See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/300883795

The Impact of Building Control on Urban Planning and Building

Management in Hong Kong

Chapter · January 2015

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-14145-9_30

CITATIONS READS

0 737

2 authors:

Han Zou Charlie Q. L. Xue

Hubei University of Technology City University of Hong Kong
7 PUBLICATIONS   9 CITATIONS    42 PUBLICATIONS   124 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

From Mao to Market - a study of China's design institute 1950-2015 View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Charlie Q. L. Xue on 29 June 2016.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

The Impact of Building Control on Urban
Planning and Building Management
in Hong Kong

Han Zou and Charlie Q.L. Xue

1 Introduction

Hong Kong had advanced by leaps and bounds over less than 200 years from a
fishing village to a well-known international city with an image of impressive
skyscrapers. At the same time, the building industry and market in Hong Kong
had developed rapidly. There are lots of experiences in the field of urban planning
and architectural design worth referencing.
Because of the imbalance between land shortage and dense population, Hong
Kong has to utilize its land resources very efficiently by adopting high-density
mode. The density of public housing reaches at least 2,500 residents per ha, which
is twice the density of the most crowded residential areas in mainland China [1]. For
the same reason, the price of land is so high that architecture design usually hangs
about the borderline of legal limitation. Cities often respond to development
pressures by setting targets for increased urban densities; therefore, the establish-
ment of high-rise cityscape and compact urban settings is unavoidable [2].
A review of the evolution of the building industry, especially the aspects of
urban planning and architectural design reveals that the supervision and control
under the continuously revised legal system by a number of government depart-
ments is remarkable. The general policy and regulation, while defining the building
standards, inevitably lead to certain uniformity in design. The evolution of law
relevant to architecture directly affects the development of architectural design. The

H. Zou (*)
Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Hubei University of Technology (HBUT),
Wuhan 430068, China
e-mail: zouhangogo@hotmail.com
C.Q.L. Xue
Division of Building Science and Technology, City University of Hong Kong (CITYU),
Kowloon, Hong Kong

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 375

X. Chen, Q. Pan (eds.), Building Resilient Cities in China: The Nexus between
Planning and Science, GeoJournal Library 113, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-14145-9_30
376 H. Zou and C.Q.L. Xue

institutional framework of legal system is composed of statutory laws and regula-

tions, contractual constraints and public administration.
During the period of 1841–1997 as British colony, a full set of building control
method was formed under the influence and management of suzerain. Although the
current system of building control spans over the entire history of Hong Kong, the
requirements of minimum health and safety standards for the planning and design
of new buildings existed at the beginning of colonization.
This article will review of the building control system prevailing in Hong Kong,
and analyze its influence of urban planning, architectural design, and relevant
industry.

2 A Brief Review of Building Control Evolution

in Hong Kong

2.1 Division of Time Phases of Building Control Evolution

History

To promote a healthy and safe built environment, Hong Kong’s Government enacts
statutory standards in the form of ordinances, regulations and guidelines.
At the first century the Building Control policies in Hong Kong were mainly
concerned about public health and dangerous buildings that were affected by
environmental factors. Although the legislation didn’t receive favorable reaction
from both the judiciary and the public because of the unsettling social condi-
tions, it did lay down the basic principles and mechanisms for maintaining
public safety.
After the World War II, the Building Control System, a set of prescriptive or
performance-based requirements of planning, design and construction, was
established and was gradually improved over time. The Building Control System
also controls the registration authority personnel and contractors, the vetting and
approval of building plans, issuances of occupation permits, monitoring of site
works, and authority to cease works, demolish or alter works. The Building
Ordinance and the Building Regulations (Administration, Planning and Con-
struction) were statutory parts. The Codes of Practice issued by Building Author-
ity is lower grade of control and non-statutory. At the end of 1970s, the Building
Control System was basically finalized. Since then more details of ordinance and
regulation were added or replaced, such as offences, appeal, Authorized and
Registered Persons in Buildings Ordinance, the height of stories, staircases and
fireman’s lifts, firefighting and rescue stairway, supplement of site coverage and
plot ratio, and the use of verandahs or balconies in Buildings (Planning)
Regulations.
The building control mechanism has been frequently reviewed and amended to
meet the changing need in time for the purpose of social and economic lever. The
The Impact of Building Control on Urban Planning and Building Management in. . . 377

evolution history of Building Control in Hong Kong and the experiences of

legislation and its implement may be useful for other urban centers in mainland
China.
The history of Hong Kong’s Building Control System evolution that spans
nearly 200 years can be divided into various phases that are shown in Table 1.

