Private housing estate is a term used in Hong Kong for private mass housing—a housing estate built by a private developer, as opposed to a public housing estate built by the Hong Kong Housing Authority or the Hong Kong Housing Society. It is usually characterised by a cluster of high-rise buildings, with its own market or shopping mall. Mei Foo Sun Chuen, built by Mobil, is the earliest (1965) and largest by number of blocks (99).
Early real estate development in Hong Kong followed the urban street pattern: single blocks packed along streets, most managed independently, with quality varying from block to block. Private housing estates, on the other hand, provide integrated management throughout the whole estate, attracting more affluent residents.
Mei Foo Sun Chuen, Taikoo Shing, Whampoa Garden, and City One Shatin are early notable examples. More projects followed, and the idea became widely accepted as the middle class of Hong Kong emerged.
There has been controversy over the "wall effect" (Chinese: 屏風樓, literally "folding screen building") caused by uniform high-rise developments that adversely impact air circulation, leading to an aggravation of the urban heat effect while also impacting public hygiene and contributing to air pollution.[1]
In 2006, the environmental group Green Sense[2] has expressed concern that their survey on 155 housing estates found 104 have a "wall-like' design". It cited estates in Tai Kok Tsui and Tseung Kwan O as the "best examples".[3]
Then-head of the planning department, Ava Ng, argued that the air ventilation factor had been taken into consideration with regard to the auction of all prime sites on the land application list, and mentioned that the erection of tall buildings at these sites would not create any "wall effect".[4]
In May 2007, citing concern over developments in West Kowloon, and near Tai Wai and Yuen Long railway stations, Wong Kwok-hing, of the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, put forward a motion calling for measures to reduce screen-like buildings that maximise good views at the expense of air flow in densely populated areas. The motion was vetoed by functional constituency representatives.[5][6]
The following is a partial list of private housing estates in Hong Kong:
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