Sustainable development: a far eastern challenge

Abstract

When people think of Hong Kong they tend to think not of an isthmus and islands of which 75% is mountainous terrain covered by thick vegetation nor the colonial legacy of mountain hiking trails named after past British governors. They are more likely to think instead of the downtown city, with its bright lights, smart shopping malls and worsening pollution, a hub of the global economy, the place where SARS took hold. This part of Hong Kong has the highest population density in the world, with tall buildings packed tightly together. Urban expansion, although restricted to 25% of the land mass, has occurred rapidly. The economy which took a downturn in the late 1990s and as a result of SARS is now on the up and up. Further north, the New Territories, which lie between the mainland and the harbour, were, until less than half a century ago, a rice growing area with paddy fields, sampans, mountains and mist. Now they are a buzzing urban community housing families whose origins lie in the migrations from mainland China during the mid 20th century. Much of the housing is characteristically vertical–large tower blocks looking somewhat incongruous against the beautiful hilly background—somehow symbolic of the need to balance natural resources with modern living. This is an increasingly high profile theme—be it in local cinemas showing Al Gore’s environment