2.2 Abstracts and Characteristics of Buildings Control

in Each Phase

2.2.1 Building Control Closely Relate to Public Health (1841–1934)

For nearly one century, the building control in Hong Kong was closely related to
public health.
The first ordinance relevant to building control was The Building and Nui-
sances Ordinances 1856. The Public Health Ordinance 1883 was enacted for the
needs of sanitation by controlling buildings following the suggestion of Chadwick
Report 1882 that the building condition should be improved to avoid a cholera
epidemic. In 1887, the Amendment of Public Health Ordinance required that back
yard (open space), definition of overcrowding, and occupation permit be autho-
rized by the Sanitary Board. Two years later, the Building Ordinance 1889 was
enacted departing from the Health Ordinance which, for the first time, defined
precisely the buildings and work. In 1894, the Closed Houses and Insanitary
Dwellings Ordinance was enacted for sanitation needs. Further, the Building
Amendment Ordinance 1901 was amended to permit the use of poor quality
blue bricks only on the top story of buildings, and the heights of buildings were
limited to no more than four floors. All the Ordinances above were not compre-
hensive until the Public Health and Building Ordinance 1903 was enacted. This
Ordinance established the fundamental concept of building control that served as
source for administrative or detailed amendments in the next 30 years.

2.2.2 Building Control Basically Self-Contained (1935–1954)

Since the Chinese Revolution broken out in 1911, large population has flooded into
Hong Kong. The flood of refugees didn’t follow the Colonial legislation that made
it difficulty to control. The Building Ordinance 1935 was enacted to deal with the
buildings and building work as well as the Sanitary Services with the Urban Council
in charge of medical and health services. Higher standards of lighting, ventilation
and fire safety were stipulated (Section 43–45) which shows the need of vertical
dimension. It provided the Building Authority with more power to deal with
building issues (Section 119) which made the amendment fairly satisfactory in
378 H. Zou and C.Q.L. Xue

Table 1 Phases and evolutions of building control

Phases Enacted time Name of ordinance
a
I. Buildings control 1856 No. 8 Buildings and Nuisances Ordinance
closely relate to public 1883 No. 7 Order and Cleanliness Amendment
health Ordinance
1887 No. 24 Amendment of Public Health Ordinance
1889 No. 15 Building Ordinance
1891 No. 25 Building (Amendment) Ordinance
1894 No. 15 The Closed Houses and Insanitary
Dwellings Ordinance
1895 No. 7 Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance
1899 No. 34 Insanitary Properties Ordinance
1901 No. 30 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
1903 No. 1a Public Health and Building Ordinance
1908 No. 14 Public Health and Building Amendment
Ordinance
1927 No. 6 Public Health and Building Amendment
Ordinance
II. Buildings control basi- 1935 No. 18a Buildings Ordinance
cally self-contained 1936 No. 2 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
1941 No. 12 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
III. Buildings control 1955 Buildings Ordinance (3 Regulations:
overhaul and supplement No. 68 (operated1956 Administration, Planning, Construction)
G.N.A 45)a
1959 No. 44 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
1962 G.N.A. 97a Buildings (Planning) (Amendment)
Regulations
1967 L.N. 91 Buildings Ordinance (Application to the
New Territories)
IV. Buildings control sys- 1969 L.N. 54 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
tem mainly finalized 1972 No. 71 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
L.N. 235 Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance
(Application to the New Territories)
1979 No. 24 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
1980 No. 72 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
1982 No. 41 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
1987 No. 57 Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance
No. 60 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
(Application to the New Territories)
V. Buildings control sys- 1990 No. 91 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
tem gradually amended 1992 No. 42 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
1994 No. 77 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
1996 No. 54 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
1997 No. 36 Buildings Amendment Ordinance
Source: Hong Kong Government Gazette
a
Important points of buildings control system evolution
The Impact of Building Control on Urban Planning and Building Management in. . . 379

the next 20 years [3]. Further amendment was made in 1936 which provided
provisions for evacuation of occupants. Because of the occupation by Japan in
1941, most operation was ceased until 1945.

