The High Density Vertical City: a Trade-Off

The high density vertical city: a trade-off

between transit efficiency and living space

provision A.H.S. Cook

Centre of Urban Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road,

Hong Kong SAR, China

Abstract

The reasons for the car's success are well known. Personalised transport provides comfort, convenience andflexibility .Ca n the success of the car in providing accessibility and mobility be challenged by mass transit? Hong Kong is often held up as a model of a modern international city that has developed a successful and efficient transit-based transport system, a city where the car is not the prime people mover. What is the Hong Kong model? How does Hong

Kong's ultra high density urban structure compare with other Asian and with European cities? This paper addresses the above questions in examining the interaction of transport and land-use in Hong Kong. The main theme is that there is a very strong interdependence between high urban density and efficient mass transit and that Hong Kong's transport system serves business efficiency but at the expense of personal space and quality of life.

1 A Challenge to the Car's Success

Freedom, convenience, flexibility, mobility, privacy, personal safety, and pleasure are attributes of the car's success according to a recent study of transport usage in Europe (Gerondeau [1]). In Hong Kong several factors operate to keep car ownership at low levels and the use of public transport

600 Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century

at high levels. Space is at a premium and property values are high. Despite the comparatively low vehicle ownership, there are 100 vehicles for every lane kilometre of road space. Parking space is also limited, which translates into high parking costs. In the built up area the cost of garaging a car. invariably at different locations day and night, is beyond the reach of the average person. Government policy is aimed at dampening demand for private vehicles through high sales tax and high first registration fees.

Electronic road pricing is again currently being investigated. On the other hand, the high density living and business environment permits high frequency, economically viable public transport services providing a high level of accessibility, particularly to the central areas. High patronage, both day and night, also provides a 'safety in numbers' quality that encourages usage of public transport by a wide cross-section of the community. Even among car owners, only half use their car for the home/work trip. A secondary factor is that the small geographic area of Hong Kong, confined by a political boundary, offered little opportunity as the society became more affluent, for using the car for recreational purposes or for setting off on vacation. This may change in the future if the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen becomes more porous and driving to neighbouring provinces of China becomes easy for Hong Kong residents. However, the high property value, high density characteristics will still remain, as major constraints to large scale increase in car ownership.

2 Unique Land-use Transport Configuration

The unique land-use transport configuration of Hong Kong has evolved because of the limited supply of land suitable for urban development. Key characteristics of the Hong Kong model are scarcity of space, high land values, high rise, extremely high density housing and employment, low private car ownership, and high public transport rider-ship with an increasing share going to rail. Urban development has evolved from a concentrated core of fairly mixed living and working areas confined to Hong Kong Island and the

Kowloon peninsula up until the end of the 1960s, to dispersal of residential development to new towns in the 1970s and 1980s, only some of which had rail connection to the main urban areas. The main increase of employment space was in the central area, with very few jobs accompanying the population shift to the new towns. 'Self-containment'

Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century 601

which had been a goal of the British new towns, and adopted for Hong Kong's new towns, was not attained.

In 1996 three quarters of Hong Kong Island residents who were in the workforce also worked here. At the beginning of the 1980s, in Kowloon, the picture had been very much the same, with three quarters of the workforce both living and working in Kowloon, but by 1996 this had fallen to 60 per cent. Today, the gap between workplace and living place is widening as more business space is created in the central area and more people are housed in the New Territories. The concentration of employment in the central area is continuing to intensify through production of more employment space on land reclaimed from Victoria Harbour.

Hong Kong is still faced with the perennial problem of providing sufficient affordable housing for its population and housing has recently once again become a critical issue. The Territorial Development Strategy

[2] indicates that future large scale residential development will be in the north west New Territories, with rail providing commuter services to the metropolitan area. Planning for West Rail to link the existing new towns of Tuen Mun. Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai in the western New Territories to the "Metro" area is well advanced.

3 Transit: the Prime People-mover

3.1 Public transport response to commuting demand

Growth m the usage of public transport has increased dramatically over the past twenty years. Whereas in 1975 there were 450 person trips per year on public transport, by 1995 this had increased to 630 trips. It is not the urbanisation factor per se which has influenced this substantial shift, but the new towns programme of decentralisation of population - a shift not paralleled by employment. A marked widening in the spatial gap between home and work occurred. The New Territories experienced a major transformation, growing from less than 20 per cent to almost half Hong Kong's population in the past 25 years. Public transport has responded to the commuting demand. Major increases have been on the rail system. Ten years ago buses accounted for two thirds of all public transport trips, in 1996 their share had fallen to around half.

