What impact will the redevelopment of Kwun Tong District in Hong Kong have on residents?

The Urban Renewal Authority has recently announced three plans to rebuild the Kwun Tong city center, involving a total of NT$30 billion. It is necessary to transform Kwun Tong into a "new landmark of East Kowloon" and so on. Regardless of whether the construction of several steel-shaped buildings that are more groundbreaking than Millennium City can become a new landmark, in the Kwun Tong city center redevelopment plan that emphasizes "people-oriented", it seems that many issues that should be included in the consultation have been ignored. "Kwun Tong people".

The city center serves as a transportation hub

In addition to its own 4,500 residents, the Kwun Tong city center also has a large floating population. Every morning, in Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Tsuen Wan, and Kwai Tsing in the west; in Sheung Shui, Tai Po, Ma On Shan, and Sha Tin in the north; and in Hong Kong Island in the south, there are a large number of working people taking the MTR, buses, and minibuses. Wait for various means of transportation to go to Kwun Tong. Although most of the work locations are concentrated in the south of the city center, namely the industrial and commercial buildings along Hoi Yuen Road and Hung To Road. However, public transportation will always take them to the city center first. During lunch or after work, the restaurants in Yue Man Fong and Yan Oi Wai are good choices.

Looking back at the history of Kwun Tong city centre, for the residential areas built around Kwun Tong, it has indeed played the role of a city centre. In Lok Wah and Sau Mau Ping on Kwun Tong Hill, many residents go to work and school through the Kwun Tong city centre. For example, they can take a minibus to the school cluster on Kung Lok Road, or transfer to the MTR, or transfer to almost all areas. Various bus routes in Hong Kong. In the days when the MTR Kwun Tong Line still had Kwun Tong as its terminus, residents of Lam Tin in the east also had to rely on the transportation network in Kwun Tong city centre. The same situation occurred before the MTR was extended to Yau Tong and Tseung Kwan O. Residents living in Tseung Kwan O should remember that during the busy hours after get off work, the two bus lines 98A and 296A between Kwun Tong and Tseung Kwan O used two buses to pick up passengers at the terminus at the same time. There is no way to reduce the spectacle of the queue of people waiting for the bus. Of course, the current role of Kwun Tong city center as a transportation interchange has been reduced. However, these historical factors have kept the starting point of bus routes and the design of routes for residents to enter and exit, with Kwun Tong as the center. This habit has formed a network for residents to shuttle back and forth between the bus stops at Kwun Tong Road and Yue Man Square, the minibus stops at Yan Oi Circuit and Fu Yan Lane, and the MTR station on Kwun Tong Road. On the way, you can visit the snack shop in Yuminfang, pass through the noodle shop alley next to the park, walk into Yindu Cinema, or take a rest in the park. The city center is also part of life for this group.

The surrounding areas of the city center

In addition to Yue Man Fong, Tong Yan Lane, Yan Oi Circuit and Fu Yan Street included in the redevelopment plan, the city center in a broad sense can also include Hong Ning Road, Yi'an Street, Wuhua Street, Ruihe Street and Xiehe Street area. The redevelopment plan of Kwun Tong city center will inevitably affect the above-mentioned unplanned communities. Take Wuhua Street as an example. This street, which is famous for the robberies of Jinhang and Yip Jihuan, may change from one-way traffic to two-way traffic in the future. The tenement houses in Wuhua Street, Ruihe Street and Xiehe Street will need to be separated from each other. "To protect the city center square from exhaust gas pollution" is a fortress-like building adjacent to it (see "East Kowloon Creation Core, New Urban Model" Wang Ouyang (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.).

In addition to being severed from the larger community formed by the redevelopment area, these surrounding communities themselves are also facing changes. For example, after the completion of Langham Place, many small-scale tenement buildings appeared around Langham Place. Shopping malls and other newly moved restaurants, bars, etc. The impact of Langham Place on the surrounding communities is the most popular research topic among groups concerned with urban renewal. Referring to Ming Pao on August 9 this year, Mr. Su, an old neighbor who has lived in Yan Oi Wai for more than 40 years, said that his description of the city center is that "everything is available here, including pornography, gambling and drugs", and the buildings are... "The steel bars were all exposed, a canopy collapsed and crushed people to death, and rats and cockroaches were scurrying around on the ground. There was a strange smell in the building, and the corridor was dark, with only the red light coming from the "one phoenix on the first floor."

"Regardless of whether Mr. Su reflects the real problems in the city center, or whether the Urban Redevelopment Authority or those who support redevelopment have considered that these pornography, gambling, drug, health and security issues will be transferred in large numbers to the streets just opposite the city center. ? These "problems" were not solved at all from the reconstruction?

"People-oriented", who are the people

From the perspective of the Urban Renewal Authority or the developer, the most important "people" in the redevelopment plan must be the people who own the property rights. . After successfully acquiring most of the property rights, we can use the creed of private property rights to reject other suggestions and inquiries about the project in the name of "infringement of private property." From the perspective of councilors and local people, the most important people in reconstruction are those with votes. These people include property owners and all residents. All efforts in participating in reconstruction and negotiating compensation can be rewarded in the election. However, as mentioned above, those "people" whose daily lives are also closely related to the city center, in addition to the design models of the three redevelopment projects that will be displayed in Sun City in Tseung Kwan O and Lei Yue Mun Plaza in Yau Tong for several days, they also have access to How many opportunities are there to participate in consultation? In the three models, the buildings in Wuhua Street, Hong Ning Road, and Shui Wo Street are all represented by gray cubes without any character. Compared with the green "new" city center after reconstruction, this may be The entire model expresses a clearer message. The Kwun Tong redevelopment plan was never intended to deal with the significance of the city center to the floating population. Perhaps, in the eyes of the URA, the floating population is just a pile of potential consumption power. The URA's understanding of community only extends to the area below your residence. People are people who need to be relocated within the scope of development.

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