2.2.3 Building Control Overhaul and Supplement (1955–1971)

Since Hong Kong population grew very rapidly during the postwar periods, the
Building Ordinance was relaxed in 1956, allowing the development of high-rise
blocks on land [4]. It was the urgent demand for housing and safety that gave
impetus to government housing organizations [5].
After the World War II, the Building Ordinance has been overhauled [6]. The
Building Ordinance 1955 together with three subsidiary regulations, the Building
(Administration) Regulations, the Building (Construction) Regulations and the
Building (Planning) Regulations, were enacted and operated in 1956 for building
development, design and maintaining [7].
To provide for the planning, design and construction of buildings and associated work; to
make provision for the rendering safe of dangerous buildings and land; and to make
provision for matters connected therewith.–Buildings Ordinance (CAP 123), 1956.

At the same time, the “Practices Notes for Authorized Persons (PNAPs)” and the
“Code of Practice and Design Manuals” were published to detail how to implement
the control.
Remarkably, the concepts of ‘site coverage’, ‘plot ratio’ and ‘floor space’ as
more complex control approach to intense development were first introduced in
Buildings (Planning) (Amendment) Regulations 1962.

2.2.4 Building Control System Mainly Finalized (1969–1989)

The Building Ordinance (Application to the New Territories) was enacted in 1967
to exempt the buildings, site formation and drainage work in New Territories from
the Building Ordinance. Since 1969, the building ordinance (regulation) was
reviewed and amended nearly every two years. It can be found from the evolution
of ordinance relevant to buildings that the Building Control system was basically
finalized at the end of 1970s.
Projecting windows will not be regarded as GFA and will be accepted as not counting for
site coverage and plot ratio, if they satisfy all the following criteria within the storey. . .. . .
(PNAP68 in 1980)

As one of the green initiatives to end-users, bay windows with less than 500 mm
depth have been exempted from GFA calculation since the 1980s. Bay windows
increase the flow of natural light into a residential unit as well as provide special
views of the outside [8].
380 H. Zou and C.Q.L. Xue

Codes of Practice of fire safety were improved in Oct 1989 such as for Means of
Access, Means of Escape and for Fire Resisting Construction since fire safety first
mentioned in 1955 Building Ordinance.

2.2.5 Building Control System Gradually Amended (1990–1997)

Since 1990s, every two years the Building Ordinance was amended; however, all
the amendments of Building legislation were piecemeal and fragmented.
Codes of Practice for Means of Access code was revised in May 1995. Codes of
Practice for Fire Resisting Construction and for Means of Escape were revised
in 1996.
The Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance (Cap. 502) was enacted in
1997. Draft code on Site Safety Supervision (and Technical Memorandum for
Supervision Plans) and Design Guide for Barrier Free Access (BFA) were issued
in 1997.

3 The Framework and Supervision Institution of Building

Control System

3.1 The Framework of Building Control System

The Building Ordinance is the highest statute law norms for standardizing the
construction activities in Hong Kong which is enacted by the top legislature—the
legislative council.
As mentioned above, the framework of Building Control System was gradually
formed by two parts. The statutory part is consisted of Building Ordinance and its
subsidiary legislation to ensure the implement of the Buildings Ordinance—Build-
ing Regulations, such as Building (Administration) Regulation, Building (Con-
struction) Regulation, Building (Planning) Regulation, Building (Demolition
Works) Regulations, Building (Private Streets and Access Roads)
Regulations, etc [9].
The Building Ordinance includes the examination and approval of the project
drawings, the supervision of implementation phase of the construction, the main-
tenance after the final acceptance of construction, and appeal system for violation
behavior. It also includes the maintenance of old buildings and technical standards
of construction, etc [10]. And the Regulations cover the administrative manage-
ment, construction and demolition, planning, private roads, pathways, health equip-
ment engineering, etc [11].
The Impact of Building Control on Urban Planning and Building Management in. . . 381

