Unit 6

1 Using urban space wisely © Oxford University Press (China) Ltd 2022
What urban problems is our

city facing?
6.1 What are the major urban problems

in Hong Kong?
Housing problems
Urban decay
Transport problems
Pollution
A Housing problems
a Inadequate housing supply
High housing prices
________
Inadequate
housing supply
Crowded living conditions
________
The average waiting time

for public housing was
5.6 years in 2020.
(Credit: leungchopan/Envato Elements)

A Housing problems
b High housing prices
The housing prices of Hong Kong are the highest in
the world.
Rank City Average housing price (HK$ million)

1 Hong Kong 9.7
3 Singapore 7.1
4 Shanghai 7.0
9 Paris 5.1
10 New York 5.0
World ranking of housing prices in 2019
A Housing problems
c Crowded living conditions
High Many people can The living space
housing only afford small per person is
prices housing units small
very _______
Some people even

have to live in
subdivided flats.
A subdivided flat in Hong Kong

A Housing problems
High Many people can The living space
housing only afford small per person is
prices housing units small
very _______
How do we calculate the

actual area of this flat?
Note: 1 foot = 0.3 metre

The floor plan of a subdivided flat in
Sham Shui Po
A Housing problems
Many buildings There is a Living
tall and
are ______ lack of _____
open conditions
close together space are crowded
There are no
parks and
playgrounds.
(Credit: leungchopan/Envato
Elements)
Buildings are close
together in Hong Kong
B Urban decay
old urban
The living conditions in some parts of the _____
areas are poor.
Mixed land use

causes land use
conflict
___________
Buildings are old

poor
and in ______
conditions
(Credit: Google Maps)

B Urban decay
old urban
The living conditions in some parts of the _____
areas are poor.
Crowded living
Little open space
environment
Few community
facilities
B Urban decay
Where can we
find areas with
urban decay?
Sham Shui Po/Sheung Wan/

Yau Ma Tei/To Kwa Wan

B Urban decay
Most of the residents are
low income
of _______
No money to improve the

quality of buildings
The living environment is

getting worse in the old
urban areas
(Credit: Hulinpangei/Wikimedia Commons)

Old urban areas in Sheung Wan
Urban decay
C Traffic congestion
Traffic in Hong Kong is very busy.
peak
During _________ hours, traffic congestion in
_________________
Central District and at the ‘____________’
bottlenecks of the
main roads is common.
(Credit: Manenluwaidckw/Wikimedia Commons)
Traffic congestion at
Connaught Road Central
(干諾道中)
Traffic in Hong Kong is very busy.
peak
During _________ hours, traffic congestion in
_________________
Central District and at the ‘____________’
bottlenecks of the
main roads is common.
Average car speeds on some roads

in Central District during morning
peak hours on weekdays, 2019
Des Voeux Road Central Name TWO roads with the
lowest average car speeds.
Chater Road
Queen’s
Road
Central Average car speeds on
some roads in Central
District during morning
peak hours on
weekdays, 2019
Cross Harbour Tunnel
The Lion Rock Tunnel and the _____________________
are examples of bottlenecks.
Traffic congestion not only wastes a lot of time on
air pollution.
travelling, but also worsens the roadside ____
Bottleneck
Traffic congestion at the entrance

of Cross Harbour Tunnel and Lion
Rock Tunnel
D Pollution
Smoke, sewage, loud noise, waste and strong outdoor
lighting lead to a poor living environment.
pollutants causing a number of pollution
They are __________
problems.
Noise pollution
Solid waste pollution Light pollution

D Pollution
Major sources of air pollutants:
Air pollution
Cars and vessels
Power
plants
(Credit: Baycrest/Wikimedia Commons)
(Credit: leungchopan/Envato Elements)

D Pollution
Major source of sewage:
Water pollution
(Credit: Emilian Robert Vicol/

Wikimedia Commons)
Domestic sewage
(Credit: Wpcpey/Wikimedia Commons)
D Pollution
Major sources of noise:
Noise pollution
Housing
block
Road Roads and rails near

(Credit: Google Maps) housing blocks
D Pollution
Major sources of noise:
Noise pollution
Housing
block
Construction sites
D Pollution
Major sources of waste:
Solid waste pollution
Domestic and commercial waste
(Credit: twenty20photos/
Envato Elements)
(Credit: Peachyeung316/
Wikimedia Commons)
Construction waste
D Pollution
Major source of strong outdoor lighting:
Light pollution
LED display screen
(Credit: Wpcpey/
Wikimedia Commons)
Signboards near housing blocks

6.2 What are the causes of these urban

problems?
Small area and lack of flat land
Growing population
Poor urban planning in the past
Rapid economic growth

A Small area and lack of flat land
Hong Kong is
small.
The relief of
Hong Kong
Its relief is
hilly
_______.
The relief of
Hong Kong
Some high
grounds
cannot be
used.
The relief of
Hong Kong

protected areas
About 40% of land in Hong Kong are ________________
country parks
and _______________.
Development
is not allowed.
(Credit: Thomas Brown/

Wikimedia Commons)
Ma On Shan
Country Park
The supply of
flat land is
inadequate
___________.
Hong Kong is
densely
_________
populated.


