Treating the Symptoms - A Critical Review of ... - Civic Exchange

Left: Dilapidated buildings and piles of rubbish, most likely from nearby scrap dealing businesses, next to 8 Waterloo Road (right)Environmental Hygieneand SafetyOne of the LDC/URA’s goals was to tackle the problemof substandard environmental hygiene in old urban areas.Outdated plumbing, crumbling concrete, overcrowding,substandard fire exits and illegal rooftop structures posedhazards to residents’ health and safety.Redevelopment was supposed to physically eliminate theseproblems by replacing dilapidated buildings with clean,safe, modern structures. The question is whether such adisruptive solution is the most sustainable or cost-effectivecourse of action. The most obvious limitation is thatredeveloping one block does not directly affect the blocknext door. The URA hopes that the insertion of a moderndevelopment into an old neighbourhood will place upwardpressure on surrounding property prices, promotinggentrification and inducing property owners or investors toupgrade nearby buildings, and driving out undesirable landuses. For example, a handful of trendy cafés and bars havecropped up across the street from The Merton in KennedyTown, which was completed in 2007/08. However,this is not guaranteed to happen. For example, on-streetenvironmental hygiene problems, heavily dilapidatedbuildings, and undesirable land uses such as scrap dealersand coffin sellers can still be seen adjacent to the new 8Waterloo residential development in Yau Ma Tei, whichwas completed at around the same time.Environmental hygiene and safety problems are the physicalmanifestation of human mismanagement. Poverty, neglect,ignorance, lack of organization, inadequate enforcementof regulations, and perverse economic incentives lead tounsafe and unsanitary buildings. Redevelopment merelytackles the physical problem without addressing the humanor institutional problems underneath.87