1. 3.1What are the urban problems in Hong Kong?
**Table 1:
Urban problems
1. Housing
2. Pollution
3. Traffic congestion
Causes
1. Many people in a small area
2. Shortage of flat land H.K. is hilly
3. Economic growth
4. Lack of urban planning in the past
 Land use conflict
 Old urban area
5. Construction work, cars and home cause
pollution
What are the major urban problems in Hong
Kong?
1. Housing problems

2.  Crowded conditions
 Small housing units
 Buildings are very close together
 Not enough open spaces for recreation
 Close to industrial areas
 Close to busy roads
 *example: Sham Shui Po
the living environment is poor
2. Traffic congestions *Hong Kong has the highest car density*
 Car density=no. of cars /length of roads
 There is usually traffic congestion at
bottlenecks in the main roads during
rush-hours.
 It is also found in industrial areas where
loading and unloading of goods take place.
 Traffic congestion at the entrance of the
Cross-Harbour Tunnel
 Example: Lion Rock Tunnel
 Picture in book p.70

3. 3. Pollution
 What kinds of pollution are there in Hong
Kong?
 Air pollution (smoke), Water pollution (dirty
water), Noise pollution (loud noise), Land
pollution (garbage) and Light pollution
(bright light).
 ***(They are called pollutants)***
What are the causes of these urban problems?
1. Many people in a small area
 What is the population density about Hong
Kong?
 Hong Kong is densely populated or sparsely
populated? (Of course, it is densely populated)
 Population density=no. of people /total area
 Population in Hong Kong is unevenly
distributed. Many people are crowded into old
urban areas such as Mong Kok and Kwun
Tong.

4. 2. Shortage of land for urban development
 Hong Kong is small and hilly.
 There is limited flat land for urban
development.
 In some areas, such as Wan Chai, the buildings
are very close to each other.
 We call these ‘concrete jungles’
3. Lack of urban planning in the past
 Some factories were built near residential
areas.
 Pollution is serious.
 Narrow roads and lack of transport facilities
are common in these areas.
 Urban planning was bad in these areas.
4. Economic growth
 Hong Kong people have become richer.
 The number of cars has increased.
 Hong Kong is an important centre.
 The demand for transport has also increased.

5. Figure1:
Hong Kong people become richer
Number of cars has increased
Figure2:
Growth of trade
Increase the demand for transport
Figure3:
The construction of new roads cannot catch up
with the increase in the number of cars
Traffic congestion and pollution
5. Cars, construction works and homes cause
pollution
 Cars, buses and lorries give off waste gases.
 Construction works and traffic produce loud
noise.
 We also produce a lot of waste, such as

6. garbage and sewage, at home every day.
 It causes water pollution.
Figure1:
Factories Cars Homes
Loud noise Waste gases Dirty water Solid waste
(noise (air pollution) (water (land pollution)
pollution) pollution)
 **Look the figure in book p.76*(Summary)
3.3What has been done to solve the urban
problems in Hong Kong
**Table 2:
Solutions to the problems
1. Lower population growth
a) Birth control
b) Limit number of immigrants
2. Develop more land
a) Develop new towns
b) Reclamation

7. 3. Build more houses
4. Redevelop the old urban areas
5. Build more roads and improve public transport
6. Conserve the environment
7. Better urban planning
What has been done to solve the urban
problems? **The first reason** (about Lower population growth)
1. Lower population growth
 Suggest two reasons for the change.
 *1.Government (Family Planning Association
of Hong Kong) encourage birth control.
 *2. People like to have small family.
 Describe the change in birth rates.
 *The birth rate in Hong Kong is decreasing.
 Look at the figure1 (in book) about the birth
rates in Hong Kong since 1955.
**The second reason** (about Lower population growth)
 *Government also limits the flow of
immigrants.

