Sectin 12 SPECIAL REVIEW OVERCROWDING AND SHARING OF HOUSING ACCOMMODATION IN HONG KONG AS REVEALED BY THE 1971 CENSUS This article gives a detailed accunt f the state f vercrwding and sharing f husing accmmdatin in Hng Kng n the basis f infrmatin btained in the 1971 Ppulatin and Husing Census. Other general infrmatin will be fund in the Census Main Reprt which is in the curse f printing. Hng Kng Mnthly Digest f Statistics January 1973
Intrductin OVERCROWDING AND SHARING OF HOUSING ACCOMMODATION IN HONG KONG AS REVEALED BY THE 1971 CENSUS General infrmatin abut the husing situatin in Hng Kng btained in the 1971 Husing Census will be published in the Census Main Reprt. The present paper describes in greater detail the tw characteristics f vercrwding and sharing f accmmdatin and pinpints thse districts and types f husing in which these are mst prevalent. Definitins and scpe In rder t give a clearer picture, the living quarters recrded in the 1971 Census are in general analysed int three majr types viz. private, public and temprary. These are defined as fllws:- (a) private husing-this includes flats in apartment blcks, whle tenement flrs (nt individual rms), mdern huses, and simple stne structures; (b) public husing-this includes units in self-cntained and nn self-cntained Resettlement, Gvernment Lw Cst Husing, and Husing Authrity/Husing Sciety blcks; (c) temprary husing-this includes living quarters in residential structures f nn-durable materials, thse in nn-dmestic buildings f durable materials, and all premises nt intended fr dmestic purpses such as staircases r wrking premises in factries and shps. The present paper deals nly with thse 654,810 living quarters which were fund t be ccupied during the Census perid. Unccupied living quarters are mitted frm the analysis. Distributin f living quarter types by census area Table 12.1 belw shws the distributin f the three main types f living quarter by census area. 12.1 NUMBER OF LIVING QUARTERS BY TYPE BY AREA Type Hng Kng New Tsuen Rural Kwln Island Kwln Wan N. T. Ttal Percent Private 111,987 93,017 60,967 6,944 44,975 317,890 48.6 Public. 33,480 10,057 177,997 36,814 1,683 260,031 Temprary. 18,597 6,543 17,671 4,479 29,599 76,889 11.7 39.7 Ttal. 164,064 109,617 256,635 48,237 76,257 654,810 Percent.. 25.1 16.7 39.2 7.4 11.7 100.0 It can be seen that private husing accunts fr rughly ne-half f all living quarters, while public and temprary husing amunt t abut 40% and 10% respectively. The largest prprtin f private husing is fund n Hng Kng Island, f public husing in New Kwln, and f temprary husing in the rural New Territries. Fr the varius census areas as a whle, New Kwln has abut 40% f all types f living quarters, due mainly t the pre-dminance f public husing, while Hng Kng Island takes anther 25 %. Degree f vercrwding The degree f vercrwding can be measured by the average grss residential flr area per persn r its reciprcal. By 'grss residential flr area' is meant the ttal flr area f a residential building, which includes kitchens, tilets, bathrms, and even crridrs, staircases and landings. The actual living space fr a husehld r a persn is mre apprpriately measured in terms f the 'net' r 'effective' flr area available after deducting kitchens and s frth, and this is usually taken as 50 % f the 'grss' flr area. Degree f vercrwding by district Table 12.2 belw shws average grss flr densities by census district (excluding temprary accmmdatin). Figures f grss flr area are thse recrded by the Crwn Lands & Survey Office as at 31st March, 1971. Owing t the slight difference in the reference date, and the difference in definitins used by the Crwn Lands Office and the Census Department, the figures used in this table are nt fully cmparable. They are als affected by new buildings f which the grss flr area was listed by Crwn Lands, but which were nt included in the 64