Building Ordinance Planning

Practice Notes
for Authorized Building Regulation Administration
Persons
&Registered
Structural Construction
Codes of Practice
Engineers
(PNAPs)

Design Manuals

Statutory :

Non-Statutory:

Fig. 1 Framework of building control system in HK

The non-statutory part is consisted of Practice Notes for Authorized Persons &
Registered Structural Engineers (PNAPs), Codes of Practice and Design Manuals.
The Building Control System is shown in Fig. 1.

3.2 The Supervision Institution of Building Control System

The building industry in Hong Kong can be divided into public construction led by
government and private construction led by developer. The former is on behalf of
government by Architectural Service Department and Housing Department. The
latter is under the supervision of the Building Department following the control of
Building Ordinance and the subsidiary Regulations. With regard to new private
buildings, the Buildings department scrutinizes and approves building plans, carries
out audit checks on construction work and site safety, and issues occupation permits
upon completion of new buildings.
The Hong Kong Housing Authority is exempted from the Building Ordinance
for the construction of public housing estates (Fig. 2).

4 The Impact of Building Control on Urban Planning

As described in the previous chapters, the Building Control was in charge of urban
development control for nearly more than one hundred years until the Government
started to prepare the Colony Outline Plan in 1965. It was revised to become the
Hong Kong Outline Plan and consisted of two parts: Part I relating to planning
382 H. Zou and C.Q.L. Xue

Public Construction Private Construction

Government Public
Buildings Housing

Buildings
Department
Architectural
Housing
Service
Department
Department

Public Works Housing

Department Authority

exempted from the Building Ordinance

compulsory from the Building Ordinance

Fig. 2 Framework of supervision institution of control system

standards (known as the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines) and Part II
on development strategy (known as the Territorial Development Strategy).
At present, it is indicated in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines
that The Buildings Ordinance, including its associated Building (Planning) Regu-
lations, is the only statute that explicitly sets density limits and provides for their
enforcement. The Building (Planning) Regulations specifies the maximum plot
ratios and site coverage permitted for domestic and non-domestic buildings in
relation to building height.
All land in Hong Kong is leasehold; all private land developments are controlled
by the government through the statutory control of planning, building and land
lease [12]. It is reasonable to take the evolution of Building Control to study the
urban planning history of Hong Kong.
In addition, it is a visual and objective research method to establish the contact of
architecture types and urban morphology in the same time and space. It is necessary
to identify the urban morphological unit and architectural typological process
[13]. The concept of urban morphology is concerned with the physical urban
form and associated socio-cultural representations.
Let’s look back at the socio-cultural history. Hong Kong was captured for the
main function as transit port; therefore the public buildings such as industrial,
commercial and business buildings were firstly built in Hong Kong and they play
the most important role of the Hong Kong’s economy [14]. It is, thus, inevitable to
pay attention to the evolution of public buildings. On the other hand, the long-time
problem of urgent need of housing, the residential zoning, takes another important
role of urban planning and urban form in Hong Kong.
The Impact of Building Control on Urban Planning and Building Management in. . . 383

Therefore, this paper takes public buildings and private housing as examples to
present the impact of building control on urban planning by analyzing the historical
urban morphological unit and typological buildings.

