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Originally Posted by xavibarca
Regarding the discussion of so many scruffy buildings. I feel it's because the city grew so quickly and the city was not as prosperous at a time when so many people fled China to settle in Hong Kong. Another factor is simply the GNI coefficient. To me Hong Kong's rich poor divide is embarrassing at times.
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most of hong kong's buildings were perfectly fine when they were first built -- building codes here are very strict. but as you mentioned, the huge population influx from the 1950s to the 1980s led to a severe housing shortage, which meant that many buildings were overcrowded. flats were illegally divided, balconies enclosed and turned into bedrooms, etc. maintenance fell by the wayside and there was very little enforcement of regulations against illegal subdivisions, alterations and additions. that's why so many buildings that are young by global standards -- just 40-50 years old -- are in such bad shape. it's not because they were ineffectively built, it's because they have been poorly maintained for so many decades.
the property system here doesn't help. the owners of old buildings have little incentive to maintain their properties when they're just holding out for the day when a big property developer will come to buy up and redevelop the block. thankfully the government now offers subsidies to the owners of old buildings to fix them up, which has led to a very noticeable improvement in many parts of town.
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