Census figures because they were nt yet ccupied n Census night, fr example several large blcks f flats in the Peak district. Hwever, an apprximate idea f living space density by district can be btained frm the results thus cmpiled. 12.2 GROSS FLOOR DENSITY BY CENSUS DISTRICT District Grss flr area (sq. ft.) Ppulatin Average grss flr density (sq. ft.) Central. Sheung Wan. West.. Mid-Levels and Pk Fu Lam Peak.. Wan Chai Tai Hang.. Nrth Pint. Shau Kei Wan.. Aberdeen.. Suth HONG KONG ISLAND. 2,119,655 4,916,428 12,051,468 14,037,222 5,962,062 12,919,002 15,427,212 21,709,520 8,549,483 7,259,494 4,777,366 109,728,912 18,604 63,116 138,385 40,969 8,071 134,401 87,779 159,160 129,884 96,549 9,923 886,841 114 78 87 343 739 96 176 136 66 75 481 124 Tsim Sha Tsui Yau Ma Tei. Mng Kk Hung Hm. H Man Tin. 11,606,554 16,273,711 14,173,882 14,863,943 12,367,354 69,720 194,337 163,865 181,590 75,127 167 84 87 82 165 KOWLOON. 69,285,444 684,639 101 Cheung Sha Wan. Shek Kip Mei. Kwln Tng.. Kai Tak. Ngau Tau Kk Lei Yue Mun. NEW KOWLOON.. 20,580,268 10,812,566 5,212,098 32,353,667 18,829,799 12,216,216 100,005,614 244,734 175,1159 17,880 522,557 219,792 206,236 1,387,058 84 62 292 62 86 59 72 TOTAL. 279,019,970 2,958,538 94 It can be seen that districts such as Shau Kei Wan (Chai Wan), Aberdeen, Shek Kip Mei, Kai Tak (Wng Tai Sin) and Lei Yue Mun (Kwun Tng), where majr resettlement estates are situated, are the mst vercrwded; while districts like Mid-levels and Pkfulam, the Suth District f Hng Kng Island, and Kwln Tng are the least vercrwded. Even when districts such as the Peak, Suth, Mid-levels and Pk Fu Lam, and Kwln Tng are excluded, the average grss flr density per persn fr every district is still ver 50 sq. ft. Hwever, this des nt indicate a gd cnditin, since the crrespnding average effective flr area per persn is nly abut 25 sq. ft. This is abut the same standard as the earlier types f resettlement blcks, and well belw the mdern minimum standard f 35 sq. ft. Degree f vercrwding by living quarter type Apart frm the gegraphical distributin f vercrwding, it is imprtant t cnsider the degree f vercrwding in different types f husing, fr example, as between Mark I/ll resettlement blcks and private tenement flrs. The grss flr density as between private and public husing can be cmputed using the first tw clumns f Table 12.2 by the methd f multiple regressin as shwn at Appendix I. T secure reliable results, temprary husing has been excluded frm this analysis, because grss residential flr areas btained frm the Crwn Lands & Survey Office d nt include temprary structures r living quarters in the New Territries. Limiting the analysis t tw brad types f husing, private and public, the calculatins shw a grss flr density f 103 sq. ft. per persn fr private and 57 sq. ft. per persn fr public husing, which crrespnd t effective flr densities f abut 51 and 28 sq. ft. respectively. The lw figure fr public husing is due t the high prprtin f cilder, mre vercrwded resettlement estates. By assuming the grss flr density f 57 sq. ft. per persn t be cnstant fr all public husing in all districts, it is pssible t use the same frmula t estimate grss flr areas per persn fr the tw main types f private husing, i.e. flats as against tenement flrs. This calculatin was limited t thse districts which were bth 65
