This study examines that the origins and transformations of the public housing program in colonial Hong Kong during the 1950s and the 1960s. Using the archival materials and development a framework which highlights "structure, idea and the link," this study shows how the triangular relationship between China, Britain and the colonial government in Hong Kong has changed during the 1950s-1960s, and how the changes had affected the governing philosophy and the housing policy of the colonial Hong Kong. In particular, this study explains why the colonial government focused on the policy of squatter clearance and resettlement program while ignoring urban slum and tenement problems. Thus, this thesis puts forwards the following two arguments: (1) Hong Kong's public housing policies were a prod...[ Read more ]

This study examines that the origins and transformations of the public housing program in colonial Hong Kong during the 1950s and the 1960s. Using the archival materials and development a framework which highlights "structure, idea and the link," this study shows how the triangular relationship between China, Britain and the colonial government in Hong Kong has changed during the 1950s-1960s, and how the changes had affected the governing philosophy and the housing policy of the colonial Hong Kong. In particular, this study explains why the colonial government focused on the policy of squatter clearance and resettlement program while ignoring urban slum and tenement problems. Thus, this thesis puts forwards the following two arguments: (1) Hong Kong's public housing policies were a product of political decisions to ensure the legitimacy of colonial rule. It is the political urgency for the survival in the post-World War II period which prompted the colonial government to initiate the public housing policy, despite its commitment to laissez faire economic philosophy throughout the entire colonial period; (2) the colonial government's intention on housing policy had shifted from the 1950s to 1960s due to changing political situations.