602 Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century

Public Transport Public Transport Journeys, 1975 Journeys, 1995

17%

52% 65% 31%

g Bus • Railw ay # Tram • Ferry D Taxi Source: Hong Kong Transport Department

Figure 1: Public Transport Usage by Mode. Hong Kong

3.2 Expansion of the rail system

A number of new rail projects are either under construction or being planned: the Airport/Lantau line will open this year; work to extend the Mass Transit Rail (MTR) to the new town of Tseung Kwan O (now with a population of 150,000 and planned to expand to more than 450,000) has commenced; and approval has been given to construct West Rail, to serve the new towns of Tuen Mun, Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long in the western and north western New Territories. On the more distant horizon, further metropolitan links to Hong Kong

Island south; partial duplication of the Hong Kong Island line and extension westwards across the sea to Lantau Island; a new north-south line, including a fourth harbour crossing; and extension of West Rail to connect with the mainland Chinese rail system, will drastically change accessibility. These will open up new areas for high density urban development. A metropolitan and regional network will result, yet still with a strong emphasis on accessibility of the central Hong Kong business area. Such a system will result in a very major increase in the length of rail line, and number of stations, to population ratio. Until the construction of the Airport/Lantau line, the MTR was 43 kilometres long with 38 stations and the Kowloon Canton Railway (KCR) 34 kilometres with 13 stations. The Airport/Lantau line adds a further 34 kilometres and six stations. The Tseung Kwan O extension will add a further 6 kilometres and five

Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century 603

stations, and West Rail (being developed by the KCRC) 30.5 kilometres

(Phase 1, with the possibility of extending to 51 kilometres in Phase 2) and 10 stations.

All this additional infrastructure will increase accessibility and efficiency in movement of population, but the increase in trips is unlikely to be commensurate with the increase in infrastructure with the result that

the overall economic efficiency of the rail provision is likely to be lower than the current situation. The population projection for Hong Kong at the

completion of these projects is around eight million, an increase of 1.5 million on the current level.

3.3 The journey to work

A high proportion of the territory's jobs are concentrated in the metropolitan area and while population has been dispersing to the New- Territories, jobs have continued to concentrate in the metropolitan area. In the past 10 years the population of the metropolitan area has decreased from comprising 80 per cent of the Hong Kong total to 65 per cent. Jobs in the metropolitan area have actually increased slightly, and stand at around 80 per cent. Journey to work figures indicate that 63 per cent of trips are within the

'Metro' area, 22 per cent between the New Territories and the 'Metro' area, and 15 per cent within the New Territories. The closest comparison for which figures are available is the Paris region. Here 14 per cent of motonsed daily trips are within the City of Pans, 18 per cent between Paris and the suburbs, and 68 per cent within the suburbs (Gerondeau

[3]). Of course these are not directly comparable and can only be used as a rough guide, but even so the message is clear that the mam transport desire line is still Metro area focused.

Three quarters of all journeys to work are to (17%) and within (58%) the metropolitan area (1996). Self-containment, defined as workers who live and work in the same district is low. Self-containment has long been an issue in Hong Kong, particularly with regard to the planning of new towns. As the city has expanded, not only have distances increased but the segregation of living and economic activities has also increased. Fewer people can walk to work. Although data on walking to work is limited, information from the Travel Characteristics Surveys of 1973, 1981 and

1992 (the most recent) indicate a steep decline over the period of the surveys: in 1973 45 per cent walked to work; in 1992 the corresponding figure was 15 per cent (MVA [4]).

