By Jonathan Ng

M4- Sustainable City

Ch.1 What is a city and why does it grow?
1.1What are rural areas and urban areas?
Urban areas are built up areas where population density and
housing density are high. Most people work in secondary and
tertiary industries.
Rural areas are areas in the countryside mainly covered with
farmland, scrublands and woodlands. Both population and housing
densities are low. People mainly engaged in primary industries.
No sharp boundaries, zone with gradual changes called urban-rural
continuum
Different in Height of building, accessibility, number of public
amenities, land value and land uses.
1.2 What are the settlements in rural areas and urban areas?
Rural areas
Isolated houses<Hamlets<Villages
Urban areas
Town<Cities<Metropolis<Conurbation<Megalopolis
Pattern of development: Dispersed, linear or nucleated pattern
1.3 Urban growth and Urbanization
Urban growth - increase in the number of people
Level of urbanization -percentage of urban population over total
population
Urbanization percentage increase of urban population
Growth rate of urbanization
1.4 Factors affecting urban growth and urbanization in HK
1.Rate of natural increase
2.Rural urban migration
3.Migrants from Mainland China
4.Changing employment opportunities
5.Economic and transport development
6.Reclassification of areas previously defined as rural
1.Rate of natural increase
- Difference between birth rate and death rate
- Post war baby boom, lack of family planning HK has high rate of
natural increase in the1950s-1960s significant factor

By Jonathan Ng
- Implementation of birth control programs and family planning no
longer important factor
2.Rural urban migration
-Movement of people from rural to urban
-Open door policy, (China) Jobless farmer in rural areas Coastal
city (find job)
Current situation in ZDR
-HK rural-urban migration in the 60s (never a major factor)
3.Migrants from Mainland China (major factor)
- 50s and 60s, Communist takeover, refugees (from china to HK)
-1997 handover, new migration system (daily quota of 150 mainland
residents)
-2003 Quality Migrant Admission Scheme
4.Changing employment opportunities
-Farming mechanization, industrialization
-Major factor in ZDR
5.Economic and transport development
-Urban has abundant economic activities and job opportunities
-Transport development facilitate migration (move easily)
6.Reclassification of areas previously defined as rural
- Shenzhen government reclassified Baoan and Longgang as urban
Ch.2 Change of urban Areas and internal structures of HK
2.1 Change in urban areas:
1.Vertical expansion (upward)
2.Urban redevelopment
3.Horizontal expansion (outward)
2.2 Changes in internal structure and land use pattern
1.Vertical expansion
-Refers to the construction of high rises
-Intensify the use of urban areas
-Common in HK (space limited) (CMD- damage of ridgeline, visual
pollution)
2.Urban redevelopment
-One of the strategies of urban renewal
-Pull down short and obsolete buildings, rebuilt tall and modern
building
-Maximize the efficiency of land use
-Urban Renewal Authority (HK)

By Jonathan Ng
Example: Langham Plaza in MK, Kwun Tong Town Centre, The centre
at Queens Road Central
3.Horizontal expansion (outward)
-Outward expansion of urban areas to their surroundings
-Two ways (reclamation/new town development)
-1887 to 2009, 70km2 urban land obtained through reclamation
HKIA, West Kowloon, Central Wan Chai By-pass
-New town development
- Nine new towns, 3 generations (Map)
70s+80s: Tuen Mun , Tsuen Wan, Shan Tin
80s+90s: Tai Po, Fanling-sheung shui , Yuen Long
90s+00s: Tin Shui Wai, Tung Chung, Tseung Kwan O
2.2 Changes in internal structure and land use pattern
1.Reduction in rural land use
2.Growth and expansion of CBD
3.Reduction and dispersion of industrial land use
4.Increase in residential land use
5.Increase in transportation land use
6.Increase in recreational land use
1.Reduction in rural land use
Rural land use such as woodland, farmland, fish pond dropped after
new town development in 1973
Urban land use, public, private housing estates, commercial
complexes rise
2.Growth and expansion of CBD Pg. 16
CBD in Central expand northward into Victoria Harbour
CBD2 (Kowloon Bay)
3.Reduction and dispersion of industrial land use
-Relocation of HK Ind. to south china
Many factories in Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay rebuilt into large
commercial complexes
Large Ind. Estates established in Yuen Long, Tai Po and Tseung Kwan
O
4.Increase in residential land use
-Accommodate growing urban population
West Kowloon(reclamation), Tin Shui Wai(NT development) used for
residential land use
5.Increase in transportation land use
-Build roads, highways and railways
-Morth Lantau Island used to build airport express and North Lantau
Highway to connect to the airport

