Planned land use and population distribution in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has undulating mountains, with mountains and hills accounting for more than three-quarters of the land area, and the land available for urban development is limited. According to statistics in 1985, the land for urban built-up areas (including new towns) is about 102 square kilometers, accounting for 9.6% of the total area; the land for village and town construction is 74 square kilometers, accounting for 7%. Due to the severe shortage of land, Hong Kong began to reclaim land from the sea in 1855. From 1945 to 1983, the land created accounted for 1.7 of Hong Kong's existing land area. In the future, it is planned to continue reclamation in the east and west of Hong Kong Island and the west of Kowloon to transform the old city and relieve overcrowding.

Hong Kong’s population is growing rapidly and its population density is high. Hong Kong's total population increased from 3.13 million in 1961 to 5.29 million in 1982. From 1972 to 1982, the average annual population growth rate was 2.4. During the same period, the natural population growth rate dropped from 14‰ to 12‰. However, the number of immigrants increased sharply. Only from 1978 to 1980, the annual growth rate of immigrants was 3.9; since 1981, there have been dropped. Because there is less land and more people, the Hong Kong authorities have long adopted a "high-rise, high-density" urban construction policy. Most of the new residential buildings, factories and office buildings built in the past ten years are above 20 floors. Many buildings are multi-purpose comprehensive buildings, forming a highly intensive development of spatial structure. According to a 1981 survey, the average population density of Kowloon was 87,022 people per square kilometer, and that of New Kowloon was 45,154, ranking first among major cities in the world. Since 1984, Hong Kong has attached great importance to the redevelopment of old urban areas, hoping to improve the living environment in old areas and fully utilize the development potential of the land. It has begun to organize a land development company to be responsible for this work.