# Hong Kong's Slums in Sham Shui Po



## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Sham Shui Po district is among the poorest areas of Hong Kong. Many of the buildings are very old and many poor immigrants have settled here. However, redevelopment is happening around the area and perhaps this part of Hong Kong's slums will be transformed soon.

By *"kenlee"* from a Hong Kong transport forum :


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## Skybean (Jun 16, 2004)

Wow. That is *TRUE* density. Slums? hahah. They look nice to me.


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## BoresvilleMcYawn (Sep 11, 2002)

^yeah looks nice to you because you've never had to live in them. All you see are buildings bunched up together and think "omggg denisty,I love it"
those people don't live their by choice.


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## IchO (Oct 4, 2004)

Briliant photos!


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## Skybean (Jun 16, 2004)

BoresvilleMcYawn said:


> ^yeah looks nice to you because you've never had to live in them. All you see are buildings bunched up together and think "omggg denisty,I love it"
> those people don't live their by choice.


Very true .. that was my initial reaction. Top quality photos though.


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## Car L (May 5, 2005)

Let's take a closer look










































and the other side of the highway


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## marka971 (Jun 4, 2005)

looks like mainland china... the first set of pictures was really beautiful though...


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## Johan (Nov 14, 2004)

Haha yeah it does actually!


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## Zaqattaq (Nov 17, 2004)

Where do most of the immigrants come from, the mainland?


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Yes, immigration is primarily from mainland China, oftentimes reuniting with families in Hong Kong.


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## Dennis (Sep 11, 2002)

I love the density of Hong Kong, it amazes me every time


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## superchan7 (Jan 21, 2004)

From the pictures it's obvious that almost all of them can afford air conditioning; at least in terms of climate they can afford a rather comfortable life.


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## metallinestorm (Oct 27, 2004)

wow, very density


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## KGB (Sep 12, 2002)

I think the new highrise slums are even more depressing than the old ones.





KGB


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

While these areas are quite dense, crime is actually very low in Hong Kong - much lower than their less dense counterparts in the United States and Canada in fact.


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## rise_against (Apr 26, 2005)

i have the feeling this thread was started to show how "great" the Hong Kong slums are compared to other cities around the world, because those first photos are great!


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Actually, Sham Shui Po is not exactly a district to be proud of. However, the photographer was able to capture some beautiful pictures of this otherwise downtrodden district. I've never seen these types of photos and angles before.


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## tkr (Apr 3, 2005)

the first pictures are not about slums.. a lying statement that is.. i doubt it!


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## samba_man (Dec 26, 2004)

Fist pics are really Awesome....and the next one shows the other side of this amazing city with lots of contrasts..but HK are just fabulous for me!


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## philadweller (Oct 30, 2003)

Looks fascinating. Those are hardly slums. Doesn't look menacing at all. That mall/high rise complex is a bit monotonous though.


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## divi0013 (May 24, 2005)

that first set of pictures...beautiful

the second set of pictures...depressing


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## InitialD18 (Sep 17, 2002)

i read a book earlier ... theres one thing in common for all buildings in hk ... no matter rich or poor ... they all have a/c ... 

actually those public residential development really isn't so bad to live ... not everyone can live in private residential
i wouldn't be suprised if the community is more cohesive in these public developments as compare to NA suburbs ...

sham shui po really is a depleted area ... physically the buildings need improvement ... but i do hope they would renovate instead of torning it down ... as for the district ... i find the flea market quite unique myself


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## Chino_waro (May 22, 2005)

not to bad for slums well they just need a lil paint and a few fixes to make it look nice


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## KGB (Sep 12, 2002)

Well, I find the older stuff to have a nice human scale to it...quite European...or maybe more like some South American cities. They seem to be on a nice urban grid system...they seem mixed-use. Ok...buildings should have adequate plumbing, wiring and need to be structurally sound...but they don't have to be slick and new...the patina of time, and the little human touches (laundry hanging from window to window, etc) I find quite charming.

