounds, sandboxes, playhouses, and mazes
Use equipment with more durable paint finishes, or antimicrobial materials with integral colors, at high touch areas
Encourage the use of innovative play equipment where the kinetic energy of swings, merry-go-rounds, spinners, etc. could be harnessed and stored to recharge phones, power playground lighting, and perhaps drive overhead fan systems in helping to cool play areas
Use solar-powered overhead fan systems that are automatically activated on hot days
Enhance landscaping and select evergreen plant materials to provide shade while minimize seasonal shedding of leaves relative to maintenance
Design landscapes to direct and “pre-cool” the prevailing breezes to help passively cool playgrounds during hot summer months
Provide picnic tables to facilitate eating and playing — instead of standard rows of benches — tables could also patterned with chess boards and other local board-games
Provide patterned rubberized safety pavers with “hopscotch” numbers, symbols, or other footwork games that encourage movement — instead of a sea of monochromatic pavers
Incorporate water features and wet play areas to provide cooling during hot summer months
Construct public toilets within an acceptable walking distance of all playgrounds, which include family toilets with diaper changing stations
Install rehydration stations at all playgrounds that dispense clean potable water, free of charge
Consider supplying vending machines that dispense playground-specific products that might include bottled water, sports drinks, snacks, sunscreen lotion, and mini first-aid kits containing bandages for minor scrapes; recycling bins could be co-located with these machines
Provide an emergency / duress telephone in case of emergency — not everyone carries a mobile phone to the playground.
Mandate more frequent inspections of existing installations by certified playground safety inspectors, and require a more proactive repair and maintenance program by relevant government departments
Require that new playground installations or updates are implemented at least every 8 years, if not sooner
Hong Kong’s playgrounds need a major overhaul and more rigorous inspections to provide our children with safe outdoor venues in which to play and to improve the city’s quality of life. If not now — when?
OBSERVATION: Hong Kong’s roofs are vastly underutilized and contribute the city’s “heat island effect.”
SOLUTION: Provide solar photovoltaic collectors on the rooftops of large buildings wherever practical.
For decades, Hong Kong’s power generation has relied upon the duopoly of HongKong Electric Company and CLP Power Hong Kong Limited — both of which rely heavily on the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity — which currently provide 80% of the city’s power needs. The other 20% is provided via links to the China Southern Power Grid of Mainland China. Energy-related affairs are currently regulated by the Government’s Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD).
However, over the past several years Hong Kong has finally jumped on the sustainability bandwagon by offering some incentives to install solar photovoltaic (PV) collectors, along with a program to sell back excess electricity back into the electrical grid, through a Feed-in Tariff scheme.
While there are significant upfront installation and maintenance costs, like many other global cities, the excess supply of electricity generated by PV collectors can now be sold back into the city’s power grid, at purportedly up to five times the market rate. It is estimated that many smaller systems could have a 4-6 year payback period.
While PV collectors on the rooftops of smaller village houses in the New Territories, with more roof area per dwelling unit, might generate up to half of the house’s annual energy needs — the relatively small rooftop area of high-rise multi-family residential towers may only benefit the top floor owners, who often own a portion of the corresponding roof.
Photovoltaic panels are becoming more affordable and more efficient each year.
Benefits of Rooftop Solar Collectors include:
Free Power: Conversion of sunlight into “free” clean energy, after the cost of installing a system.
Temperature: Covering existing rooftop areas and minimizing thermal gain to the structure below may result in a reduction urban “heat island effect” during steamy summers.
Clean Air: Reduction of pollution associated with fossil fuel power generation.
Income: Ability for individuals and companies to sell excess energy back into the grid.
Savings: Reduction of monthly electricity bills from the existing two power companies that currently dominate Hong Kong, and an increase in self-sufficiency.
Business Opportunities: Increase in business opportunities for local solar photovoltaic suppliers, contractors, and technicians.
Challenges of Rooftop Solar Collectors include:
Costs: Upfront costs are often prohibitively expensive, but this is likely to decrease over time.
Red Tape: Labyrinthine application processes involved with “applying” for the power company Feed-in-Tariff, not to mention myriad Government and Management Company approvals.
