A Temporary Housing Area (THA; ) is an area designated for people living in temporary houses made by wood frames and zinc plates in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. The houses are built by the
Hong Kong Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...
beginning in 1964 to replace wooden huts and squatter areas that began to emerge in the late 1940s and 1950s. The name was created in the 1980s to replace the original reference of ''Licensed area''.
The building design was likely influenced from military
barracks
Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...
.
Each house is divided into tens of tiny flats, with one flat per household. Most of the THAs were demolished by the 1990s and the last demolished was in 2001.
The THA is being replaced by
Interim Housing
Interim housing () is temporary housing in Hong Kong for those not eligible for a flat in a public housing estate, but affected by disaster, fire, and redevelopment. It replaced Temporary Housing Area with buildings that are more resilient and spa ...
, a more resilient temporary home concept since the 1970s.
Life
Living in a THA affords little privacy. Interior walls are only visual barriers. Cooking and showering can only be done outside the flat. Toilets were common areas for all residents to use; additionally, open sewer channels along the walkways connecting the THAs were often used by residents to brush their teeth or laundry.
Temporary housing serves displaced people while the city is being planned or if their house is being remodeled or relocation from disasters like fire or typhoons.
See also
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Mount Davis
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Shau Kei Wan
Shau Kei Wan or Shaukiwan is a neighborhood in the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island. The area is bordered by Chai Wan to the east, Mount Parker to the south, Sai Wan Ho to the west, and Victoria Harbour to the north.
Shau Kei Wan is consi ...
*
King's Park (
Ho Man Tin
Ho Man Tin is a mostly residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, part of the Kowloon City District.
History
Section of lists of villages in the book ' (literally ''The History of Xin'an County'') published in twenty fourth year of Jiaqing era ...
)
*
Lai Chi Kok
Lai Chi Kok is a neighbourhood in Kowloon, Hong Kong, east of Kwai Chung and west of Cheung Sha Wan. Mei Foo Sun Chuen is the largest housing estate in the area and also the largest in Hong Kong with 99 blocks. Administratively, it belongs t ...
References
External links
Chinese article ad gallery of THAs
Public housing in Hong Kong
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