But anything is better than the idea of building 17 identical (and horrendously ugly) 40-storey highrises 10 feet apart from each other, and calling that progress.







KGB


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## carry_a_torch (Apr 30, 2005)

you always not just only see the surface of the building to judge whether it is a slum or not


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Then North America should stop encouraging sprawl and having virtually identical single family homes built 2 feet from each other, each with a few cars parked in the driveway waiting to spill pollution into the skies and choking the streets deserted of people yet full of cars.

So where is progress being made? An unsustainable model centered on cars or a transit-oriented model where residents can walk to the amenities?


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## sean storm (Nov 18, 2004)

KGB said:


> I think the new highrise slums are even more depressing than the old ones.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


those new "highrises" aren't slums, at all. they're actually for the middle class.

highrise "slums"? look at all those god-awful hideous slabs in TO.... yeah, what a "slum"......

:crazy: :sleepy:


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## sean storm (Nov 18, 2004)

KGB said:


> But anything is better than the idea of building 17 identical (and horrendously ugly) 40-storey highrises 10 feet apart from each other, and calling that progress.
> 
> KGB


"horrendously ugly"?

those highrises aren't any uglier than the countless concrete/brick commie slabs you see in TO, or even chicago or NYC. 

get over yourself. :|

btw, you don't know the meaning of "progress". try developing housing quickly in the most congested piece of land on the face of this earth and making a profit at the same time.... i'd like to see you do better than HK developers. 

monotonous they may be, but they are tall and slender. i'd rather see those types of bldgs than squat, fat bldgs or a sea of mcmansions.

btw, excellent photos...........HK rocks.


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## PornStar (Jul 22, 2003)

still, they look pretty cool


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## nova (Jul 21, 2004)

They're not bad for slums. Still, the run-down look of this area is quite depressing.

But then every city has these sorts of districts. The idea should be to identify them early on and then try to improve the lot of the people who end up there. Ongoing urban renewal.


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## Urban Girl (Sep 15, 2004)

slums??? how can you say "slum" to the houses which have lots of air conditions in every floor while people live with no water, no electricity even maybe without a roof in real slums!!

these are some very ugly apartments but for sure they are not slums.


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## Victoria (Feb 23, 2005)

The first few pics don't look like "slums", but the other ones below do show poorer housing. Hopefully redevelopment will help fix-up these old buildings.


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## Victoria (Feb 23, 2005)

Sorry, double post.


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## Æsahættr (Jul 9, 2004)

When 95% of all buildings there have airconditioning units, I would call that a slum :sleepy: Just lower class housing. I thought slums can't have running water, electricity, AIR CONDITIONING UNITS.


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## Jue (Mar 28, 2003)

The term "slum" is relative to the state's prosperity. American "slums" also possess air conditioning, and are only well-off compared to, say, Eastern African ones.


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## juan_en_el_valle (May 10, 2005)

Cool slums!


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## titeness (Jul 3, 2004)

Jue said:


> The term "slum" is relative to the state's prosperity. American "slums" also possess air conditioning, and are only well-off compared to, say, Eastern African ones.



:sleepy: :sleepy: 

Show me an American slum and Ill show you a good american small car, America has no true slums, slum is not a relative term that can me babied by "Heartland of America" Pro - G.O.P , Global Warming , dont tax my SUV and Cigarettes Americans. Slum means living in a house you dont or will never own, with no or intermitent water, electricity, and or no indoor pluming, mater of fact, go to Africa, drive around for a while and then tell me about American slums!!


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## zergcerebrates (Jan 23, 2004)

Those are just old buildings, hardly slums but that is the worst part of Hong Kong.


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## shibuya_suki (Apr 24, 2005)

if this is slum,it must be one of the richest slum in the world
just have a look at the computer mall and street merket,have a look of what they sell,all new and expensive mobile,laptop,computer aceesories,even newer model than USA


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## 12231989 (Jun 29, 2005)

how fast is hong kongs population growing


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