4.1 Evolution of Commercial Buildings Zoning: Urban

Density of Central Praya in Hong Kong

Central, the heart of Victoria City, is the central business district of Hong Kong.
The Central Praya area, as the earliest developed land in Hong Kong, with its
proximity to Victoria Harbour, has served as the centre of trade and financial
activities since the earliest days of the British colonial era in 1841.
The urban density evolution of Central Praya can be presented by the building
density and the skyline which rest with building height (see Table 2).
The evolution can be divided into five phases that are closely associated with the
five phases of Building Control System Evolution (see Table 1).
In 1860s, Government House and Various barracks, naval base and residence of
Commander, Flagstaff House were built at the east end of Government Hill.
Between 1860 and 1880, the construction of City Hall, Theatre Royal and other
financial structures made Central the heart of Hong Kong.
The Amendment of Public Health Ordinance 1887 required at least 300 ft3 of
living space per person. It also stated a 4-ft gap between buildings and a backyard of
new buildings. Quantitative Order was thus started by defining and controlling
density relating to the volume of building [5].
The standard of overcrowding was defined in a new Public Health and Buildings
Ordinance 1903 that “in excess of a proportion of one adult for every fifty square
feet of habitable floor space or superficial area and five hundred and fifty cubic feet
of clear and unobstructed internal air space” in the urban area, and “more than one
person to every one thousand cubic feet of clear internal space” in the European
Reservation or the Hill District.
Although the Buildings Ordinance was basically self-contained from Public
Health since 1935, it can be seen from the images in I and II phases that the
building height and urban density did not change much in the first 100 years.
But the situation was greatly changed since 1956. The urban density increased a
lot in just 20 years. Under the pressure of population explosion after World War II,
the Building Ordinance was made to high-density urban development. The building
bulk is controlled by a much more complex system including building heights,
volumes, open spaces and lanes. The height of the building could not exceed twice
the width of the street. Setbacks at an angle of 76
are permitted to allow natural
lighting to streets (Regulation 17 & 18). The Volume of a building is set in a
formula, depending on the location of the site and use of the building (Regulation
20):
Volume ¼ Factor (F) times the width of street times the area of the site.
384 H. Zou and C.Q.L. Xue

Table 2 Historic images of Central Praya in Hong Kong

Phases/time Images of Central Praya
I 1870s

II 1940s

III 1960s

VI 1980s

V 2000s

Source: Hong Kong museum of history

The Impact of Building Control on Urban Planning and Building Management in. . . 385

This volume control system was to be blamed for too crowded urban space and
large buildings. The everywhere huge building bulk can be seen in the image of
phrase III.
The volume system was amended in 1962 and replaced by Development Inten-
sity Control consisting of plot ratio and site coverage. Three types of site were
designated to improve the control system which made the new generation of
building form—smaller site and taller height—called “pencil-like” buildings. The
impact is obvious as can be seen in the image of phrases IV and V.
The high-density way of urban development is inevitable in Hong Kong due to
shortage of land [15]. Each improvement of building control is made to cater to
these needs [16].

4.2 Comparison of Private Housing Zoning: Urban

Morphological Unit in Different Historical Period

Urban morphology focuses on the form, physical structure, plan, layout and their
formation and transformation process in functional areas of cities. The town plan is
itself subdivided into three constituent parts or elements: streets and their arrange-
ment in a street system, plots and their aggregation in street blocks, and the block-
plans of buildings (Conzen [13], p. 5). The first level of street system seems to be
the steadiest element in the evolution of urban form.
This chapter seeks to find the impact of Building Control on the urban grain
(street pattern, plot pattern and building pattern) and its character by examining and
comparing the patterns of ten private housing zoning as urban morphological unit in
different historical periods. The cartographic sources are chosen involving the
historical urban development background with corresponding Building Control
above. They are compared at same scales (See Table 3). These zonings are all
influenced a lot by the residential building form that follows the Building Control.
Sai Ying Pun was built to the west of Central Praya as Chinese residential area in
the early years of Hong Kong. The existing urban form of Central and Sai Ying Pun
are different mainly because of the early racial segregation policy which lingered to
1940s– Europeans were assigned areas above High Street where Chinese were
excluded from living. It was stated in the Public Health and Building Ordinance
1903 that ‘It shall not be lawful to erect any Chinese domestic building other than
quarters occupled by servants, within the European Reservation or the Hill Distriet’
(Article 200). The urgent need of land and Chinese traditional shop-house building
type made the urban form so crowded. Meanwhile, the ordinance regulated the type
and height of buildings as well as open space for private streets, such as ‘open space
extending across the entire width and in the rear of such building and of a minimum
depth of 8 feet’ (Article 13). The Building Height to Street Width ratio in 1903 was
nearly 1:1. According to the old land lease, the building height was restricted 35 in..
Table 3 Plan of private housing zoning in Hong Kong
Phase/location Plan of private housing zoning
I 1900s Sai Ying Pun/Sheung Wan