Specialists: Need for specialist contractors and technicians; unlicensed contractors installing shoddy products could result in fire hazards and untold havoc.
Maintenance: Running costs associated with battery replacement / maintenance.
Building Regulations: Antiquated building regulations often still deem such installation as “illegal structures” and “unauthorized building works.”
Wind Loads: Installations may be susceptible to high wind loads generated by seasonal typhoons.
Lack of Support: Weak Government programs relative to incentivizing clean energy production; total lack of technical support relative to PV collectors.
Waste Disposal: As collectors and batteries continue to become more efficient — not unlike computers — what happens to the older less-efficient equipment when they are replaced? Can these be donated, recycled, or upgraded?
some ideas TO CONSIDER:
Could the Government provide additional subsidies and incentives to individuals and companies to install PV collectors on private rooftop areas?
Could the energy affairs of Hong Kong be transferred from the currently overloaded Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) into a newly formed Energy Department (ED) that has a mandate for long-term energy production with a more holistic and sustainable focus? Could Hong Kong be 100% self-sustaining and sell excess energy into the Mainland China grid?
Could an inter-departmental Government one-stop-shop be created to facilitate the application, sourcing, installation, approval, and technical support of solar PV installations throughout the territory?
Could Hong Kong’s Building Department regulations be overhauled to “get with the program?” Could new building codes and guidance notes be created pertaining to rooftop PV collector installations?
Could the Government require the mandatory use of PV collectors and Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) facades in all new construction? What if the curtain wall systems of our high-rise buildings were required to generate a significant percentage of a building’s energy requirements, based on its siting?
Could a new business sector be created in Hong Kong around the widespread use of PV collectors, resulting in the creation of new jobs with transferable technical skills for the city’s many disenfranchised youth?
Could floating PV arrays (solar farms) be provided on Hong Kong’s 17 reservoirs to regulate water temperature, reduce evaporation, suppress algae growth, all while generating power? Could these solar farms be extended to perform water purification activities to deliver better quality water to the consumers’ tap?
Could the Government EcoPark be upgraded with specialized facilities for the recycling and/or disposal of PV collectors and batteries to minimize the export of such waste out of Hong Kong?
The solar photovoltaic market is exploding throughout the world, isn’t it time that Hong Kong caught up? Could Hong Kong become a leader, rather than a follower?
OBSERVATION: The creation of community gardens within high-density and space-starved Hong Kong urban areas is a challenge.
SOLUTION: Take advantage of Hong Kong’s “verticality” and create new vertical hydroponic gardens throughout the city.
Green walls in Hong Kong are increasing in popularity — could this same concept be applied to large scale food production? In addition to the potential of creating new urban rooftop farms which are typically more horizontal in nature, could housing estates feature new vertical hydroponic gardens to satisfy the herb and vegetable demand of residents living in each estate?
Could new dense housing developments include a dedicated “agrotower” with vertically-arranged hydroponic gardens that could use LED growth lights powered by solar collectors? Could the closed-loop drip-irrigation of such gardens could use rainwater harvesting techniques to eliminate reliance on potable water? To what extent could the city reduce its reliance on food imports and the associated costs when basic food could be grown at one’s doorstep?
With origins in ancient Babylonian Hanging Gardens, vertical hydroponics require systems of pumps and grow lights — both of which have associated energy costs. However, such system could offer the following benefits:
Compact Design
No soil; weeds and pests are minimized
Efficiency; up to 4 times more plants can be grown within the same area
Minimal waste; a closed nutrient and water system saves water and minimizes runoff
Automation; the whole process can be automated through computerized systems
Sunlight; for sites that are blessed with sufficient sunlight and proper orientation, grow lights could be minimized
Food Safety; situations of tainted imported vegetables could be minimized and overall food safety improved
Education; children residing in such estates learn how food is grown
Are there any residential developers in Hong Kong who are willing to embark on such a grand experiment?
Even at a more rudimentary level, simple vertical hydroponics systems could be created at the individual building level using stacked horizontal rows of PVC pipes or bamboo. Can Hong Kong become more self-sufficient?
OBSERVATION: Smoking in high-density communities like Hong Kong results in predictable clashes between smokers and non-smokers.
