Urban hell: A look inside the cage homes of Hong Kong

In the 1950s and 60s, cage homes were becoming a more and more common housing solution for Hong Kong's growing population. A surge in birth ... Skiptocontent by:fourfacadesPostedon:06/09/202003/01/2021 ThisarticlewasinspiredbyaYouTubevideopublishedbyVoxmediathatprovidedaninsightintoaformofhousinginHongKongcalled‘CageHomes’.Thevideoraisedsomeinterestingpointsthatledmetodelvealittledeeperintowhypeoplearelivinginsqualidconditionsinsuchadevelopedregion.Althoughinformative,likemanyofthevideosVoxmakesthisonedoesn’talwaysgiveafullrepresentationofthetopicbeingcovered.Itfailstomentionthat30.4%ofcitizensliveinadequatepublichousingwhileanother15% occupygovernmentsubsidisedhousing–suggestingthecagehomeproblemisn’taswidespreadasitsmadeouttobe.However,thesestatisticscannotcompletelymasktheinequalityandproblemsthataredeeprootedintotheHongKonghousingnetwork. EmailAddress Subscribe HongKong,initslimitedlandspacehasalwaysstruggledwithoverpopulation,andsocagehomesquicklybecameaneasysolutiontoadifficultproblem.Inthe1950sand60s,cagehomeswerebecomingamoreandmorecommonhousingsolutionforHongKong’sgrowingpopulation.AsurgeinbirthratespairedwithaninfluxofmainlandChinesemigrantsescapingthecivilwarmeanttheHongKongpopulationgrewby55%inthespaceof10years(1951-1961).Thegovernmentbegantobuildaseriesofpublichousingestatesbutwereunabletocopewiththeconstantincreaseinpopulation–thuscausingthebirthofcagehomes.Whiletherearestillalotoftheoriginalstylemetalwiremeshcagesbeingused,alotofSub-dividedunits(SDUs)alsomakeuseof‘coffinhomes’whicharenotmuchmorethanawindowlesscloset. Seenasaviablesolutiontotheproblem,manylandlordsdivideupexistingapartmentsintosmallersections;eachareahavingtwoorthreestackedbedsseparatedbymetalcages.TheHongKonggovernmentlegallyrecognisethecagehomes,butunderthelabel‘bedspaceapartments’thataredefinedas: “anyflatinwhichthereare12ormorebedspacesoccupiedorintendedtobeoccupiedunderrentalagreements”. In2015,thenumberofresidentslivingintheseSDUswasaround200,000,andalthoughthisonlyamountedtojustunder3%ofthetotalpopulation,therewerestill1.6millioncitizenslivinginpoverty.Theconditionsofthesecagehomesarebarelyhumane–infacttheyarenotmuchbetterthanprisoncellsorlivingonthestreet.Subdividedapartmentsaremorecommoninolderdistrictswheretheinfrastructuredatesbacktothe50sand60s,andsubsequentlythesafetyandhygieneconditionsareoftenjustasoutdated. Manyoftheapartmentbuildingsthathousecagehomeslacksmokedetectorsandfirealarmsystemswhilemanyresidentsareforcedtoshareasingleelectricaloutletthataren’tfrequentlycheckedbyregulatorybodies.Duetothelackofregularcleaning,theapartmentsarerifewithinsectsandbacteria,causingthesecagehomestobecomeafilthybreedinggroundfordisease.Inthesummer,alongsidetemperaturesreachingabove30°C,theHongKongclimateisincrediblehumid,makingthedirty,overcrowdedcagehomesanextremelyunpleasantenvironmenttolivein.ThecostsforacagehomecanreachuptoHK$2500amonth(equivalenttojustunder£250)–anextortionatepricetopayforwhatisnomorethanametalcageorwindowlessroomthesizeofaparkingspace.  PhotobyDanielBerehulak/Gettyimages Forsuchadevelopedstate,seriousquestionscanbeaskedastowhycagehomesandSDUsstillexistinHongKong.ThehousingmarketinHongKongisthemostexpensiveintheworldandthecreationofpublichousingissimplynotkeepingup.Attheheartofthiscrisisisnotonlyrocketinglandpricesbutalsothepracticeofbadlandmanagement.Only3.7%ofHongKongiszonedforhighdensityurbanhousing–sowhat’stherestofthelandbeingusedfor?ThemountainousandrockyterraininpartsofHongKongisaconsiderablefactortobringin;afterall,itwouldberidiculoustoattempttotryandbuildontheseareas.However,thereisstillplentyofusablespacethatcouldbededicatedtoeithermorehousing,orlargerhousinglandspaces.AlllandinHongKongiscentrallyownedandcontrolledbythegovernment(exceptforonechurchbuiltduringtheBritishoccupation).Thelandisleasedouttodevelopersthroughauctionandwithminimalhousingspace,thesesegmentsoflandoftengoforaprettypricetoforeigndevelopers.InHongKong,thereareverylowtaxationratesandsoinordertogeneratemoney,muchofthegovernmentrevenueisdrivenbylandsales.Therefore,tooffsethighlandprices,developersandsubsequentlandlordswillchargeastronomicalpricesfortinyspacesofaccommodation.Thispricesoutmanyresidentsfromadecentamountoflivingspace,meaningthesepeopletypicallyendupinSDUslikecagehomes.Whilesociallythereisaclearmotivetoremovethecagehomesfromthehousingladder,economicallythereislittleincentivesforthegovernmenttodothis–afteralltheywouldseeareductiontotheirownlandsalerevenue. Asshowninthegraphbelow,themedianpriceofahouseismorethan20timestheannualmedianhouseholdincome–meaningcagehomeresidentsareusuallyelderlypeople,low-skilledlabourersandotherlow-incomecitizens.Governmentsubsidiescancoverpartsoftherentalpayments,butusuallytheresidentsarelivingwithmeagreincomesandsostruggletobreakfreefrompoverty. GraphfromTheNewYorkTimes