604 Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century

About ten per cent of commuters use private transport for the journey to work, low by comparison with Western cities. Car ownership is also low by international standards. In 1992. 13 per cent of households owned a car. In 1996 there were 51 private cars per LOGO population, up substantially from 41 in 1990, but much lower than other cities of similar economic status in the region such as Singapore with 102 per 1000 population and Tokyo with 234 (1990). The contrast with Western cities is even more marked. Cities of the former West Germany averaged 481 cars per 1000 population and the USA 570 in 1990 (American Automobile Manufacturers Association [5]). The relationship between car ownership and transit patronage is clear. In Hong Kong, with 0.16 cars per household. 75 per cent of people go to work by public transport. In

New York City with a density of 92 persons per hectare, car ownership is 0.6 per household, and 53 per cent go to work by public transport; on the other hand, in Los Angeles, with a density of 29 persons per hectare; 10 per cent go to work by public transport, including taxis (US Bureau of the Census [6]).

Hong Kong

Netherlands

Italy

Germany (West)

United Kingdom Source: compiled from U.R.F./Sofras Surveys in France Gerondeau, 1997; and MVA Asia Ltd. 1993.

20 40 60 80

l Public transport D Car P Other O Foot B Work at home [

Figure 2: Modes of Transport for the Journey to Work (%) (Europe 1994, Hong Kong 1992)

Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century 605

3.4 Road usage

Private cars currently comprise around 60 per cent of all vehicles in Hong

Kong. The annual rate of growth has slowed from over 10 per cent in the early 1990s to around two per cent in the past two years. The amount road travel has been increasing, particularly in the New Territories which now

accounts for half of all road travel. It will be interesting to see whether, or by how much, this pattern will change on completion of West Rail and the Tseung Kwan 0 extension.

Table 1: Vehicle Kilometres per Day (millions)

Hong Kowloon New

Kong Terri- Total Island tories 1981 3.2 6.1 4.5 13.8 1986 3.8 6.4 6.1 16.3 1991 4.7 8.6 11.5 24.8 1996 5.3 8.5 15.7 29.5 Source: Hong Kong Transport Department. Annual Traffic Censuses.

4 The Compact Vertical City

The "Metro* area of Hong Kong, a more or less contiguous area comprising Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Tsuen Wan covers 208knr, about 20 per cent of the land area of Hong Kong. About one third of this is built up. The new towns have been developed as separate urban entities in the New Territories.

4.1 Development density

The measurement of density is subject to many interpretations: density of development/population on a street block basis, on a neighbourhood /local basis (including local roads, facilities, open space); on a zoning area basis (e.g. areas zoned for residential, business); on a district basis; on a 'built up' basis, on a total city basis; or on a "greater city' basis. Inter-city comparisons are difficult as it is often not clear what area is being used as the basic spatial dimension.

Extensive areas of extremely high density characterise Hong Kong. On Hong Kong Island a concentrated linear -urban development corridor

606 Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century

stretches out along the northern shore. On a street block basis, the residential population density in this area averages 2,060 persons per hectare. Employment density in this corridor is also very high. On a street block basis, the density of workers in the CBD and adjoining areas averaging 9.070 workers per hectare, with some areas over 11.000. On a built up urban area basis (excluding country parks and other non- developed land) the population density is 480 per hectare over some 2.700 hectares. Similarly on the northern side of the harbour, in Kowloon, there are areas supporting both very high residential and employment densities. In 1996 the residential density of the 'Metro" area was 540 persons per hectare. To put these figures into perspective, an analysis undertaken by Newman and Kenworthy [7] indicated average urban densities ranged between 40 to 60 persons per hectare in European cities and were around

15 in the US. Hong Kong is a quantum leap beyond the density even of high density cities such as Paris (transport zones 1 and 2) with 133 persons per hectare [8].

4.2 Plot ratio and building height controls

The Building Ordinance Regulations 1935 limited the building height to five storeys, which together with a site coverage limitation resulted in a plot ratio (PR) of about three. Prior to 1956, four to five storeys was the norm. In 1956 a PR control was introduced to the Building Ordinance. A sliding scale allowed an increase in PR with increase in building height. This was scaled back in 1962 but a subsequent four year grace period to the end of 1965 resulted in a boom of construction of 20 storey residential blocks. The lease provisions of the 1956 period enabled residential development of a PR of up to 10 in existing urban areas, and of 15 for non-residential use. By contrast, the highest PR for commercial development in London is five. In 1965 three residential density zones were introduced with PRs of 8. 6.6 and 3.

As well as the PR, the form a building takes is governed by the site coverage and other restrictions such as specifically required setbacks, e.g. from major roads. The implication of a PR of 10 and site coverage criteria which were allowed in the 1956, is that today many residential buildings of 30-40 storeys, or even more, are being constructed, on leases which date from that period.