8.  *The government tries to lower population
growth by birth control and controlling the
number of immigrants from the mainland
of China.
2. Develop more land **The first reason** (about Develop more land)
 *The government has developed nine new
towns.
 This helps to lower the population density of
the old urban areas. The living environment
improves. It becomes less crowded.
 Government has created more flat land by
reclamation. **The second reason** (about Lower population growth)
 Reclamation increases land for urban
development.
 Most of the land in West Kowloon is obtained
from reclamation.
 Look the figure3(in book p.87)
3. `Build more houses **The first reason** (about Build more houses)
 The government has built many public

9. housing estates to help low-income people
improve their living conditions.
 The government also rebuilds some old
public housing estates. The new estates
provide more living spaces and better
**The second reason** (about Build more houses)
facilities.
 The government has built housing estates for
sale at prices below market value.
**The third reason** (about Build more houses)
4. Redevelop the old urban areas
 Example: Wan Chai, Yau Ma Tei and Sheung
Wan (have been redeveloped).
5. Build more roads and improve public
transport
 Improve public transport and road network to
ease the traffic congestion problem.
 Building nine tunnels, new roads and
highways which link up all the new towns, the
airport and the old urban areas.

10.  Government also encourages the use of mass
transit systems, such as the MTR, the Light
Rail, the East Rail and the Airport Railway.
These systems provide convenient transport
for a large number of people.
 West Rail (opening in 2003) and the Ma On
Shan Rail (opening in December 2004), there
are better links between the New Territories
and the urban areas.
Figure 1:
Public Transport
Light Rail: Tuen Mun
West Rail: ---
East Rail: Kowloon Lo Wu
MTR: Long form Mass Transit Railway
Airport Express: ---
 Q: Which new towns will the West Rail link
up?
 A: Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and

11. Tin Shui Wai.
 Look the map (in book p.89)>>[link to p.62]
 **The nine new towns need to spell!
6. Conserve the environment
 The government set up the Environmental
Protection Department to promote
environment protection.
Figure 2:
Carry out improvement work
 Noise barrier at roadsides
Pass laws to control pollution
 Pass laws to control emission of waste gases
and sewage
 Penalty for smoky vehicles is increased
to$1,000
 Annoying noise is not allowed between 11 p.m.
and 7 a.m. and on holidays.

12. Educate the public
 ‘Waste recycling campaigns’ encourage people
to reduce and separate waste
7. Better urban planning
 It is a way to help solve urban problems.
 It can avoid land use conflict.
 Example: there is little land use conflict in
Sha Tin new town because it is well-planned.
Are these good measures?
Some natural environment is under threat
As shown in Table 2 and Figure 9 (p.92), the
measures used to solve urban problems may cause
other bad effects.
**Look the figure 9 in book p.92**
Table 2
Place Urban Bad effects
development
Ma Wan Reclamation A lot of fish
was killed

13. Mai Po Industrial Endangered the
development in gei wai shrimp
Yuen Long in Mai Po
The living place of the
Long Valley Building a birds might be
damaged
tunnel for KCR
Lantau Developing Greatly affect
into a tourism, the natural
leisure and environment
international and the wildlife
transport centre living in the
area.
Victoria Reclamation Affected the
Harbour natural beauty
of our harbor.
The cost of a good environment is high
 It needs money to improve the environment.
Water users are required to pay extra money to
cover the cost of new sewage systems.

14.  Factory owners need to build new facilities to
meet pollution control standards. This
increases the cost of production.
**Look the Figure in the book p.95 (Summary)*
3.5 How can we make our city a better place to
live?
Table 3:
Is it easy to solve urban problems?
Solving urban problems is not easy. We should
develop our urban area in a sustainable way.
How can we help to make our city an ideal place
to live? Better living environment
Government We
Provide facilities and carry out urban Pay tax to the government and
planning and redevelopment conserve the environment.
programs.
Is it easy to solve the urban problems?
1. Q: What urban problem can building flyovers
help solve?
A: To solve transport problem (traffic congestion)
2. Q: What problems will flyovers bring about?

15. A: Noise pollution and air pollution.
How can we help to make our city an ideal place
to live?
 Solving urban problems is not only the
responsibility of the government. Each of us
should help to improve the urban environment.
 The government should provide community
facilities carry out good urban planning and
redevelop old urban areas
 In recent years, more and more people have
argued that sustainable development of the
urban areas is important.
 Sustainable development balances social,
economic and environmental needs, both for
present and future generations.
 Example: we can reduce waste and separating
waste for recycling.
Figure 3:
We should:

16. 1. Save energy
2. Pay tax, land rent and fees
3. Save water
4. Use public transport
5. Keep the environment clean