Shocking Photos of Cramped Hong Kong Apartments

[indiatester]

Shocking Photos of Cramped Hong Kong Apartments - ABC News

American cities recently have proposed 300-square-foot or smaller*“micro” apartments, but 40 square feet already is the norm*for some of the poorest residents in Hong Kong.
The Society for Community Organization (SoCO) has released these overhead photos showing how people live in tiny, cramped Hong Kong apartments to highlight the ongoing housing problems in one of the richest cities in the world. Most of the residents in these urban slums are low-income families, elderly and unemployed. The smallest apartment the SoCO visited was 28 square feet, rented by an unemployed single man.

A family eats a meal together in their small apartment in Hong Kong. (Benny Lam/SoCO/Rex USA)
*

An elderly person sits in her home in the urban slums of Hong Kong. (Benny Lam/SoCO/Rex USA)
*

Children do homework while their parents go about their daily routine in their family apartment the urban slums of Hong Kong. (Benny Lam/SoCO/Rex USA)
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An elderly person prepares a meal in her apartment in the urban slums of Hong Kong. *(Benny Lam/SoCO/Rex USA)
*

A single man with a low income sleeps in his apartment in the urban slums of Hong Kong. (Benny Lam/SoCO/Rex USA)
*

An unemployed man eats his dinner. His apartment is 28 square feet. (Benny Lam/SoCO/Rex USA)
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A man does chores in his apartment. (Benny Lam/SoCO/Rex USA)
*

An elderly man living in his home in the urban slums of Hong Kong. (Benny Lam/SoCO/Rex USA)

Interesting how folks have gone the bunk bed way to utilize almost all the space.

 

[Marshmallow]

god but dis is so small

 

[SHAMK9]

Holy sh*t, that's small

 

[indiatester]

god but dis is so small

Holy sh*t, that's small

Poverty sucks.

 

[Contrarian]

I dont think we are far from this situation in Bombay if property prices keep rising the way they are now.

We need to control population - there is simply no other way.

I think China should have fewer of these problems after say a decade as they have already made sure their population is stable.

 

[Paan Singh]

They seem to have facilities but dont have money to buy descent apartment.
Same here...people have to live in slums as they cant purchase property but have adequate facilities of daily use.

 

[illusion8]

I dont think we are far from this situation in Bombay if property prices keep rising the way they are now.

We need to control population - there is simply no other way.

I think China should have fewer of these problems after say a decade as they have already made sure their population is stable.

Urban population will increase exponentially in India too as more and more people make their way to the cities - the only option is build infrastructure and expand the cities, and decentralize commercial areas and offices.

 

[danger007]

smaller than my bathroom... my god... really sad to see people like that...

 

[illusion8]

Claustrophobic's will have severe panic attacks in those rooms.

 

[KRAIT]

At least they have a roof and bunk to sleep.

 

[gambit]

I dont think we are far from this situation in Bombay if property prices keep rising the way they are now.

We need to control population - there is simply no other way.

I think China should have fewer of these problems after say a decade as they have already made sure their population is stable.

Population control is purely a political issue.

I came from before the Internet, that would be 'pre-historic' to you. I once read that the world's entire population can be fitted inside the Grand Canyon (US) and each person would have a 3x3x3 meters cube for living space. Now see if you can figure out why population control is purely political in scope.

 

[PITA]

It looks bad but we're talking about the poorest in one of the most dense populated areas of the world. The poor in Canada and countries like the US still have a lot going for them compared to the poor in some of the more desperate parts of the world. In that context, @KRAIT is right. It's not great but they do have a roof over their heads and sustenance.

 

[Contrarian]

Population control is purely a political issue.

I came from before the Internet, that would be 'pre-historic' to you. I once read that the world's entire population can be fitted inside the Grand Canyon (US) and each person would have a 3x3x3 meters cube for living space. Now see if you can figure out why population control is purely political in scope.

I am not as young as you would think me to be!

That said, it is a question of being able to provide for a certain number of people - food, housing, employement.

Easier in small numbers than large.

 

[KS]

Population control is purely a political issue.

I came from before the Internet, that would be 'pre-historic' to you. I once read that the world's entire population can be fitted inside the Grand Canyon (US) and each person would have a 3x3x3 meters cube for living space. Now see if you can figure out why population control is purely political in scope.

That would work in the absence of national boundaries. In a single global superstate where land can be judiciously divided amongst the population.

 

[gambit]

That said, it is a question of being able to provide for a certain number of people - food, housing, employement.

This is a problem that plagued mankind the day we became farmers, create permanent settlements, and create situations where it is possible to have food without growing one's own. Situations = Jobs.

The reason population control is political rather than technical is that human life have evolved around the concept of political borders, which includes personal space as well as national space. My house is 3000 sq/ft on .25 acre. That is excessive for two people, me and the G/F, let alone a single person. And yet there are plenty singles who lives in homes larger than mine. No one can cross those legally recognized property lines without consent.

Same for national borders. Country A can be sparsely populated like Canada. Country B is 1/10th the size but heavily populated. Citizens from B cannot trespass into A without incurring negative consequences. The aggregate natural resources of A and B are enough to feed everyone but because of those political boundaries, natural resources inside A cannot be taken by citizens of B without consent of A. So the result is that we have people falsely believes that population is out of control and that the Earth's resources are getting scarce.