SOLUTION: Could smoke-free zones be greatly expanded, along with advances in pollution control technologies to reduce the impact of second-hand smoke?
Societies around the world have grappled with preserving the rights of people wishing to smoke, while providing protection to non-smokers from second-hand smoke. The health hazards of smoking have been well documented, and the friction between smokers and non-smokers in a densely-populated city like Hong Kong often reaches a fevered pitch. It is estimated that only 10% of Hong Kong’s population currently smoke on a daily basis, and some have linked this relatively low percentage to Hong Kong’s relatively long life spans. Visitors to Hong Kong — especially from Mainland China where smoking levels are much higher — increase the overall number of smokers found in public areas throughout the city.
Within high-rise residential buildings, smokers have the freedom to puff away in their homes — sometimes adversely affecting upper floor residents directly above — while being restricted from smoking in the common areas of a particular housing estate. While Hong Kong society generally complies with the ban on smoking inside public buildings, the indoor smoking ban at the city’s restaurants and bars is regularly flouted — often due to a complete lack of enforcement and penalties — which exacerbates the conflicting needs of smokers and non-smokers in social situations.
The advent of “vaping” — the dire health consequences notwithstanding — has arguably reduced the amount of lingering second-hand smoke affecting nearby non-smokers; however, there remain frequent conflicts at Hong Kong’s more popular watering holes. For many, the desire to smoke while imbibing one’s favorite tipple is a hard habit to shake.
While Hong Kong’s Department of Health includes a dedicated Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office that seeks to discourage smoking, are there other strategies to improve the lives for all parties concerned?
Is there a solution for this age-old conundrum? Here are some ideas:
Restrict smoking in urban areas to dedicated street-side smoking booths for 2-4 people that contain smokers’ secondhand smoke, which are equipped with interior finishes that use powerful nanotechnology to instantly attract and neutralize airborne pollutants, automatically filtering the air.
Could there be designated smoking restaurants and bars with enhanced air filtration systems that are clearly labelled at the entry? Smokers could have a refuge, and non-smokers could simply choose to dine elsewhere.
Encourage the use of innovative paints and architectural finishes that use nanotechnology to help attract and neutralize airborne pollutants throughout Hong Kong’s building industry.
Could Hong Kong become an R&D center for new pollution-control nanotechnology building materials?
Prohibit smoking of any kind within 6 m from all building entrances, and open-fronted bars and restaurants.
Encourage the creation of completely smoke-free residential housing estates, that require private leases to include a smoking clause as a cause for early termination.
Either ban or severely restrict the import certain tobacco products and e-cigarettes into Hong Kong from a public health standpoint.
Restrict smoking of traditional tobacco cigarettes to wide-open spaces where second hand smoke will not affect nearby people.
Provide more funding and resources to the Department of Health relative to legislation, enforcement, and smoking cessation services.
OBSERVATION: Climate change, whether natural or manmade, is very likely to result in significant rises in ocean levels that will threaten coastal communities across the world.
SOLUTION: Provide a new non-governmental task force to envision a long-term strategy and proactive measures for the preservation of Hong Kong’s coastal areas and communities.
Ocean levels have been steadily rising since the beginning of the 20th century. Most attribute this to global warming, which is driving thermal expansion of seawater and the melting of land-based ice sheets and glaciers. While there is intense debate over projections of sea level rise over the next century, many have indicated ocean levels will rise by at least 0.7 m and perhaps in excess of 2.0 m. While many insist that the reduction of carbon emissions are integral to reign in catastrophic rises in ocean levels, is it already too late?
How will Hong Kong respond to the inevitable impact of rising sea levels on its high-density coastal urban areas? Retreat, accommodate, or protect?
RETREAT:
Property Loss: If sea levels along Hong Kong’s coastline continue to rise, will low-lying areas eventually become flooded and abandoned, resulting in significant financial loss to property owners?
Coastal Restrictions: Is a strategic and planned “retreat” envisaged by the Government that might see a future ban of new development along coastal areas and encourage more intense development at higher elevations?
Migration:Will there be a slow and steady migration out of Hong Kong in search of safer and higher ground?
ACCOMMODATE:
Transformation:Could the low-lying inhabited area of Hong Kong be transformed to remain livable if ocean levels rise significantly?
