Shek Kip Mei Estate is the first
public housing estate
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...
in Hong Kong. It is located in
Sham Shui Po
Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui P ...
and is under the management of the
Hong Kong Housing Authority. The estate was constructed as a result of
a fire in Shek Kip Mei in 1953, to settle the families of inhabitants in the
squats over the hill who lost their homes in one night.
Originally constructed in 1953 to alleviate the immediate housing needs, the units in this "Mark I" estate were utilitarian. Redevelopment of the estate commenced in 1972, with new towers coming on stream between 1979 and 1982. Site 1 of redevelopment was occupied in 2007.
The estate now consists of 21 residential blocks, containing 10,800 rental flats. The estate has an authorised capacity of 26,400.
History
![Shek Kip Mei Estate Mei Ying House & Mei Yue House 201401](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Shek_Kip_Mei_Estate_Mei_Ying_House_%26_Mei_Yue_House_201401.jpg)
Following the Second World War, a large number of migrants from the
mainland
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...
arrived in Hong Kong. Due to the lack of housing policy, and thus non-availability of affordable housing, the migrants lived illegally in wooden
shanties in a hillside
ghetto
A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...
in the
Sham Shui Po
Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui P ...
area. Poor facilities, unsanitary conditions, and the high density of huts represented a serious safety hazard. On 24 December 1953, the ghetto caught fire. The blaze lasted for six hours and was put under control on 25 December, at around 2:30 am. It left an estimated 53,000 people without shelter.
Consequently, the
Colonial government built a 29-block
resettlement estate on the site of the burnt-down shanties to house the homeless victims. Eight blocks (Blocks A to H), now renumbered as Blocks 10 through 13 and 35 through 41, were constructed with the financial aid of the United Nations. These 7-storey blocks were constructed in an 'H' configuration consisting of two residential wings, with a central core of communal cooking and sanitary facilities. Residential units, which housed entire families, were roughly in size. Later, towers were constructed in a single block configuration.
The massive fire gave birth formally to the public housing policy of the Government. In 1961, the subsidised rent policy was launched with the construction of 7 towers at the junction of Tai Hang Road West and Nam Cheong Street. The Shek Kip Mei Estate was subdivided into "Upper" and "Lower" estates, with the Upper estate being designated a "low-rent estate" (廉租屋邨), and the Lower estate designated a "''Resettlement estate''" (徙置屋邨). Occupation of these blocks commenced in 1963.
Housing units were little more than small cubicles, and the original plan was to allocate per adult and half that for each child under 12. However, they were in reality often occupied by more than one family due to the extreme shortage of available housing. Facilities and sanitation were primitive, and communal.
Until the establishment of the Housing Authority in 1973, Hong Kong's public housing was administered by the
Resettlement Department
The Resettlement Department () was a department of the Government of Hong Kong, responsible for constructing resettlement estates for homeless refugees, established in 1954. In 1973, the Resettlement Department and the Building Section of the ...
. By that time, eleven old blocks of the estate had been pulled down, and modernisation of 18 blocks of the resettlement estate had commenced. Phased re-occupation of the re-numbered estate took place between 1978 and 1984. The distinction between "Upper" and "Lower" estates was henceforth disregarded. Mei Yu House (美如樓) and Mei Ying House (美映樓), representing the latest phase, were built on the location of Blocks 1 to 7 (the resettlement estate), and were mostly occupied on 18 July 2006.
All remaining 1950s blocks were demolished since 20 June 2007, excluding Block 41, which is reserved for further revitalisation.
Conservation
![Shek Kip Mei Estate 2013 part6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Shek_Kip_Mei_Estate_2013_part6.JPG)
Block 41 of the estate, Mei Ho House (美荷樓), the last remaining example of the "Mark II" building in a single-block configuration, has been listed as a
Grade I historic building, and will be preserved tentatively as a record of Hong Kong's public housing development. In 2008, it was part of the seven buildings of Batch I of the Hong Kong Government's
Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme
The Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme () is an initiative launched by the Hong Kong Government, part of a broader policy of heritage conservation in Hong Kong. In order to preserve and put historic buildings into good use ...
seeking
adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...
of government-owned historic buildings. On 17 February 2009, the government declared that the building would be used by the Hong Kong Youth Hostels Association as "City Hostel". The capital cost of the project was estimated at HK$192.3 million. Estimated completion time was early 2012.
[Batch I of Revitalisation Scheme – Result of Selection – Mei Ho House as City Hostel](_blank)
/ref> The hostel was finally opened in December 2013.
*It was closed due to the COVID-19 epidemic.*
Covid Pandemic
Mei Wui House of the estate was in locked down for mandatory testing on 17 February 2022. Block 21 was also put into lockdown from the next day to 20 February.
Blocks
As of 2021 the estate has 21 blocks, plus the preserved Block 41 presently in use as a youth hostel. The 21 blocks provide 10,800 public rental flats accommodating a design population of 26,400.
Gallery
Image:SKM Estate BLK14.jpg, Block 14
Image:SKM Estate BLK17.jpg, Block 17
Image:SKM Estate BLK18.jpg, Block 18
Image:SKM Estate BLK22.jpg, Block 22
Image:SKM Estate BLK25.jpg, Block 25
Image:SKM Estate BLK27 and 28.jpg, Blocks 27 & 28
Image:SKM Estate BLK34.jpg, Block 34
Image:SKM Estate BLK37.jpg, Block 37
Image:SKM Estate BLK38 remains.jpg, Demolished Block 38
Image:SKM Estate BLK39 and 40.jpg, Blocks 39 & 40
Image:Shek Kip Mei Estate.jpg, Block 41 Mei Ho House
Image:SKM Estate BLK44.jpg, Block 44
Image:SKM Estate Mei Yue House.jpg, Rebuilt Mei Yu House
Image:SKM Estate Mei Yue House 2.jpg, Rebuilt Mei Yu House
Image:SKM Estate Overview.jpg, Distant vista of Shek Kip Mei Estate
Image:SKM Estate Overview 2.jpg, Distant vista of Shek Kip Mei Estate
Image:SKM Estate Phase 1.jpg, Phase one building
See also
*List of public housing estates in Hong Kong
This is a list of public housing estates in Hong Kong. Many of them are properties of Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA), while some of them are properties of Hong Kong Housing Society (HKHS).
Central and Western District
Sai Wan (Kennedy To ...
*Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre
The Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC; ) is a multi-disciplinary arts centre in Shek Kip Mei, Hong Kong, housed in a converted nine-storey factory estate.
JCCAC was established through the co-operation of the Hong Kong Arts Development ...
, housed in the former Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate
References
Further reading
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External links
Home in Hong Kong.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
, 2004.
Photo gallery of Shek Kip Mei Estate
* ttp://www.heritage.gov.hk/en/rhbtp/febs.htm?bsIDE3 Virtual tour of Block 41br>Mei Ho House website
{{Public housing estates in Hong Kong, state=expanded
Public housing estates in Hong Kong
Shek Kip Mei
1953 establishments in Hong Kong