II 1930s Wan Chai/Causeway Bay

III 1960s To Kwa Wan (13 Streets)

IV 1970s Jordan (Man Wah Sun Chuen)

V 1980s Lai Chi Kok (Mei Foo Sun Chuen)

VI 1990s TaiKoo (TaiKoo Shing, Kornhill)

1990s Shatin (City One)

1990s Hung Hom (Whampoa Garden)

VII 2000s Tin Shui Wai (Kingswood Villas)

Source: The Government of HKSAR Building Department

The Impact of Building Control on Urban Planning and Building Management in. . . 387

That’s why most buildings are two or three stories and that the streets are narrow in
Sai Ying Pun (Phase I).
This ratio was amended to 1:1.25 in Building Ordinance 1935 which required ‘a
clear intervening space or area of a width of not less than one-fourth of the height of
the cutting shall be left between such building, along its whole extent’ (Article 79).
It can be found in phase II of Table 3 that the street width of private housing zoning
in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay is wider than 1900s. By the 1850s this area was
already becoming a Chinese residential area and the reclamation of Praya East had
an effect on Wan Chai from 1922 to 1931. The residential zoning between Queen’s
Road East and Johnston Road was built here before the World War II (Phase II).
As mentioned above, the Building Ordinance was not improved much until
1955. The Building Height to Street Width ratio in 1955 was nearly 1:3 by this
turn of amendment since the structure technology was improved such as reinforced
concrete and structural steel. The To Kwa Wan in Kowloon peninsula was not
developed much in 1950s until 1960s. Most residential dwellings in the area are
mid-rise flats of 10 or less floors, built in the mid-twentieth century. There are
83 buildings which could be the oldest large-scale residential zoning existing in the
13 Streets area, built between 1958 and 1960. It is clear that the Building-block Plan
is similar to the Wan Chai formed in 1930s (Phase III).
In 1962, the intensity of development was first introduced in Buildings (Plan-
ning) (Amendment) Regulations. Higher density of construction was allowed under
the pressure of population explosion. “The erection of buildings containing 20 or
more storey is rapidly becoming more common, and it seems clear that skyscrapers,
at any rate in the business centre, will be the future form of development” (Hong
Kong Annual Report 1957, p. 199). The buildings were mainly controlled by ‘site
coverage’, ‘plot ratio’ and ‘floor space’. For example, the Man Wah Sun Chuen of
14 stories is built in 1965 which has 8 blocks. The surrounding urban morphological
unit seems to be integrated until now (Phase IV).
At the end of 1970s, the building type changed dramatically in Hong Kong.
More and more “cross type” appeared and replaced the former flat type. Take the
large-scale residential estate Mei Foo Sun Chuen built during 1968–1978 in Lai Chi
Kok as example, the new-coming urban morphological unit appeared and pointed to
its elder neighbour urban form. This “cross type” of residential zoning has been
commonly built since 1980s (Phase V).
It can be seen from the plan of Taikoo, Shatin and Hung Hom in 1990s (Phase
VI) that the “cross type” residential zoning became common in Hong Kong. The
well-known large-scale private housing, such as TaiKoo Shing, Kornhill, City One
and Whampoa Garden, is all this kind of building form. Compare with the Mei Foo
Sun Chuen, there seems to have more public open space, but in actuality, it results
in much higher density.
This situation spread to declining industrial district and New Territories such as
Kwun Tong, Lam Tin and Tin Shui Wai in 2000s (Phase VII).
388 H. Zou and C.Q.L. Xue