Overwater Living: Could some coastal districts be modified and adapted to serve as new models of over-water living?
New Canals:Could the foundations of some existing buildings be modified to allow for existing low-lying streets to eventually become canals like Venice?
Codes: Should new building codes be enacted requiring buildings in vulnerable locations to be built with modified foundations and at higher elevations?
Infrastructure: Will some roadways and key infrastructure need to be elevated to accommodate higher water levels?
Could some of Hong Kong’s coastal urban areas be transformed into communities served by canals? Will high tea at the historic Peninsula Hotel someday require access by a Venetian gondola?
PROTECT:
The most likely option to preserve some of the most high-value property and iconic skyscrapers lining Hong Kong’s coastline might revolve around strategies of protection, which could work hand in hand with concurrent strategies to retreat and to accommodate.
What protective strategies might be considered?
Locks:Might Victoria Harbour someday be sealed at both ends by a system of locks that regulate water level, while still admitting critical marine traffic?
Seawalls: Will sections of Hong Kong need to take a page from The Netherlands and require the construction of giant dikes and seawalls to protect low-lying areas?
Drainage Systems: Could a city-wide system of pump drainage systems be created as in Miami, Florida, USA?
Natural Systems: Could the establishment of new barrier islands, mangroves and coral reefs surrounding parts of Hong Kong provide protection from increases in flooding and erosion?
Coastal Protection: Will compensated or involuntary coastal land resumption be enacted to create artificial and natural defenses? Residents in Nova Scotia, Canada have already been faced with this alarming issue.
China Water Risk, among many others have already raised the alarm over the submersion of Hong Kong. Reclaimed areas of Hong Kong Island’s north coast and some of the most populous low-lying neighborhoods in Kowloon have been identified as some of the city’s most vulnerable populated areas. What will happen to these areas in the future?
As one of the most vexxing and costly issues confronting the survival of Hong Kong, urgent policies to protect the territory’s coastal population need to be formulated — which must include representation by individuals, property owners, property developers, the HKSAR Government, as well as the National PRC Government.
While so many people are focused on Hong Kong’s political climate when 2047 rolls around — is anyone thinking of the physical climate and whether the city will be livable?
OBSERVATION: Much of Hong Kong’s planning and development happens behind closed doors with minimal consultation with the public.
SOLUTION: Encourage “participatory design” activities in all sectors of society to establish dialogue with residents and to better understand the needs of the end users.
Idea competitions, charettes, and placemaking work sessions are used across the world to engage the public and to arrive at innovative design solutions for the built environment. Unfortunately, Hong Kong’s often top-down development and planning approach, and lack of a clear long term vision leaves much to be desired.
IDEA COMPETITIONS:
Idea Competitions are an excellent and relatively affordable means of soliciting public feedback in the evolution of the built environment. As an example, this locally-produced winning entry in a 2008 idea competition for the redevelopment of the Central Police Station proposed the creation of a new hub for arts and culture revolving around historic preservation; this helped shape Government and public support for what would later become Tai Kwun a decade later.
PLACEMAKING WORKSHOPS
Some forward-thinking developers in Hong Kong, such as Swire Properties, have hosted a series of “placemaking” workshops which solicit creative ideas from the local residents who live within their developments. Residents of all ages are supplied with a small artbox and variety of arts and crafts materials to construct a vision of how they would like to see their community in the future. The collection of ideas — small artistic creations in their own right — are then exhibited in local shopping centers for feedback from a wider audience. This type of participatory process can be used by both developers and the Government in shaping future design and planning decisions related to the built environment.
Participants were supplied with a small artbox to construct the type of things they would like to see in their community. This example illustrated the desire for wide-open green spaces in which people could picnic.An exhibition of “placemaking” entries from local residents at Cityplaza Shopping Centre in Taikoo Shing.
DESIGN CHARRETTES
Architects, planners and other design professionals from around the world often participate in design “charrettes” which seek to find collaborative design solutions within a very constrained amount of time. Design professionals often volunteer their time and expertise to help solve some of society’s more pressing problems on a probono basis. Within Hong Kong, the American Institute of Architects Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Institute of Architects are two such organizations that frequently host such charrettes in an attempt to improve the built environment.
