hkskyline
September 4th, 2007, 05:43 PM
The planning gap
30 August 2007
South China Morning Post
High-rises taking shape in Tsim Sha Tsui and elsewhere are going to wake people up to the impact of poor planning. I hope they will push the government to take a comprehensive look at the disjointed nature of its policies on land, urban planning and the environment. Cast your mind back to the days before Chek Lap Kok was built. Building heights in Kowloon were kept relatively low because of flights to and from the old airport. Once the decision was made to build the new airport, it was only a matter of time before the height restriction would be lifted.
The airport was moved in 1998. Look at the new buildings springing up in Tsim Sha Tsui today, and you can see how rapidly the government approved, and developers launched, new buildings there.
If you stand on the waterfront on Hong Kong Island and look across at Kowloon, you'll see the view has changed in recent years and continues to change. There is a bevy of tall buildings on the harbourfront.
Before 1998, concerned observers suggested height restrictions to keep tall buildings from being built near the Kowloon waterfront - to prevent large structures from blocking the view of the Kowloon hills. After all, they are part of the city's unique scenery. No action was taken until some years later, when the tall buildings you see today had already been approved. The result is that Tsim Sha Tsui is going to be much denser than before.
In order to cater for the increased number of vehicles travelling in and out of the area, transport planners decided that pedestrians had to give way. They were shoved into underground walkways, giving vehicles the above-ground space.
Moreover, the tall buildings will worsen the street canyon effect, which occurs when high-rises block the flow of air. This will drive up temperatures in some locations and worsen the air quality, as vehicular pollution becomes even more difficult to disperse.
I was among a small group, before 1998, who feared the worst and tried to voice concerns. Today, I feel a small sense of hope that the public is changing its attitude. A new group, Green Sense, has taken on the fight against the canyon effect and is attracting considerable attention.
The efforts of its members seem to be waking up government officials to the fact that there's a problem. After they pushed the point at the Town Planning Board last week, there were official rumblings that the government may ask property developers to address the ventilation issue in the near future.
More drama was created when Green Sense staged a protest outside the Cheung Kong Center in Central, to demand limits to the height and density of high-rise buildings. That prompted a response from Li Ka-shing, the chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings), who said such campaigns could damage the interests of everyone in Hong Kong: restrictions, such as on plot ratios, would affect land-related public revenue, he warned.
Indeed, some developers claimed that a residential site in Wong Tai Sin was sold for a disappointing price last month. Conservationists, they said, had damaged business confidence by filing judicial reviews and applications to the Town Planning Board for changes in the plot ratio of construction sites. Other sites, such as one in Hoi Fai Road in West Kowloon and another in Yuen Long, have come under pressure from environmentalists.
Yes, restricting plot ratios and heights will affect the government's land revenues. But it is also true that planning and land policies have created a cityscape dominated by massive buildings, creating environmental and aesthetic problems.
There are solutions, and it would be best if the efforts to explore them were properly joined up. This would take government vision and leadership, which has so far been lacking in the top ranks. Instead, officials lament that green groups are too aggressive - when the truth is that at least two generations of bureaucrats have turned a blind eye to the inevitable clash.
Christine Loh Kung-wai is chief executive of the think-tank Civic Exchange.
30 August 2007
South China Morning Post
High-rises taking shape in Tsim Sha Tsui and elsewhere are going to wake people up to the impact of poor planning. I hope they will push the government to take a comprehensive look at the disjointed nature of its policies on land, urban planning and the environment. Cast your mind back to the days before Chek Lap Kok was built. Building heights in Kowloon were kept relatively low because of flights to and from the old airport. Once the decision was made to build the new airport, it was only a matter of time before the height restriction would be lifted.
The airport was moved in 1998. Look at the new buildings springing up in Tsim Sha Tsui today, and you can see how rapidly the government approved, and developers launched, new buildings there.
If you stand on the waterfront on Hong Kong Island and look across at Kowloon, you'll see the view has changed in recent years and continues to change. There is a bevy of tall buildings on the harbourfront.
Before 1998, concerned observers suggested height restrictions to keep tall buildings from being built near the Kowloon waterfront - to prevent large structures from blocking the view of the Kowloon hills. After all, they are part of the city's unique scenery. No action was taken until some years later, when the tall buildings you see today had already been approved. The result is that Tsim Sha Tsui is going to be much denser than before.
In order to cater for the increased number of vehicles travelling in and out of the area, transport planners decided that pedestrians had to give way. They were shoved into underground walkways, giving vehicles the above-ground space.
Moreover, the tall buildings will worsen the street canyon effect, which occurs when high-rises block the flow of air. This will drive up temperatures in some locations and worsen the air quality, as vehicular pollution becomes even more difficult to disperse.
I was among a small group, before 1998, who feared the worst and tried to voice concerns. Today, I feel a small sense of hope that the public is changing its attitude. A new group, Green Sense, has taken on the fight against the canyon effect and is attracting considerable attention.
The efforts of its members seem to be waking up government officials to the fact that there's a problem. After they pushed the point at the Town Planning Board last week, there were official rumblings that the government may ask property developers to address the ventilation issue in the near future.
More drama was created when Green Sense staged a protest outside the Cheung Kong Center in Central, to demand limits to the height and density of high-rise buildings. That prompted a response from Li Ka-shing, the chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings), who said such campaigns could damage the interests of everyone in Hong Kong: restrictions, such as on plot ratios, would affect land-related public revenue, he warned.
Indeed, some developers claimed that a residential site in Wong Tai Sin was sold for a disappointing price last month. Conservationists, they said, had damaged business confidence by filing judicial reviews and applications to the Town Planning Board for changes in the plot ratio of construction sites. Other sites, such as one in Hoi Fai Road in West Kowloon and another in Yuen Long, have come under pressure from environmentalists.
Yes, restricting plot ratios and heights will affect the government's land revenues. But it is also true that planning and land policies have created a cityscape dominated by massive buildings, creating environmental and aesthetic problems.
There are solutions, and it would be best if the efforts to explore them were properly joined up. This would take government vision and leadership, which has so far been lacking in the top ranks. Instead, officials lament that green groups are too aggressive - when the truth is that at least two generations of bureaucrats have turned a blind eye to the inevitable clash.
Christine Loh Kung-wai is chief executive of the think-tank Civic Exchange.