Population
distribution
is uneven.
How do we calculate
population density?
Population
distribution in
Hong Kong, 2016
How can we calculate population density?

Population density is the number of people living in
relation to the area of the place.
Population of Hong Kong: 7,340,000

Area of Hong Kong: 1,106 km²
Population density of Hong Kong

= 7,340,000 ÷ 1,106 km²
= 6,637 people/km²

Population
distribution
is uneven.
Population density in
old urban areas is
_____
much ( higher / lower )
than other places.
Population
distribution in
Hong Kong
B Growing population
In 2020, the population
of Hong Kong was
7.5 million.
about ______
It is expected to keep
on growing over the
next 10 years.
Population growth in
Hong Kong, 1960–2030
When the number of

people is so large
that a place cannot
provide enough
space for them,
overcrowding
occurs.
Population growth in
Hong Kong, 1960–2030
Small area and lack of flat land Growing population
______
High population density and
_________
uneven population distribution
Demand
for High housing Urban Traffic
housing prices and decay
________ congestion
__________
is high crowded living
conditions Create large amounts of
Inadequate sewage and solid waste
housing Pollution
supply
C Poor urban planning in the past

Urban planning involves how a piece of land is
_________________
used, and what facilities are going to be built on that
piece of land.

Urban planning was poor
in the past. For example:
Land is used in a
mixed way
________
Roads are
narrow
_________
(Credit: Michael Coghlan/Flickr)

The buildings are
( closely / widely )
spaced
( Little / Plenty of )
open space
Poor urban planning

in Kowloon City

The buildings are
( closely / widely )
spaced
( Little / Plenty of )
open space
Urban problems caused by land
use conflict and traffic Poor urban planning
in Kowloon City
congestion are common.
D Rapid economic growth

Our economy has grown a lot since the 1960s. Thus,
– We need more land for ____________
commercial activities,
e.g. offices and shops.
The living
environment in
Hong Kong is
becoming more
crowded.
(Credit: leungchopan/
Envato Elements)

– We use more resources and produce more
pollutants
__________.
If we cannot treat the
pollutants properly, various
pollution problems result.
(Credit: duskbabe/ (Credit: twenty20photos/

Envato Elements) Envato Elements)

– More people can afford to buy _________.
cars
This worsens the

problems of traffic
congestion and air
pollution.
The number of cars and length of roads in Hong Kong, 1970–2019


150,000 vehicles ÷ 1,000 km
= 150 vehicles/km
Calculate the
vehicle density
in 1970.
Number of
vehicles in
1970: 150,000
Length of roads vehicles
in 1970: 1,000 km

D Rapid
790,000 economic
vehicles ÷ 2,100 km growth
Number of
vehicles in
= 376 vehicles/km 2019: 790,000
vehicles
Calculate the
vehicle density
in 2019.
Length of roads
in 2019: 2,100 km


Compare the car
density in 1970
and 2019.
376
150
Car density in Hong Kong,

1970 2019
1970 and 2019
The vehicle density in Hong Kong has

1.5 times.
( increased / decreased ) by _____
This means that there are ( more / fewer )
vehicles on the roads in Hong Kong.

The
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1 Using urban space wisely © Oxford University Press (China) Ltd 2022

What urban problems is our

6.1 What are the major urban problems

The average waiting time

(Credit: leungchopan/Envato Elements)

Rank City Average housing price (HK$ million)

Some people even

A subdivided flat in Hong Kong

How do we calculate the

Note: 1 foot = 0.3 metre

Mixed land use

Buildings are old

(Credit: Google Maps)

Sham Shui Po/Sheung Wan/

(Credit: Google Maps)

No money to improve the

The living environment is

(Credit: Hulinpangei/Wikimedia Commons)

Average car speeds on some roads

Traffic congestion at the entrance

Solid waste pollution Light pollution

Cars and vessels

(Credit: Baycrest/Wikimedia Commons)

(Credit: leungchopan/Envato Elements)

(Credit: Emilian Robert Vicol/

Road Roads and rails near

Domestic and commercial waste

LED display screen

Signboards near housing blocks

6.2 What are the causes of these urban

Poor urban planning in the past

Rapid economic growth

A Small area and lack of flat land

A Small area and lack of flat land

A Small area and lack of flat land

A Small area and lack of flat land

(Credit: Thomas Brown/

A Small area and lack of flat land

(Credit: Google Maps)

A Small area and lack of flat land

How can we calculate population density?

Population of Hong Kong: 7,340,000

Population density of Hong Kong

A Small area and lack of flat land

When the number of

Small area and lack of flat land Growing population

C Poor urban planning in the past

C Poor urban planning in the past

C Poor urban planning in the past

Poor urban planning

C Poor urban planning in the past

D Rapid economic growth

D Rapid economic growth

(Credit: duskbabe/ (Credit: twenty20photos/

D Rapid economic growth

This worsens the

D Rapid economic growth

The number of cars and length of roads in Hong Kong, 1970–2019

D Rapid economic growth