Opinion | How to realise Beijing’s vision for a more liveable Hong Kong
- With good zoning and planning, the northern New Territories can be reinvented as highly liveable areas with good work opportunities
- Hong Kong could then bid farewell to its infamous cage homes and subdivided flats
Under “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong needs a unified land administration system for Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, as part of a sound housing policy.
Good livability, in terms of living space per capita, work opportunities, and access to education and other facilities, should all be taken into account in a planning system that has a good understanding of the overall socio-economic development road map.
Planning of Hong Kong’s New Development Areas must include both housing and economic development. Work opportunities in the area will reduce the need for long journeys and address the current northbound-southbound commuting imbalance.
For New Development Areas, we suggest that the ratio of subsidised to private housing should be no less than 70:30. (Currently, it is 45:55.)
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Hong Kong financial secretary Paul Chan on land and housing issue in the city
In planning the New Territories, the government should involve business associations in working out a blueprint for developing economic sectors – including land-intensive sectors like logistics.