A roll of tracing paper and a bit of caffeine are often all that is required to get an architect’s creative juices flowing!
An increase in participatory design activities might help bridge the gap between what the people ACTUALLY want, and what the Government THINKS the people want in their built environment.
OBSERVATION: Abandoned traditional villages throughout Hong Kong’s New Territories have fallen into various states of decay, many of which are in ruins and shrouded with vegetation.
SOLUTION: Rebuild and revitalize these “lost villages” for residential or tourism use — could some of these redeveloped villages become new artist’s colonies or retreats for weekend staycations?
One of countless abandoned buildings scattered throughout the New TerritoriesMany abandoned buildings are slowly being swallowed up by nature
Hong Kong’s New Territories are littered with the remains of once inhabited traditional villages which have long since been abandoned. Land ownership issues are often complex and many of these former villages lack electricity, a water supply or waste treatment facilities. Some of these crumbling villages have become major eyesores for tourists and resident hikers, and often have become dumping grounds for all manners of waste from surrounding communities.
However, could the Government — in a public-private partnership — spearhead an effort to rebuild and revitalize some of the more accessible “lost villages” to function as temporary or permanent accommodation? Could some of these forgotten villages be redeveloped into affordable artist’s colonies, or spiritual retreats to escape the pressures of urban living? Could these villages become self-sufficient off-the-grid developments using sustainable energy solutions?
Could such revitalized villages also become an important piece in the tourism jigsaw puzzle by serving as a showcase for Hong Kong’s culture, history and traditions for both residents and visitors?
OBSERVATION: Tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents live in appalling conditions; affordable housing is not being constructed quickly enough to keep up with demand.
SOLUTION: Create floating transitional residential communities in select protected waterways along Hong Kong’s coast to address Hong Kong’s housing crisis.
EMERGENCY ACCOMMODATION:
Could this system of rapidly-deployable accommodation be set up in times of emergency, where quarantine camps or emergency housing is required following unprecedented outbreaks of disease or other natural disaster?
Relative to functioning as a scalable quarantine facility for unexpected events like the COVID-19 virus of 2020, these floating communities could be relatively self-sufficient, become relatively isolated from populated areas and contain emergency field hospitals / clinics within each set of barges — in addition to providing recovering patients with plenty of fresh air.
OBSERVATION: Hong Kong’s roofs are vastly underutilized and contribute the city’s “heat island effect.”
SOLUTION: Provide green roofs on Hong Kong’s flat rooftops that are allow for small-scale food production.
What if only a fraction of the thousands of Hong Kong’s underutilized rooftops were to be retrofitted with green roofs? New buildings could have permanent installations, while older buildings with structural limitations could be retrofitted with lighter weight modular units.
BENEFITS:
Teaches our children where food comes from and how it’s grown
Reduces thermal gain to floors below
Assists in stormwater management
Becomes a community gathering area, especially for the elderly
Strengthens neighborhood building
Facilitates corporate CSR objectives
Decreases reliance on imported food
An experimental roof farm atop Causeway Bay’s Hysan Place at which volunteers come and go and cultivate their own veggies.
Taking things one step further; if Hong Kong’s rooftops could be come urban farms; could these areas also become more vertical in nature and have multiple stacked layers?
OBSERVATION: Island East on Hong Kong Island has some outstanding pedestrianized zones, yet they are fragmented and disconnected — and most are devoid of al fresco dining due to much-criticized government regulations.
SOLUTION: Provide a continuous park-like pedestrianized zone linking the Quarry Bay and Tai Koo MTR Stations, emphasizing al fresco dining and food culture.
What if the excellent pedestrianized areas of Taikoo Shing and neighboring Island East were interconnected? What if a food-based pedestrian experience could be created stretching between the Quarry Bay and Taikoo MTR stations?
July 2019 proposal submitted to Swire Development to improve the pedestrian experience in the One Island East area. The proposal has yet to be acknowledged.
OBSERVATION: Hong Kong suffers from a lack of land that can be readily developed for urgent housing needs — which many blame as a major factor behind the city’s social ills.