5 Conclusions

There is always contradiction between land resource shortage and comfortable

human environment in Hong Kong. This extreme condition made the unique case
study of high-density city in China [17].
Looking back at the close relationship between the evolution history of Building
Control and the development of urban planning and building management espe-
cially in the field of commercial and private housing, it is obvious that the
monopolistic control of land sales and the development control mechanisms of
Hong Kong government have played an important role in guiding and monitoring
the development of commercial and private housing market.
Moreover, the Building Control System is reviewed and amended frequently
over time to address urgent needs, for the purpose of public health, social safety or
economic consideration.
On the other hand, the estate developer and constructor pursue the economic
benefit in their nature. Facing the high value of land, they have to explore the right
way of game with government and client.
Therefore, it is worth adopting the scientific and suitable theory and technology
to direct the urban development and living environment. Though there is a full-
order legislation system of Building Control and Urban Planning scheme with quite
a number of details, the present guidelines should be improved up to date, not only
the theory and technology (e.g., the energy-efficient building, the public commu-
nication space, and the multi-purpose space), but also the government institution.
It’s also important to have public participation in the process of establishing or
amending the Building Control for better living environment.
Otherwise, residential buildings played a major role in forming the physical
structure of Hong Kong. Beside, in the view of social economic factor, the resi-
dential issues always contribute to the problem of class distinction in Hong Kong.
Public housing and private housing are developed under different control system
and follow different standards which made different urban forms. These two
systems could learn from each other in order to build more harmonious community.
Fortunately, up to now, less than 30 % of the land is developed in Hong Kong. It
is inevitable to pay attention to the land development potential. In addition, there
are lot of old urban districts that can be redeveloped. The urban form and building
density did not change much in the first 100 years, but the development has
accelerated since 1960s. There is no sign of shrinking city appearing in Hong
Kong now. It is time for thinking over the present problems and working on more
efficient management of building control.

Acknowledgment This is part of a study supported by the Doctor Scientific Research Startup
Found of Hubei University of Technology, No. BSQD12149 and the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (NSFC), No. 51278438 and Strategic Research Fund, City University of
Hong Kong, No. 7002844.
 The Impact of Building Control on Urban Planning and Building Management in. . . 389

References

1. Xue CQL, Manuel K, Chung R (2001) Public space in the derelict old city area, a case study of
Mongkok, Hong Kong, vol 1, 6th edn, Urban design international. Palgrave-MacMillan,
London, pp 15–31
2. Hui SCM (2001) Low energy building design in high density urban cities. Renew Energy
24(3):627–640(14)
3. Hong Kong Government Buildings ordinance(1935–1997). Government Printer, Hong Kong
4. Tse RYC (2001) Impact of comprehensive development zoning on real estate development in
Hong Kong. Land Use Policy 18:321–328
5. Yuen B, Yeh AGO (eds) (2011) High-rise living in Asian cities. Springer, Netherlands, p 90
6. Hong Kong Government Hong Kong annual report (1962–1997). Government Printer, Hong
Kong
7. History Law of Hong Kong Online: http://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/
8. Ng E (2003) Studies on daylight design and regulation of high-density residential housing in
Hong Kong. Lighting Res Technol 35(2):127–139
9. McInnis A (2000) Building law handbook. Butterworth Press, Hong Kong
10. Booth P (1996) Controlling development: certainty and discretion in Europe, the USA and
Hong Kong. UCL Press, London/Bristol
11. Chan EH (1998) Building control in connection with real estate development. In: Poon NT,
Chan EH (eds) Real estate development in Hong Kong. Pace Publishing, Hong Kong,
pp 66–81
12. La LW-C (2000) Planning buildings for a high-rise environment in Hong Kong: a review of
building appeal decisions. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong
13. Conzen MRG (1960) Alnwick, Northumberland: a study in town-plan analysis, vol 27, Institute
of British Geographers Publication. George Philip, London
14. Yiu CY (2008) The emergence of a performance-based building control system, contractual
and regulatory innovations in building and real estate. Pace Publishing, Hong Kong
15. Tang B-S, Choy LHT, Wat JKF (2000) Certainty and discretion in planning control: a case
study of office development in Hong Kong. Urban Stud 37(13):2465–2483
16. Edwin HWC, Tang B-S, Wong W-S (2002) Density control and the quality of living space: a
case study of private housing development in Hong Kong. Habitat Int 26:159–175
17. Charlie Q.L. Xue, Han Zou, Baihao Li, Ka Chuen Hui (2012) The shaping of early Hong Kong:
transplantation and adaptation by the British professionals, 1841–1941. Plan Perspect
27(4):549–568

View publication stats