Land resources series: Go underground 2018-09-05Developing caverns is one of the 18 land supply options. In the consultation document, the discussion focuses on the possibility of relocating suitable existing Government facilities to caverns in order to release above-ground sites. Making reference to overseas examples, they demonstrate that cavern development not only can unlock land, but also many other possibilities. The city’s cavern development potential therefore worth further exploration.
Land resources series: Why reclamation needs to factor in climate change? 2018-09-04Land reclamation can provide flexibility in land use planning by creating swathes of land in one go. However, with climate change and rising sea levels, the risk of flooding may drive up land reclamation costs and restrict land uses. As such, a few considerations have to be taken into account when Hong Kong makes future reclamation plans.
Land Resources Series: How to utilise the River Trade Terminal site? 2018-09-03Requests related to land use changes, to a certain extent, implicate that the existing land has been underutilised. Is the River Trade Terminal (RTT) site, a land supply option featured in land supply debate, one of the examples?
Public-private partnership: A magic wand to address the high demand for public housing? 2018-08-21The waiting time for public rental housing has hit a new record high recently. While looking for ways to increase housing supply, challenges facing the Government are long lead times and rising costs. Can the US public-private partnership model shed light on public housing in Hong Kong?
Land resources series: Reaching for the sky 2018-08-20Topside development of container terminals and existing transport infrastructure such as roads and railways can retain the original land use. This seems to make it an ideal option to increase land supply in Hong Kong. However, as overseas examples suggest, reaching for the skies for land still need to face some practical considerations.
Land resources series: Will ‘Relocation of Kwai Tsing Container Terminals’ be possible? 2018-08-17Among the 18 land supply options, relocating the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals is classified as a conceptual option only. However, by reviewing experiences from the neighbouring city, past research documents and Hong Kong’s development blueprint, this option is still worth discussing.
Land resources series: Who pays for cleanup of contaminated brownfield sites? 2018-08-10There are hundreds of hectares of brownfield sites with untapped potential in the New Territories. However, various degrees of contamination of these sites may cause uncertainties over the expense and time needed for development. What steps should be taken by the Government to avoid potential pitfalls?
Land resources series: Enhancing planning flexibility to utilise land resources 2018-08-03Hong Kong’s ‘big debate’ on land supply kicked off over three months ago. The public can only make informed decisions if they have a better understanding of the Government’s plan to boost land supply to cater different social needs. Among other options, promoting ‘more New Development Areas in the New Territories’ can help apprehend how the Government implements its development plans subsequent to securing a large area of land.
Forming owners’ corporations to enhance safety of three-nil buildings 2018-07-16Owners of buildings without owners’ corporations, residents’ organisations or property management companies can hardly benefit from the Government’s building repair and fire safety improvement works assistance schemes as most of them target owners’ corporations rather than individual owners. Would the recently-launched ‘Operation Building Bright 2.0’ and ‘Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme’ be able to help improve their living conditions?
What are the housing needs of young solo dwellers? 2018-06-14In recent years, the number of one-person households in Hong Kong is on the rise. Meanwhile, most of the youth are still living with their parents. As much as they want to live alone, moving out of home is easier said than done.