vercrwded and had a high percentage f sharing which were als thse with a prepnderance f private tenement flrs, i.e. Sheung Wan, West, Wan Chai, Yau Ma Tei, Mng Kk, Hung Hm, Cheung Sha Wan (quadrant D f Appendix II). In this calculatin, grss flr densities were fund t be 61 sq. ft. per persn fr tenements and 136 sq. ft. fr apartment flats, which crrespnd t effective flr densities f 30 and 68 sq. ft. respectively. Thus, the degree f vercrwding in private tenement flrs is rughly. the same as in public husing blcks, and is mre than twice that f apartment flats. Degree f sharing By degree f sharing is meant the number f husehlds ccupying each living quarter. A high degree f sharing naturally invlves the shared use f living quarter facilities such as tilet, kitchen, water supply and bathrm between the different husehlds, s that incnvenience r even cnflict may smetimes arise. Table 12.3 belw shws the gegraphical distributin f sharing in different types f living quarter. 12.3 DEGREE OF SHARING BY DISTRICT BY LIVING QUARTER TYPE Private Public District Apartment flats Tenement flrs Huses r simple stne structures Selfcntained units Nn selfcntained resettlement Temprary Central.. Sheung Wan.. West. Mid-Levels and Pk Fu Lam. Peak. Wan Chai. Tai Hang. Nrth Pint Shau Kei Wan. Aberdeen. Suth. 1.20 1.44 1.08 1.46 1.23 1.40 1.20 1.22 1.75 1.63 1.80 1.39 1.96 1.59 1.83 2.05 1.68 1.07 1.42 1.12 1.59 1.14 1.55 1.02 1.02 0.98 1.20 1.10 HONG KONG ISLAND.. 1.30 1.80 1.28 1.10 Tsim Sha Tsui. Yau Ma Tei.. MngKk. Hung Hm.. H Man Tin.. 1.66 1.60 1.43 2.25 2.23 2.19 2.11 1.38 1.21 1.49 1.27 1.94 1.21 0.91 1.13 KOWLOON.. 1.45 2.18 1.30 Cheung Sha Wan.. Shek Kip Mei. Kwln Tng. kai Tak Ngau Tau Kk. Lei Yue Mun :. NEW KOWLOON. 1.62 1.40 2.41 1.69 1.38 2.08 1.38 1.17 1.56 1.16 1.40 1.0 1.20 1.14 Tsuen Wan.. Yuen Lng. Tai P. Islands.. Sai Kung. NEW TERRITORIES. 1.29 1.13 0.94 1.08 1.18 2.26 1.24 1.24 1.70 1.50 1.13 OVERALL.. 1.99 L16 1.02 1.07 * This means units with their wn water supply and tilet. It includes units in Husing Authrity and Husing Sciety blcks as well as gvernment lw cst husing and resettlement. When interpreting Table 12.3, tw pints must be brne in mind:- (a) the inclusin f living quarters ccupied by cllective husehlds f less than 20 persns but nt the husehlds themselves results in ccasinal degrees f sharing f less than unity; (b) the degree f sharing shwn represents the average f cnditins in all living quarters f a particular type in a particular district, and nt that f shared living quarters nly. Thus, it is nt pssible at present t shw the number f living quarters ccupied by tw r mre husehlds. Frm Table 12.3, it can be seen that high degrees f sharing are mainly fund in private tenement flrs and private apartment flats. Districts having an average degree f sharing f ver 2 husehlds per living quarter 66
include Shau Kei Wan, Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei, Mng Kk, Hung Hm, Cheung Sha Wan and Tsuen Wan. Temprary structures usually have a much lwer degree f sharing f 1.07 verall, except in Shau Kei Wan, Yau Ma Tei and Shek Kip Mei where a value f 1.2 is reached. In public husing, where each rm is defined as a whle living quarter, sharing appears t be negligible, but in fact cmmunal sharing f tilet r washing facilities is very nrmal in the earlier marks f resettlement blcks. Excess f husehlds ver living quarters The excess f husehlds ver the number f living quarters by living quarter type and district is shwn in Table 12.4 belw. The minus quantities are due t the inclusin f living quarters ccupied by cllective husehlds f less than 20 persns. 