Thoughts on Hong Kong urbanism?
Thoughts on Hong Kong urbanism?
This image is from Google Maps and depicts Maritime Square on Tsing Yi, the island where my grandmother lives. I chose it because I think it is the embodiment of the new millennium Hong Kong urban development.
The entire development is built by the MTR Corporation, a Government-owned publicly traded company that is primarily known for running the Hong Kong metro system of the same name.
The primary attraction of this development is the eponymous Maritime Square Mall, a large five-storey indoor shopping arcade. It is attached to Tsing Yi Station, a metro station on the overground Tung Chung Line and there is a small bus interchange on the ground floor.
The mall has shops including a grocery store, around a dozen restaurants, a Marks & Spencer, bakeries, clothing retailers, electronics stores, a few banks, and some miscellaneous other stores. Notably NOT in the building is a school, otherwise, you might even be able to spend your whole life without leaving it.
There are several towers extending out of the main mall complex which contain hundreds of units of (unaffordable) housing. I think there is a botanical garden on the roof, too. The entrance to these towers is inside the mall, where there's just a lift lobby where you'd expect a shop to be. The lift lobby is closed to the public; a keycard or code is required to enter.
I think it's a similar concept to a 15-minute city, but more like a 15-minute building.
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Row after row of copy-pasted high-rise apartment buildings does not spark joy.
Unfortunately, Hong Kong has so little buildable land, its terrain hilly with scattered flat patches, that this approach is the only one that gets you enough units for everyone. Last I heard though property prices were absolutely skyrocketing.
More to the point, a huge mall does not compare with green outdoor space to walk around in. On the other hand, there’s at least four months each year when outside is a fucking steam oven and a mall with air conditioning is 100% where you want to be.
Hong Kong not having enough land to build is a myth. Less than 30% of its land is developed, and no, mountainous terrain is not an excuse when the Peak Tram allows access to literal mansions on the sides of Victoria Peak.
Instead, analysts point to other factors such as the vested interest the Hong Kong government has in keeping land (and therefore house) prices high for revenue purposes (due to it's infamous lack of taxes), political corruption, financing infrastructure, and other political factors.
If you've ever walked around Hong Kong, you'll notice that despite all the public transit and pedestrian footpaths, it is incredibly carbrained (or rather, rich brained). Highways and flyovers randomly carve up the city funnel endless cars which legally do not have to give way to pedestrians, and the pedestrian walkways are all developed by real estate developers, which force you to walk through an IKEA maze like mall every time you wish to go anywhere.
Hopping off the airport express onto Kowloon station and want to transfer to a bus? Better to take a taxi, unless you wish to brave the dingy bus station which looks more like a truck loading zone.
Why doesn't the Hong Kong government sell more public land? - Document - Gale Academic OneFile - https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A467266342&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=16733444&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon~f6bbb3ee&aty=open-web-entry
Huh… I had no idea. I lived there as a kid, and now you mention it, yeah – flyovers all over the place and lots of cars. I miss being able to get anywhere cheaply with the combo of KCR/MTR and taxis though.
Thanks for teaching me something new!