THE EVOLUTION OF THE ECOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF HONG KONG: IMPLICATIONS FOR PLANNING AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Changes in the ecological structure of Hong Kong since 1961 suggest the transformation of a typical colonial city structure dominated by a concentric-sectorial pattern of ecological areas into one with multicentered development and, by 1981, a closer integration between the old established Hong Kong-Kowloon urban core and the rural New Territories. This modern pattern of development reflects the government's policy of decentralization and greater central planning control. While the contrast between the “expatriate” and “local” population has waned since 1971, a factor analysis carried out using 1981 census data at the Tertiary Planning Unit level reveals an equal emphasis on socioeconomic status, family status, and ethnicity for differentiating the ecological structure of the Hong Kong-Kowloon core area but a strong bias on socioeconomic status for the New Territories. With the anticipated restoration of Hong Kong to China by Britain on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong has already oriented northwards with further integration between the New Territories and Shenzhen Special Economic Zone envisaged. However, the recent development plans announced by the government for the 1990s refocused attention to the old Hong Kong-Kowloon core area. The implications of this “concentrated” development policy are explained. Generalizations on the evolution of the ecological structure of a colonial city in relation to economic growth are also presented.