TheVoxvideodidn’tpresentmanysolutions,butitdidshowcaseaninnovativenewbusinesspropositioninwhichthecagehomereceivedafuturisticupdate.InspiredbyJapanesecapsulehotels,ChineseEntrepreneurSandyWongdesignedwhathecalls‘luxurycagehomes’.Thesepodsareofasimilarsizetotheoriginalmeshcages(perhapsslightlybigger),buttheycomewithairconditioning,aTV,mirrorandLEDlighting.Butarethesefeaturesalljustasmokescreentojazzupwhatagainisjustawindowless‘coffin’.Safetyhazardssuchasaccessibilityandfireescaperoutehavehighlightedsomenegativesinthedesignprocess,nottomentionthesepodsarestillridiculouslyexpensiveforwhattheyare(pricescanreach£400amonth).Withtheluxurycagehomesnotexactlyprovidingasuitablelargescalesolution,thequestionremainsastohowcanHongKongsolvethisproblem? Ithinkthefirststepneededistore-calibrateitsprioritiesandacknowledgethefactthatthecurrentsystemisnotgoodenough.Tohaveasegmentoflandsellfor£1.2billionandnotcareaboutthewelfareofyourowncitizensistherootoftheproblem.IhavenoproblemwiththeHongKonggovernmentsellingofflandholdingsandgeneratingrevenue,buttheastronomicalpricesareenteringaridiculousstratosphere.Withthelargereservesofmoneythegovernmenthasaccrued,methodssuchasreleasinglandtothemarketwheneverhomepriceswerehigherthantheaveragecostofdevelopingresidentialsiteswouldperhapschangeprevailingmarketexpectationsthatpropertypriceswillonlygoup. Initssimplestterms,theproblemistherearen’tenoughpropertiesatanentry-level/affordableprice.Assuch,thebestsolutioninsimplesttermswouldbetobuildmorepublichousingorreleasemorelandtore-balancethesupplyanddemandratio.However,thepossibleramificationsofthiscouldbeaslightincreaseincorporatetaxwhichcouldleadmanybusinessestorelocatekeyoffices.ThistradeoffisreallytheheartoftheissueandIthinkmovingforward,HongKongneedstodecidewhetheritwillfavourthecorporationsorthepeople–itcan’tdoboth. PhotobyDanielBerehulak/Gettyimages Sharethis:ClicktoshareonTwitter(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonFacebook(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonReddit(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonPinterest(Opensinnewwindow)ClicktoshareonLinkedIn(Opensinnewwindow) Postnavigation PreviousPostPreviousAcasestudyonthecontroversybehindtheLosAngeles‘RoadDiet’NextPostNextLookingbackon2020:Anarchitecturalreview 5thoughtson“Urbanhell:AlookinsidethecagehomesofHongKong” Aninsightfulthought-provokingarticleontheissuessurroundingtheHongKonghousingcrisis,inparticularthecrampedoverpricedcageboxes. Itleadstothequestionofwherethetrade-offwillbeinthefuturetoallowforamorehumaneandsustainablehousingsolutioninanalreadycrowdedcity. Absolutely–andthisisnotjustaproblemrestrictedtothedomesticsector.Inthecommercialrealm,manyworkersexperienceawfulconditionsduetothedictatorialroleprofitmarginsandsaleshaveontheoverallvaluesofalargescalecompany Aninterestingread–remindingmeofvariousapartmentsIvisitedduringthe1970s,andalthoughcrampedbyourstandardsforthenumberofpeoplelivingintheflatstheywerenothinglikethesmallunitsdescribedhere. Gladyouenjoyedtheread!Thefactthatcrampedflatsdatebacktowhenyouvisitedinthe70sshowsjusthowmuchofadeep-rootedproblemthisis.Unlesschangeisimplementedsoon,theeconomicdisparityofHongKongcouldcontinuetogrowamidstrisingtensionsintheregion. Aninterestingarticleandadamningindictmentofahousingmarketcapturedbyfinancialization.ThisisnotrestrictedtoHongKongwiththeUKseeingariseinPermittedDevelopmentsresultingincommercialofficefloorspacechangeUseClasstoresidential.Inprincipleasoundsolutiontohousingshortagesbutinrealitytheresultisoftenpartitioningspaceintotinyspacesprovidingunfitlivingconditions.Theseareofteninareasnotdesignedforcommunitylivinge.g.inindustrialestates.Asthearticlepointsout,landvaluesareaproblemunderpinnedbyanextractiverentierbusinessmodelthatonlybenefitsthoseinpower.Thefinance-realestatecomplexhasbecometooembeddedintheeconomy.Untilthereisthepoliticalwilltoaddresslandvalues(cappedordivertedtothebenefitofthecommunity)alongsidelargescalepublicsectorledsocialhousebuildingthentheproblemwillnotbesolved.Theprivatesectorbusinessmodelcannotandwillnotsolvethis.Right-to-buyandStampDutyholidaysonlycauseanupliftinhousepriceinflationandrarely(ifever)benefitthoseitisdesignedtohelp. Commentsareclosed. 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