In new development areas, such as the new towns, the PRs are lower, but still high by international standards. Here the PRs for housing range between five and eight which gives rise to population densities of 2,000-

Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century 607

3,000 persons per gross site hectare (600-800 flats per gross site hectare). By way of example, in Sha Tin new town, the private residential

development of City One developed to a PR of five, comprises 52 residential towers of 27 to 34 storeys and houses around 40,000 people. The Tai Koo Shing estate on Hong Kong Island contains 61 residential

blocks ranging in height from 22-30 storeys, and houses around 48,000 people at an overall site density of 2,400 persons per hectare (completed in

1984). In the 1990s, Laguna City provided 38 residential blocks of 25-28 storeys producing a population density of 2.270 person per hectare (Pryor and Pan [9]).

5 Personal Living Space

Not only is the density of residential development extremely high in Hong Kong, but personal space is also very limited. Floor area per person in Hong Kong is 7.10m- per person in contrast to 20.1m" per person in

Singapore and 15.8nr m Tokyo (UNCHS [10]). The average flat size in new developments in 'RT zones (the most common residential zoning) is around 50nr in the metropolitan area and 45m- in the new towns, with an assumed average occupancy of 2.8 and 2.7 respectively.

Half the population live in public housing (40 per cent in rental flats and 10 per cent in public homeownership scheme flats). Although the size of public flats has been increasing, they are still relatively small with the family units being between 40 and 60m-. Of the public rental flats completed in 1996-97, 26 per cent were of 20nf and less: 38 per cent between 39 and 4inr; and 36 per cent between 50 and 59nf. Publicly built flats for homeownership are slightly larger: while one third are less than 40m- two thirds are between 40 and 70nr [11].

Private housing units are also small: 37-per cent of the stock is less than 40nr and 45 per cent between 40 and 70m-. Only 17 per cent of the private housing stock has a floor area greater than 70nr. Recent private housing completions show that the sizes of residential units are increasing, but still relatively small with 13 per cent being less than 40m-; 53 per cent between 40 and 70nr; and one third are greater than 70nr [12]. The above sections demonstrate that not only are the living quarters of Hong Kong citizens small, but the urban densities are extremely high over substantial geographic areas. In the inner areas many parts have high population densities together with high employment densities.

608 Urban Transport and the Environment for the 21st Century

6 Concluding Remarks

The political and geographic confines of the territory have meant that Hong Kong citizens have had no choice but to live at extremely high densities. The high density population already existed before the mass transit rail was introduced, but it has been geographically extended and sustained by it. However, the real test of an effective public transport system with rail as its backbone will come when West Rail is opened and provides station based nodes for future urban expansion. The fundamental question which needs to be asked is 'Are people willing to live at such high densities as occur in Hong Kong if they have a choice?' and closely related to this, but as yet an unanswered question, 'What is the threshold density for an economically viable transit based city?"

References

[1] Gerondeau, C , Transport in Europe^ Archtech House, Boston, 1997.

[2] Hong Kong Planning Department, Territorial Development Strategy Review Final Executive Report, Hong Kong Government, 1998. [3] Gerondeau, C , Transport in Europe^ Archtech House, Boston, 1997.

[4] MVA Asia, Travel Characteristics Survey., Hong Kong Transport Department, 1993. [5] American Automobile Manufacturers Association, OECD Countries fFor/6/Mofor P^Azc/^Da^, 1995. [6] US Bureau of the Census, Country and City Data Book^ 1994.

[7] Newman, P.W.G. and Kenworthy, J.K., 'Transport and Urban Form in Thirty-two of the World's Principal Cities" Transport Reviews Vol. 11 No.3 1991.

[8] Focas, C , and Navarre, D. eds., Paris London HMSO, London, 1992. [9] Pryor, E and Pau, S.H., in V.M. Lambugnani, The Aesthetics of Density^ Prestel-Verlag, Munich and New York, 1993.

[10] UNCHS and World Bank The Housing Indicators Program, 1993. [11] Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong Annual

Digest of Statistics^ Hong Kong Government Printer. 1997. [12] Hong Kong Rating and Valuation Department, Hong Kong Property Review, Hong Kong Government Printer, 1997.