Literature Review Of Living Conditions Of The Lower-Class Citizens In Hong Kong

Hong Kong is in Eastern Asia; they are southeast of China and southwest of Taiwan. It has a population of 7.4 million people and a size of 2755 km2. Hong Kong is an international financial hub that is extremely crowded so living space is limited. High housing prices and income disparity make it difficult for residents, especially middle and lower class, to obtain housing. Most people living in Hong Kong must live in suboptimal apartments or high-density communities due to financial issues. The rent and high housing prices narrow the choices of communities and housing. Community and housing issues significantly impact citizens’ well being and health. The lower-class citizens are most vulnerable and must rely more on the government than other income classes. Hong Kong has an increasing gap between the rich and poor leading to poor living conditions for the latter. Demand for affordable housing is serious for lower-income citizens.

The first source by Jionghua Wang discusses the association between multidimensional health outcomes and social determinants, the role that income has with living standards, and the empirical knowledge regarding Hong Kong’s health impact. “Compared with the health of the wealthy, the health of those in the middle to low income groups is more sensitive to environmental disadvantages. The lower income class does not have proper health equipment, such as tools for cleaning and personal hygiene products, to keep up with health standards of the upper class. An income-related health inequality exists in Hong Kong due to the differences in health status among different income groups. There was statistical research done and the variables associated with health measures indicated statistically significant levels which means there is a possible correlation between health issues and income. “Generally, health outcomes were affected by different social determinants. Even one determinant that had a significant impact on two or more health outcomes had strengths that differed based on the standardized coefficients.”

The results from the study also show that middle to low income groups were more likely to be too hot in summer or too cold in winter, annoyed at loud neighbours, and impacted more when reporting one poor condition or issue (their issues caused more problems. The health issue of lower class citizens grow as Hong Kong expands and gets more urban. Urban cities generally are favourable for the rich as high-rises and condos are more frequent which the lower income civilians cannot afford. This article is significant because it shows that Hong Kong’s lower-class struggle with basic needs such as housing and living healthily.

I believe if Hong Kong keeps urbanizing cities without thinking about giving space for the lower-income, potential community and housing complications will arise in the future. The article taught me about the income disparity within Hong Kong and how it affects day to day life as lower-class citizens struggle to live with poorer living conditions.

The second source by Ling Tim Wong discusses about tiny affordable housing in Hong Kong. Private permanent housing is resided by a majority of Hong Kong’s population. “In 2017, an average Hong Kong household needed to save about 19 years of income to pay for an average-priced flat in the territory.” As a result, most ordinary Hong Kong residents prefer tiny affordable housing. In the past decade, subdivided units have increased so citizens could find housing for rent. Most of the subdivided units have basic facilities such as fresh water, windows, and toilets. In 2013, a study was conducted to check indoor environmental quality and hygiene in subdivided units. “Most of these units in the study had a high indoor air temperature and relative humidity. While the total airborne bacterial counts and endotoxin and glucan in dust were found high in some units, the levels of allergen and mould were unexpectedly low. It was reported that outdoor microbial pollution and deteriorated building conditions can be the main source of indoor contamination.” As a result, the civilians that lived in those subdivided units developed higher tolerance for hot conditions. Densely built housing increases vulnerability to extreme heat but it could be an eco-friendly solution to housing demands. Changes in household time use and consumption are crucial to reduce carbon footprint and energy use.

I believe small living space is not the worst solution to house people, but quality of life should not be sacrificed to satisfy housing demands. This article taught me about how the lower-class citizens live in smaller subdivided units for financial issues. They have become accustomed to the heat due to the small rooms. The small rooms could be improved for the resident if the rooms were better maintained or designed.

The third source by Fox Zhi Yong Hu discusses the antipoverty effect of public rental housing in Hong Kong. It also aims to see the anti-poverty effect of public rental housing in Hong Kong. Public housing is largely targeted at low-income families with housing needs. “As one of the wealthiest places in the world, Hong Kong was often portrayed as a successful case of late developing economies managing to break out of poverty trap.” To determine poverty condition in a country, rent from public rental housing is calculated. The higher the rent, the worse the poverty is. Hong Kong’s public rent is considered significantly higher than many other developed economies. Public rental housing is one of the largest welfare programs in Hong Kong. The high cost of housing increases the demand for public rental housing, so the lower income citizens have an affordable home. “The inflated estimate of the size of public imputed rent by stratified equivalence method in Hong Kong exhibited a stronger anti-poverty effect on districts at the lowest end of poverty rate ranking based on original household income, leading to a more equalized pattern of spatial distribution of poverty rate across the city.”

This article shows the high poverty rate using statistics and I believe it cannot be helped for most citizens to not use public rental housing. The housing prices are too high as can be seen by public rental income, this shows poverty in Hong Kong is much higher than it should be.

The last source by Alina Tanasescu discusses the state tolerance of illegal housing in Hong Kong. Illegal housing is a third world problem for cities lacking infrastructure due to health disparity and poverty, yet Hong Kong has illegal housing and is not considered third world. Rooftop housing in Hong Kong is the focus for this article. Rooftop housing is considered one of the poor or inadequate housing types in Hong Kong for those with financial problems. Rooftop housing is practically a home on the top of a roof that is also illegal according to the government. “Hong Kong’s official census of rooftop dwellings showed that 1554 households (3962 persons) resided in this dwelling type in 2006. In terms of income, 71.2% of the rooftop households had monthly household incomes below the general median household income for the whole territory.” Most people who live on rooftops are considered homeless by many. Since the government is unable to keep up with the demand of public housing, these illegal rooftop houses are created to meet housing demands. “The Hong Kong government takes prompt action to demolish rooftop dwellings if it receives complaints or reports of potential dangers. Neighbour complaints are common as nearby residents see rooftop structures as an eyesore and complain to the building authority. Some residents living on the floor immediately below the rooftop dwellings have also made complaints to the building authority to have their rooftop neighbours evicted.”

The government of Hong Kong has to tolerate these rooftop homes as they know people must find a home and they cannot build enough public housing for all citizens, but these rooftop homes have concerns such as health, safety, privacy, and security. I believe rooftop housing is critical to accommodate the poor since living on the rooftop is better than living on the streets since no public housing is available. This article taught me about the people who do not make it into public rental housing and are forced to find somewhere else to live. Even though it is illegal, it is still a place where one can live.

These sources all connect with one another as they show the harsh living conditions of the lower-class citizens of Hong Kong. It shows the health conditions of Hong Kong housing, while discusses the different options of living. If you can get government public housing, then you would live in a small subdivided room with very basic needs like a toilet and bed. If you cannot get public housing, then you illegally live on top of a roof since there is nowhere else to reside. All the sources relate to the poverty and high housing demands in Hong Kong. Since housing is expensive, poorer civilians cannot afford to live in condos, so they must resort to other housing methods. Both public housing and rooftop housing contribute to the poverty issue within Hong Kong and does not seem it will be solved anytime soon.