https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Hong-Kong-Public-Housing-An-Architectural-and-Policy-History\/Glendinning\/p\/book\/9781138680227<\/a><\/p>\n\nAbstract<\/p>\n\n
Hong Kong Public Housing<\/em> provides the first comprehensive history of one of the most dramatic episodes in the global history of the modern built environment: the vast public housing programme sponsored by successive Hong Kong governments from the 1950s, in a quest to build up the territory into a lasting \u2018people\u2019s home\u2019. And unlike many of its counterparts elsewhere, this is a programme still ongoing today \u2013 a case of \u2018history in progress\u2019 \u2013 as Hong Kong now boasts one of the world\u2019s longest-lasting public housing programmes. During that time, it has been not just a mirror of the cultural and economic values of Hong Kong society but also a reflection of more nebulous, fast-changing perceptions of identity \u2013 and a testament to the community-building achievements of Hongkongers over these years.<\/p>\n\nThis authoritative study combines architectural history with the broader social, political, and cultural aspects of housing production \u2013 particularly the geo-political issues of sovereignty and decolonisation that uniquely, and fundamentally, structured the trajectory of Hong Kong public housing and territory development. Exploring the relationship between built form, ideology, and administrative governance, it shows how massive state intervention interacted at times uneasily with Hong Kong\u2019s dominant laissez-faire ethos, to help maintain the legitimacy of successive administrations during an era of \u2018auto-decolonisation\u2019, and support an interstitial society suspended between two sovereignties.<\/p>\n\n
Following more recent political changes, Hong Kong\u2019s public housing heritage has also become a focus of nostalgic community pride \u2013 a monumental achievement of \u2018home building\u2019 which this book documents and celebrates for posterity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Author: Miles Glendinning Publisher: Routledge Link: https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Hong-Kong-Public-Housing-An-Architectural-and-Policy-History\/Glendinning\/p\/book\/9781138680227<\/a> Abstract Hong Kong Public Housing provides the first comprehensive history of one of the most dramatic episodes in the global history of the modern built environment: the vast public housing programme sponsored by successive Hong Kong governments from the 1950s, in a quest to build up the territory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145170531,"featured_media":6530,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[776957933],"tags":[776958145,776958133,776958076,776958146],"class_list":["post-7275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category--en","tag-hong-kong-history-2","tag-housing-studies","tag-newsroom","tag-public-housing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/publication.png?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pai6UY-1Tl","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7438,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/12\/19\/modular-market-everyday-experience-and-the-movement-of-diversified-historiographies-an-interview-with-vivien-chan\/","url_meta":{"origin":7275,"position":0},"title":"Modular Market, Everyday Experience, and the Movement of Diversified Historiographies\u2014An Interview with Vivien Chan","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"19\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Editor\u2019s Note: The recent \u201cwalking craze\u201d has brought Hong Kong\u2019s public housing estates into the local\u2014and even international\u2014spotlight in a new way, sparking a wave of aesthetic, nostalgic, and historical rediscovery through tours and cultural production. Yet the space most intimately tied to the everyday lives of public estate residents\u2014the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notebook"","block_context":{"text":"Notebook","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/notebook-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7488,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/12\/29\/publication-cultural-architecture-and-late-colonial-space-constructing-cultural-centres-in-hong-kong\/","url_meta":{"origin":7275,"position":1},"title":"[Publication] Cultural Architecture and Late-Colonial Space: Constructing Cultural Centres in Hong Kong","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"29\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Melody Hoi-lam Yiu Publisher: Routledge Link: https:\/\/www.routledge.com\/Cultural-Architecture-and-Late-Colonial-Space-Constructing-Cultural-Centres-in-Hong-Kong\/Yiu\/p\/book\/9781032710013?source=shoppingads&locale=en-GBP&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22847665198&gbraid=0AAAAACwvVory8xpwrLZZgm1RB1oR-mBxN Abstract This book offers the first in-depth study of three major Hong Kong public cultural architecture works, Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Shatin Town Hall and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre (HKCC), built in the late-colonial years. Recent developments at the West Kowloon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hong Kong Studies Newsroom"","block_context":{"text":"Hong Kong Studies Newsroom","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/publication.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/publication.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/publication.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/publication.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/publication.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7641,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2026\/03\/09\/planning-culture-in-a-city-of-scarcity-an-interview-with-melody-yiu\/","url_meta":{"origin":7275,"position":2},"title":"Planning Culture in a City of Scarcity\u2014An Interview with Melody Yiu","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"09\/03\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Editor\u2019s Note: In Hong Kong, where land is measured in square feet and futures are habitually justified in economic terms, culture has often been treated as an accessory\u2014desirable, perhaps, but dispensable when space or profitability is at stake. Yet the city\u2019s theatres, museums, and civic cultural spaces have never been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Notebook"","block_context":{"text":"Notebook","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/notebook-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webpost-profile.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7482,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/12\/24\/article-hong-kong-starchitecture-and-action-sci-fi-cinema\/","url_meta":{"origin":7275,"position":3},"title":"[Article] Hong Kong Starchitecture and Action-Sci-Fi Cinema","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"24\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Lorrie Palmer Source: Cinematic Starchitecture Link: https:\/\/www.taylorfrancis.com\/chapters\/edit\/10.4324\/9781003458111-14\/hong-kong-starchitecture-action-sci-fi-cinema-lorrie-palmer Abstract This chapter proposes that the spectacle of the Hong Kong battle sequences in Pacific Rim (Guillermo del Toro, 2013), Transformers: Age of Extinction (Michael Bay, 2014), and Godzilla vs. Kong (Adam Wingard, 2021) reveals, through the growth of a discursive space\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hong Kong Studies Newsroom"","block_context":{"text":"Hong Kong Studies Newsroom","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7579,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2026\/01\/19\/article-pseudo-landed-water-people-experiences-of-informality-in-tai-o-village-hong-kong\/","url_meta":{"origin":7275,"position":4},"title":"[Article] Pseudo-landed water people: Experiences of informality in Tai O village, Hong Kong","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"19\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Daniel Keith Elkin, Xiaolu Wang, Chi-Yuen Leung, Wai Yeung Yan, Markus Wernli, Gerhard Bruyns, Emily Cheung Tsz Ching Source: Political Geography Link: https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0962629825000873 Abstract This article interrogates the structural processes and neocolonial agendas that perpetuate informality in Tai O village, Hong Kong which is famous for its traditional fishing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hong Kong Studies Newsroom"","block_context":{"text":"Hong Kong Studies Newsroom","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7281,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/10\/21\/article-housing-colonialism-regulating-low-density-communities-in-1950s-hong-kong\/","url_meta":{"origin":7275,"position":5},"title":"[Article] Housing colonialism: Regulating low density communities in 1950s Hong Kong","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"21\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Junwei Li Source: Journal of Historical Geography Link: https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0305748825000143 Abstract Hong Kong is famous for its high-density housing development. The European-centric planning during the pre-war period significantly shaped the spatial hierarchy. Notably, these low-density communities remain as exceptions to high-density built environment within the urban cores of Kowloon. New\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hong Kong Studies Newsroom"","block_context":{"text":"Hong Kong Studies Newsroom","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145170531"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7275"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7276,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7275\/revisions\/7276"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}