Tsueng Kwan O

Assessment of the change in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has been a place of change for many years. One of the main changes is the increase of Hong Kong's population. This inflow of people has caused many problems because most major parts of the territory cannot support such a dense population. The government's solution to this problem was the New Town Development Program.
The New Town Development Program was introduced in 1973. Its main purpose was to cope with the increased   population of Hong Kong in major urban areas. The inflow of people was caused by many major historic events. One such event was the Cultural Revolution. During the Cultural Revolution, huge numbers of refugees came to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government did not know what to do with these people, they had no way of giving the refugees jobs or housing. The dense population was to much for the government to handle, especially when people started moving into shanty towns in major urban areas. The New Territories Development Department was established to develop the New Towns. The towns were developed in order to give such people a balanced and self-contained community where all basic needs are met.
A good thing about the New Town Developments is that it provides facilities and services that people need. The New Towns have attracted many people because they have public, government paid housing and community facilities.The many community services located in New Towns also attract people to the area, for example schools, hospitals, libraries, and emergency services. The New Towns are mostly industrial estates, providing jobs for the people living there. New Town Industrial Estates such as Tsueng Kwan O also make commuting easier and cheaper as most blue collar jobs are located on or near the estate. There are some people who pay for New Town housing privately because of the town's closeness to the mainland where they may have jobs. People are also willing to pay for New Town housing because it is...