12.4 EXCESS OF HOUSEHOLDS OVER LIVING QUARTERS BY DISTRICT Private Public District Apartment flats Tenement,flrs Huses r simple stne structures Selfcntained blcks Nn selfcntained resettlement Temprary Central Sheung Wan West. Mid- Levels and Pk Fu Lam. Peak. Wan Chai. Tai Hang. Nrth Pint Shau Kei Wan. Aberdeen. Suth.. 252 393 2,591 640 254 4,043 2,796 6,948 621 35 52 1,498 4,930 8,502 217 10,777 2,016 4,277 3,493 833 6 5 13 52 118 74 22 72 33 901 125 99 25 44 128 20 96 22 17-26 50 50 239 31 150 1,106 174 62 Hng Kng Island.. 18,625 36,549 1,514 217 118 1,853 Tsim Sha Tsui. Yau Ma Tei.. MngKk. Hung Hm.. H Man Tin.. Kwln.. 3,045 7,195 6,632 3,357 645 20,874 3,291 19,367 14,359 16,531 143 53,691 10 28 18 90 37 183 29 29 156 156 33 389 96-163 30 385 Cheung Sha Wan.. Shek Kip Mei... Kwln Tng. Kai Tak.. Ngau Tau Kk. Lei Yue Mun.. 6,907 44 171 1,028 1,924 22 22,482 396 12 4,739 924 238 132 171 2,445 16 618 106 6 134 22 138 1,374 516 104 45 18 477 70 833 152 125 New Kwln.. 10,096 28,553 3,620 406 2,039 1,675 Tsuen Wan. YuenLng. Tai P. Islands.. Sai Kung. 272 70 96-2 12 4,186 196 702 138 30 1,339 928 704 670 130 89 1 88 579 490 489 64 6 New Territries. 448 5,252 3,771 90 88 1,628 TOTAL.. 50,043 124,045 9,088 742 2,401 5,541 As expected, an excess f husehlds is fund mainly in private tenement flrs and private apartment blcks in Hng Kng Island, Kwln, and New Kwln, where the degree f sharing is high. Ranking f districts with cmbined high degrees f vercrwding and sharing When cmparing living cnditins in different districts, it is insufficient just t cnsider either the degree f vercrwding r the degree f sharing alne. A study f Tables 12.2 and 12.3 shws that a district with a high degree f vercrwding may ften be assciated with a lw degree f sharing (e.g. Shek Kip Mei, Lei Yue Mun), while the reverse is als pssible (e.g. Central District, Tsim Sha Tsui). In rder t establish a ranked list f districts in which husing cnditins are unsatisfactry, vercrwding and degree f sharing have been cmbined in Table 12.5 where each factr has been expressed in terms f a rati t its respective mean value. Ratis instead f actual values have been used s that the tw different quantities may be added. In this way, a district having a degree f vercrwding and a degree f sharing equal t the average fr all districts will have values f ne in the first tw clumns f Table 12.5, and a value f 2 in the last clumn. In this table, the tw factrs have been given equal weight; hwever, it wuld be pssible t prduce tables giving different weightings. 67
12.5 COMBINED OVERCROWDING AND SHARING BY DISTRICT District Rati f vercrwding t mean* Rati f degree f sharing t meant Sum f ratis Central.. Sheung Wan.. West. Mid-Levels and Pk Fu Lam. Peak. Wan Chai. Tai Hang. Nrth Pint.. Shau Kei Wan. Aberdeen. Suth. 0.90 1.17 0.30 0.14 l.06 0.58 0.75 1.55 1.36 0.21 l.13 0.81 0.85 l.27 0.96 l.04 0.91 0.77 0.78 2.05 2.44 2.32 0.99 2.33 1.54 1.79 2.46 2.13 0.99 Hng Kng Island 0.83 l.01 l.84 Tsim Sha Tsui. Yau Ma Tei MngKk. HungHm.. H Man Tin 0.61 l.22 1.18 l.25 0.62 1.10 l.46 1.39 l.27 0.77 l.71 2.68 2.57 2.52 1.39 Kwln.. l.01 l.26 2.27 Cheung Sha Wan Shek Kip Mei... Kwln Tng. Kai Tak Ngau Tau Kk. Lei Vue Mun.. 1.21 l.66 0.35 l.65 1.19 l.72 1.35 0.77 0.80 0.80 0.78 0.74 2.56 2.43 2.45 1.97 2.46 New Kwln.. l.41 0.87 2.28 >I< Mean Overcrwding=9.79 persns per 1,000 sq. ft. grss area. t Mean Degree f sharing=i.37 husehlds per living quarter. Frm Table 12.5 it can be seen that while New Kwln is mre vercrwded than the average, Kwln is mre highly shared. Owing t the hetergeneus cnditins f public and private husing, crrelatin between vercrwding and sharing is nt well defined. T clarify the situatin f each district, these factrs have been pltted graphically at Appendix II. lt can be seen that the fur quadrants are mre r less segregated accrding t the predminance f a particular type f husing:- Quadrant A-districts