By Jonathan Ng

6.Increase in recreational land use

-Urban parks, swimming pools, open space
-HK Global Geo-park of China, Ngong ping 360, HK wetland park

Ch.3 Urban processes

Urbanization
Sub-urbanization
Counter-urbanization
Reurbanization
Urbanization
-Increase in the percentage of total population living in urban areas over a period of
time
MDC
LDC
Start of urbanization
Early, mid 19th century
Late, Since 1950
Urbanization rate
Slow and gradual
Fast and rapid
Level of urbanization
Higher 70%
Lower 50%
Future
Drop/ rise slightly
Rise rapidly
Causes of urbanization
Industrial Revolution
Rural push factor( job opp.
More employment
Famine, civil war)
opportunities in urban
High rate of natural
increase in urban
(1949 communist take over China)
HK, high rate of natural increase, Influx of migrants from Mainland
China, urbanization occurred between 1950 and 1970
Sub-urbanization
-Outward movement of urban population to suburbs. Suburbs finally
attain urban characteristics and become urbanized
-Short distance between suburbs and Mainland China, people live in
suburbs work in inner city and commute daily
-Suburbanization- increase in urban population in slow rate
-Occurred in the first half of 20th century in MDC like Europe and USA
-Occurred in HK since 1973 with NT development and transport
network
New Territories level of urbanization and total population increase.
(35% to 53% from
1986 to 2006)

By Jonathan Ng

Counter-urbanization (Deurbanization)
- Percentage of urban population drop but that of rural population rise
- Further urban decay and improvement in transport network, people live in remote
rural areas. Distance too far away for daily commuting, migrants change lifestyle and
mode of employment (self-employed or work at home)
-MDC occurred in the 70s and 80s
-HK does not occur counter-urbanization. (HK too small, still have to commute)

Urban processes (x5) related

counterurbanization
1.Vicious cycle of urban decay
2.Filtering and succession
3.Urban encroachment
4.Urban sprawl
5.Rural decay

to

suburbanization

and

1.Vicious cycle of urban decay

-Decline of living and economic environment in inner city
Push factors: unemployment, high crime rate, poverty, obsolete
buildings
Pull Factor: low land price, spacious environment and quality air
2.Filtering and succession
Filtering: better off people move to suburb and their degraded
houses in inner city occupied by the poor
Succession: process in which a particular socioeconomic class is
entirely replaced by another.
3.Urban encroachment
Urban expansion into rural areas

Neutral term
New
town
suburbs

development

4.Urban sprawl
Unplanned
and
spontaneous
expansion of urban expansion
that leads to environmental
degradation
Negative term
in 1.illegal conversion of rural land
use such as container storage
areas, car-repairing workshops
and garbage dumping grounds
2.Great land use conflicts
3.loss of green areas

5.Rural decay
Rural-urban migration leads to decrease in population and public
amenities in rural areas

By Jonathan Ng

Reurbanization
-Final stage in which people live in rural areas move back to city
centre.
-Urban population retains a growing trend again
MDC occur in 1990s
Gentrification: wealthier people move and live in redeveloped areas
in inner city formerly owned by the poor. (Succession)
HK has gentrification but not reurbanization
Urbanization
Reurbanization
First stage
Fourth Stage
Natural increase and rural urban Rural-urban migration only
migration

Poor people want to escape Wealthy people who can afford

harsh life
rent
LDC today
MDC today
Ch.4 What problems can we find in a growing city
4.1 Housing problem
Quantity problem
Quality problem
4.2 Transport problem
Inner city problem
Commuting problem
Cross-border problem
4.3 Environmental problem
Air pollution
Heat Island effect
Water pollution
Noise and light pollution
Solid waste
Health
Great stress on environment

4.1 Housing problem

1.Quantity problem
-D>S, housing shortage
-Shortage and expensive rent, people live in roof top squatters,
cubicle apartments, cage-like apartment, subdivided units
2.Quality problem
a) Inner problems
-Internal amenities poor
-Illumination,
sanitation,
ventilation,
electricity
installation(fire hazard)
poor
b) External problem

By Jonathan Ng
Density of population and housing is high
Lacks open space and amenities (urban park, community hall)
Various land use in small compact area lead to land use conflicts
4.2 Transport problem
Tra