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When you take the Kowloon Canton Railway to the New Territories, you can see many newly-built, well-planned new towns outside the windows. There are many residential, commercial and industrial buildings as well as facilities for entertainment and recreation. The streets are wider with more open space and greenbelt. As a strong contrast to the urban area, new town has a better living environment with lesser pollution.
There has been no well planning in Hong Kong until the past few decades. Three major reasons explained why new towns were to be developed : the population problem, the economic problem and the urban problem. In the late 50's, the political situation of China was unstable because of the Chinese Civil War. A vast amount of refugees from the mainland immigrated to the colony for pursuing a relatively more stable place to settle. The net immigration rate therefore increased. Moreover, due to the improvement in technology and medical services, the mortality rate decreased drastically and the number of baby born per day increased. As a result, there was a large positive growth of natural population. The decade also witnessed the blooming of economy in the territory. During this period, the economy shifted from being a centre of the entrepot trade to being a major exporter of cheap manufactured goods. The economic growth increased the demand for industrial land and job opportunities. As the gross domestic product had increased, people were becoming wealthier and their aspiration for better quality of living conditions rose. They would like to live in a better environment. The aggravation of urban problems had contribution to the development of new towns too. Congestion was the most serious in the central business district especially during the peak hours. People had to spend quite a long time travelling from their living places to their working sites. Furthermore, overcrowding and pollution problems were set to alarm since there was inadequate supply of housing, community facilities and associated infrastructure. As a result of poor planning in the urban area, the government started to plan a new town in the rural place in order to solve the social problem existed. Besides the aforesaid, sometimes there was a specific reason for the development of some new towns. Take Tung Chung as an example. Tung Chung was developed as a part of the Government's Port and Airport Development Strategy. It was planned as an airport supporting community with residential and airport-related commercial and industrial development. The employees working at the new airport were given the priority to apply for the public housing. This policy minimized the commuting problem and eased the traffic burden on the North Lantau Expressway and the Airport Railway. |