SOLUTION: Send the Mouse Packing, and Let’s Get Cracking … Redevelop the loss-making Disneyland into new housing in a prime area that is already provided with sufficient infrastructure and transport links.
Hong Kong Disneyland is surrounded by extensive tracts of flat land that are sitting idle and are conveniently accessible by pedestrian walkways, MTR, roadways, and ferry.
A beautifully-landscaped pedestrian promenade linking Disneyland MTR station and an unused ferry terminal. Where are all the people?Hosting only one ferry per day, could the largely unused Disney ferry terminal be transformed from a white elephant into a productive transportation hub that benefits the residents of Hong Kong?
HOUSING AT DISNEY? What if the vacant land surrounding the existing Hong Kong Disneyland were to be developed into housing? Is the idea really so outlandish? 26,000 low-rise residential flats could be developed for 75,000 residents in a very short period of time, while allowing the theme park to remain in operation and preserve its sight lines from within the Park. This prime urban area is served by MTR, highway, and is blessed with an unused ferry terminal hungry for passengers.
An idea generated in June 2018. (c) 2018 Thomas Schmidt All Rights Reserved
WHAT IF DISNEY DISAPPEARED? As a more radical alternative, what if the existing Hong Kong Disneyland were to be completely dismantled in favor of a new and improved cross-border Mega-Disney Theme Park, and the entire site were to be redeveloped for housing? This could yield at least 120,000 residential flats in a community for 350,000 residents with MTR, ferry and road access.
An idea generated in June 2018. (c) 2018 Thomas Schmidt All Rights Reserved
If a wholesale redevelopment of this area also included ADDITIONAL LAND RECLAMATION, a 150 m wide strip of reclaimed land along the majority of the existing waterfront could produce another 50 HA of buildable land for housing and water recreation areas. This could yield another 26,500 flats at the proposed density. A selective reclamation of foreshore areas would arguably have a lower environmental impact than the creation of new off-shore artificial islands as some have proposed in recent years, and take a fraction of the time.
With minimal reclamation along its edge, the entire Disney site could be redeveloped affordably in a concentrated effort to provide an accessible community of almost 500,000 residents in just a matter of years … not decades.
OBSERVATION: The creation of land supply in Hong Kong through reclamation has been used extensively, with varying levels of controversy. The Government is currently mulling reclamation of a massive island for long-term housing.
SOLUTION: Seek out alternatives to land reclamation to increase Hong Kong’s housing supply.
HONG KONG’S VICTORIA HARBOUR: A TRIP THROUGH TIME
See how this spectacular harbour has been transformed over the years … and what might happen if land reclamation continues unchecked. While originally drawn in 2014, the dystopian future depicted could still become a reality!
OBSERVATION: Hong Kong’s designated “sitting out” spaces, or outdoor public parks, for communities are often dismal depressing patches of concrete between buildings.
SOLUTION: Completely revamp the city’s existing sitting out spaces and create well-designed “pocket parks” to improve residents’ lives in an otherwise concrete jungle.
Could Hong Kong’s existing urban “open spaces” receive a major revamp to make them more usable while beautifying the city? Imagine how spaces could be transformed for the better?
Could more spaces in Hong Kong be more thoughtfully designed like this pedestrian-friendly space in Sheung Wan?
Open space fronting Grand Millennium Plaza in Sheung Wan — a very pleasant space to sit and eat outdoors.
OBSERVATION: Hong Kong produces a high level of waste per capita, yet has one of the worst recycling rates in the developed world.
SOLUTION: Provide new community recycling centers at the neighborhood level which facilitate the collection and processing of recyclable materials and serves as a community gathering point.
Copyright 2014 Thomas Schmidt; All Rights Reserved Copyright 2014 Thomas Schmidt; All Rights Reserved
OBSERVATION: Pedestrians in Hong Kong are completely overrun by vehicle-dominated infrastructure and outdated planning policies.
SOLUTION: Provide an urban revitalization plan that includes the temporary and permanent pedestrianization of key streets to foster walkable communities and to reduce the reliance on vehicles.
Imagine a pedestrianized portion of Causeway Bay with lush landscaping and outdoor cafes! Illustration (c) 1999 Thomas Schmidt – All rights reserved