lying in this quadrant cntain mainly private apartment flats and nly a very small prprti.n f private tenement flrs r public husing; the degres f vercrwding and sharing are bth belw average. Quadrant B-the three districts Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, and Nrth Pint are rather higher in their degree f sharing, but the prblem f vercrwding is nt severe. Quadrant C-the degree f sharing is much belw average but the degree f vercrwding is extremely high. In fact all districts in this quadrant cntain majr public husing estates, especially resettlement estates. Quadrant D-districts in this quadrant have cmbined higher than average degrees f sharing and vercrwding. The gegraphical distributin f the degree f vercrwding and sharing is shwn pictrially in the map in Appendix III. Cnclusin In the freging descriptin, the degree f vercrwding can be seen as increasing in the rder f private flats, private tenements, public husing; whereas the degree f sharing increases in the rder f public husing, private flats and private tenements. This means that, althugh public husing is mre vercrwded than private husing, its degree f sharing is lw. Hwever, it must be recgnized that the degree f sharing here refers nly t the sharing f a living quarter between husehlds, but nt t the sharing f living facilities such as water supply, tilets, kitchens, r bathrms. In fact, all the earlier marks f resettlement estates have nly cmmunally shared facilities, and the degree f sharing, viewed in this way, is then much higher than fr private tenement flrs. 68
APPENDIX I COMPUTATION OF GROSS FLOOR DENSITY BY MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS Fr any ne particular district, let y=grss residential flr area in square feet (all types except temprary husing), xl=number f persns in public husing, xz=number f persns in private husing, al = Grss flr density in public husing, az=grss flr density in private husing, and assume that the fllwing relatinship exists; y=alxl +azxz. (1) Since the value f y fr each district can be btained frm the Crwn Lands & Survey Office, P.W.D., and Xl' Xz are knwn frm the census, the regressin cnstants and al and az, assumed independent f district lcatin, can be fund using a least square-errr criterin. The sum f square errr is; LE z =L (y-alxl-azxz) Z Thus,. (2) 1 (3) Slving the tw equatins ailxl z +azlxlxz=lxly, and al and az can be fund. }. (4) 69
."! w APPENDIX II DEGREE OF OVERCROWDING BY DEGREE OF SHARING 0 2..1....-----r------r.',-- 1.81------.-jr------P Lei Yue Mun. 1. [7'7'0'7. ---r-_r---'--->ij )i.z Z:>28:: 2: 2: 4-: ---+----+----+---- 22:}:22:-241 r/) Shek!Kip Mei Kai Tak 1.6r-----_+----+----;---- ----1 Shau Kei Wan q - 1.4----_+----+----;---- ----4 Sheung Wan Yau Hung IHm I Cheung Sha Wan Ma..Tei 1.2----.,ctgaŪ T l --u a K --------------r--- -- - +----------- - 1.- e. st Mng Kk Wan Chai.9 Nrth Pint.S "t:l u d) :>.H Man Tin 411 Tsim Sha 'l,'sui 0.6--+--------;----------------------4 Tai Hang 0.4-----1----_+----_1 - Kwln Tng.Mid-LeveI & P k Fu Lam O,Z t------ :.', Sh'"",.'peak O.O 0.7 0.8 0 9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5. Degree f Sharing (as a rati f the average f ) 70
APPENDIX III GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF DEGREE OF OVERCROWDING AND DEGREE OF SHARING Degree f vercrwding and degree f sharing bth abve average. Degree f vercrwding abve average and degree f sharing belw average. Degree f vercrwding belw average and degree f sharing abve average. Degree f vercrwding and degree f sharing bth belw average. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY.I. R. LEE, GVERNMENT PRINTER AT THE GOVERNMENT PRESS, JAVA ROAD, HONG KONG 71