Urban Problems Flashcards
main 4 urban problems in hk
- housing problem
- traffic congestion
- environmental pollution
- urban decay
which 2 factors making up housing problems?
- shortage of housing
- poor living environment
why is there shortage of housing? as a result, people have to live in..?
private housing is too expensive, supply of affordable housing (e.g. public housing) isn’t enough
as a result, people have to live in substandard housing with poor living environment
what are the 2 factors of poor living environment (+2 examples)
- hygiene & safety problem (e.g. risk of collapsing)
- overcrowded living area (e.g. subdivided flats)
when and where is traffic congestion commonly occured?
- during rush hours
- in cbd (heavy traffic flow), in old urban areas with narrow roads, at traffic bottlenecks (e.g. entrance of tunnels)
4 types of environmental pollution
air, noise, light, land pollution
what are the 2 types of air pollution?
- roadside air pollution
- regional air pollution due to economic activities in zhujiang delta (e.g. power plants)
the adverse effect(s) of air pollution
respiratory problems
examples of common noise pollution?
traffic noise, road repairing, construction works and business activites
the adverse effect(s) of noise pollution
mental stress, hearing loss
where is light pollution commonly found?
in areas with mixed land use
the adverse effect(s) of light pollution
affects residents’ sleep
name a type of land pollution and its effect if there is lack of proper waste recycling
solid waste (domestic waste) -> lack of proper waste recycling -> heavy pressure on the 3 landfills
what is urban decay?
degrading of the environment in urban areas
where is urban decay commonly found?
in old urban areas (e.g kwun tong, yau ma tei, sham shui po)
what kind of buildings are there inner cities of hk? what do they lack? what is common there?
- old and worn-out buildings that lack maintenance -> risk of fire & collapsing
- lack open space & community facilities
- land use conflicts are common
4 main causes of urban problems
- large population
- poor urban planning in the past
- rapid economic development
- long history of development
why is there a large population in hk?
since 1950s, the population of hk has been growing rapidly (immigration)
adverse effects of large population (intensify xx and put great pressure on xx)
intensify pollution and put great pressure on housing, transport and social facilities
urban problems resulted from large population
- housing problem
- solid waste (food waste, domestic waste)
why is there poor urban planning in the past?
early urban planning of hk -> lack long-term vision and cannot keep up with development
examples of poor urban planning in the past
mixed land use and narrow roads etc
urban problems resulted from poor urban planning in the past
- land use conflicts
- traffic congestion
- housing problem
what does rapid economic development lead to?
- flow of people and traffic have increased
- improved living standard -> more motor vehicles
- increase in vehicles is faster than that of road
length
- increase in vehicles is faster than that of road
- produce more waste
- need land for development
urban problems resulted from rapid economic development
- traffic congestion
- pollution
- housing problems
how can we see that there is a long history of development?
many buildings in the inner city areas were built 50+ years ago
urban problems resulted from long history of development
urban decay
4 solutions for housing problem
- develop new towns and new development areas
- build more public housing
- changing land use
- redevelopment
what can new towns and large-scale housing estates make an impact on?
ease overcrowding in old urban areas
new towns built in the early 1970s
tsuen wan, sha tin, tuen mun
new towns built in the late 1970s
tai po, fanling, sheung shui, yuen long
new towns built in the 1980s-1990s
tin shui wai, tung chung, tseung kwan o
what do well-planned communities have?
more open space and facilities; seperation of industrial & resi areas through green areas (buffer zone) -> x land use conflict
what are some new development areas which the gov is currently planning? what is the living environment there?
kwu tung north, fanling north
living environment is pleasant and less dense
how can we increase the new public housing supply?
by pulling down aged public housing estates and rebuilding them
what does public housing have?
lower rent & better living environment for low-income groups
example for changing land use
abandoned farmland to residential use
how is redevelopment done?
by redeveloping old buildings into high-rise buildings
what are the effects of redevelopment?
increase housing supply, improve living environment
3 solutions for traffic congestion
- improve road network
- expand railway network
- control the number of vehicles
how to improve road network
- upgrade existing road network (e.g. widen and straighten roads)
- build new roads, highways and bypass
what are the expected results of improving road network?
to improve traffic flow and increase road capacity
what can expanding railway network provide?
an efficient and environmental-friendly mass transit system to encourage the use of public transportation
how to control the number of vehicles?
- restructure bus routes
- increase first registration tax and annual licence fee of vehicles
what are the expected results of expanding railways network and controlling the number of vehicles?
to slow down the growth of vehicles
what can environmental pollution be subdivided into?
air, noise, land pollution
4 solutions to combat air pollution
- phase out diesel cars
- lower first registration tax for low-emission vehicles (e.g. electric)
- promote use of cleaner fuels(e.g. natural gas, non-fossil fuels)
- develop renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind energy)
3 solutions to combat noise pollution
- legislation to restrict noise levels (construction works)
- noise-reducing materials -> pave roads
- set up noise barriers along busy roads close to resi
2 solutions to combat land pollution
- encourage source reduction (e.g. waste sorting for recycling, polluter-pays principle: plastic bag levy, waste charging)
- expand landfills and build incinerators
3 solutions to combat urban decay
- redevelopment
- pull down old, unsafe buildings & replace with
modern buildings -> improve urban envir,
better planning (community facilities etc)
- pull down old, unsafe buildings & replace with
- rehabilitation
-
slow down urban decay (maintenance for
stable old buildings)
-
slow down urban decay (maintenance for
- heritage preservation & revitalisation (for historical buildings)
