Ryan Ip and Jacqueline Hui say development in neglected area not only can address housing shortage, but enhance city’s connection with global market
This undated photo shows a boy playing on a slide at a playground while other family members watch, at a public housing estate in Tin Shui Wai, New Territories, Hong Kong. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
The “2021 Policy Address” public consultation was launched recently. In previous years, the Policy Address focused heavily on solving the land and housing problems in Hong Kong. To satisfy housing needs and construct a livable metropolis, the government must source land through a multipronged approach. Besides the reclamation project of Lantau Tomorrow Vision, what else can we do to fulfill the enormous demand for land in the long run?
No delay for long-term land supply initiatives
The shortage of land and housing supply has been the bane of Hong Kong, as witnessed by the lengthening waiting time for public housing and the difficulty of buying private property for the young generation. The land-supply measures currently launched and planned by the government can provide approximately 5,000 hectares of land, half of which comes from various reclamation projects, including the Lantau Tomorrow Vision. However, to turn Hong Kong into a more livable metropolis where every citizen is entitled to a decent living space, we need another 4,000 hectares of land in the long run.
Despite the highly dense population in Hong Kong, only 20 percent of land is urbanized with well-planned usage, much lower than the 47 percent in Shenzhen and 73 percent in Singapore.
Despite the highly dense population in Hong Kong, only 20 percent of land is urbanized with well-planned usage, much lower than the 47 percent in Shenzhen and 73 percent in Singapore. Ever since the establishment of the new town in Tung Chung in the ’90s, Hong Kong has made no progress in creating new towns for over 30 years, resulting in the scarcity of land today. Meanwhile, due to the exacerbating housing problem, the public often focuses on increasing housing supply but overlooks other usage of land. Discussions mainly revolve around fragmented and piecemeal land-supply initiatives such as the development of a single site.
Broadening planning horizon to release potential in the New Territories
Town planning concerns not only the housing supply but also the continuous development of Hong Kong. A comprehensive mindset is needed to review land and housing policies. The New Territories accounts for 90 percent of Hong Kong’s total area, deserving well-planned development. However, local town planning unintendedly adopts a “central perspective”, treating the New Territories as a peripheral area. A broader “regional perspective” would enable us to capitalize on the exclusive edge of the New Territories — its close geographical proximity to Shenzhen. By virtue of cross-border interaction, the New Territories can sharpen Hong Kong’s competitiveness. The development of the New Territories can enhance Hong Kong’s connection to the global market, strengthen cooperation with the Chinese mainland, facilitate the nation’s dual circulation strategy, and consolidate Hong Kong’s status as an international hub.
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9 potential development areas speeding up New Territories urbanization
The current development of the New Territories focuses on several new development areas separately, including Hung Shui Kiu, Kwu Tung North / Fanling North and Yuen Long South. Meanwhile, Our Hong Kong Foundation suggests expanding the city network to form a massive development belt in the New Territories by integrating scattered land, brownfields and fallow farmland. In a recently published report, the foundation advocates large-scale development in the New Territories and proposes nine potential development areas (PDAs) with over 3,000 hectares of developable land for further study. The scale is comparable to the core urban area formed by Hong Kong Island North and Kowloon. With reference to the strengths and future planning of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the foundation proposes three development themes; namely, the Culture and Technology Corridor, the Modern Logistics and Business Circle, and the Living and Recreation Space for the nine PDAs.
Culture and Technology Corridor creating economic opportunities
The Culture and Technology Corridor is situated in the New Territories North, covering the planned San Tin / Lok Ma Chau Development Node, Kwu Tung North / Fanling North Development Area and New Territories North, extending to the Northern Link Corridor, Kwu Tung North Extension, Kwu Tung South and Fanling South, as well as the east of the New Territories North. There are various innovative technology zones in the area, such as the Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, the Business and Technology Park in Kwu Tung, and the Enterprise and Technology Park in San Tin. The corridor can offer expansion space to attract international enterprises and institutes, facilitating interaction between different backgrounds to nurture a thriving ecology for innovation and technology.
The New Territories North is rich in history and cultural resources, such as Lung Yeuk Tau, Chung Ying Street and Tsung Pak Long. The government is also planning to construct the New Territories East Cultural Centre in Fanling. Hence, the corridor can provide more performance venues and innovation and technology workshops to encourage art experiments and cross-sector interaction, forming a dynamic cultural community to showcase Hong Kong’s unique charm and history. Coupled with proactive conservation policies, large-scale development can also alleviate the problems of scattered brownfields and insufficient wetland conservation efforts, creating a livable environment.
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Modern Logistics and Business Circle strengthening future CBD
The Modern Logistics and Business Circle covers the Hung Shui Kiu and Yuen Long South development projects planned by the government, extending to Hung Shui Kiu North Extension and Yuen Long Southeast. Hung Shui Kiu is positioned as an economic and cultural hub, the future central business district of the New Territories, and its scope of economic activities can be expanded by the circle. The foundation recommends developing four logistics hubs in nearby areas to boost the strengths of Hong Kong industries. In view of the rapid development of the modern service industry in the Qianhai New District in Shenzhen, the foundation suggests establishing a new cross-broader railway in Hung Shui Kiu to connect Hong Kong and Shenzhen, enhancing interaction and consolidating the position of Hung Shui Kiu in the region.
Living and Recreation Space formed by suburban expansion
The Living and Recreation Space spans the public housing development in Kam Tin South Extension and the PDAs in Kam Tin North, Kam Tin South Expansion and Lam Tsuen proposed by the foundation. This is an expansion zone for establishing towns near the rural area of Lam Tsuen Country Park, Tai Mo Shan Country Park and Tai To Yan, providing a quality living environment close to nature. With appropriate conservation policies, the historical sites in the zone can catalyze the development of heritage tourism so that the precious history of Hong Kong can be preserved.
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A livable New Territories requires overcoming three obstacles
Land initiatives are no easy tasks. Large-scale development projects in the New Territories are often restrained by insufficient infrastructure, discontent of stakeholders, and imbalanced policies. These three obstacles hamper development progress. Admittedly, it is not worthwhile to devote considerable resources to tackle all the problems encountered in land development just to speed up individual housing projects. However, as long as the New Territories development can drive Hong Kong’s overall future growth and build a prosperous society, it is worth our every endeavor to facilitate land development so that this farsighted vision can be realized.
Ryan Ip is head of land and housing research at Our Hong Kong Foundation. Jacqueline Hui is a researcher at Our Hong Kong Foundation.