Crowded populace looks to new Santa for living space gift
With a new chief executive a certainty, HK can write its property wish-list to the fresh Santa and living space is bound to be high on the list
Christmas and the New Year are traditionally a time of good cheer and of giving and hence I thought it would be an opportune time to consider what Hong Kong might like from Santa Claus.
What has emerged over the past few days is that Hong Kong can certainly expect a new chief executive for July 1, 2017. That gives Santa and Hong Kong a much wider canvas and the opportunity for a new chief executive to bring about the change that is clearly demanded.
It is not acceptable or tenable for the secretary for development to indicate that residential units of 240 square feet or even less are the way forward
Let us focus for the moment on land supply, housing and the built environment. It is fine to have brave aspirations such as those that appeared in the recently released HK2030+ Study and so we should, but the challenge is that unhappiness is also immediate. It is not acceptable or tenable for the secretary for development to indicate that residential units of 240 square feet or even less are the way forward.
Rather than stipulating a minimum number of units by way of a lease condition and sending completely the wrong signal, the government should be doing exactly the opposite and stipulating a maximum number of units. Only in this way can we begin to move up the size ladder and start to improve the quality of living in Hong Kong.
Indeed we need a complete rethink of our housing policy and strategy in Hong Kong. The first step is a move away from single-category developments to the building of communities which cater for all categories of income and all ages. Large projects should be bid out, as they are elsewhere, on a two envelope approach, one for design merit and one relating to money and only once the concept design hurdle has been cleared does the financial bid become relevant.
