Kowloon Walled City
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Throughout the world there are a great number of cities and slums within them, where people find themselves
in crowded and tight living conditions carving out a life for themselves and their families, when crime and drug
abuse run rampant. None of these places however are as unique as Kawloon Walled City was. Although the city
was demolished in 1993, pictures and videos can still remind us of the dilapidations that people can live with
and their incredible ability to adapt to their surroundings. At its time it was the place with the
highest population density in the whole world, reaching almost 2 million people in a square kilometer. It's like
the whole Warsaw population would live in 1/15 area of just the Srodmiescie district.
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But how was this slum settlement created in such a wealthy city as Hong Kong?
The history of Kawloon Walled City dates back to roughly one thousand years back, when
it was a small Chinese military outpost that managed the trade of salt and defended
the area against pirates. Then about 800 years later, when Hong Kong was passed
on to the United Kingdom, the Walled City, still being Chinese, was better
armed and fortified due to its strategic location. Even though Hong Kong continued
to be reigned by the British, an exception was made for the fort, letting Chinese officials
reside there provided they didn't interfere with the British governance. That however
wasn't for long because the UK attacked it at the end of the 19th century and took it over.
The British left its architecture, making it a minor tourist attraction.
After World War II ended China announced they wanted to reclaim the Walled City. Subsequently, about 2 thousand
refugees fleeing from post-war China illegally occupied the place. Since Hong Kong authorities
couldn't get rid of the new residents, they decided to allow them to live there. That meant that it became nobody's land, where
the Hong Kong government didn't interfere with anything that did happen within the old walls of the Walled City.
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With rising demand for living space, a drastic building boom was observed in the walled city. One building
was built next to another, reaching heights of up to 14 stories. Of course that activity wasn’t organised or
regulated in any way. Overall in its peak the 2,6 hectare area hosted about 350 buildings. It became a
real small independent city within Hong Kong without any real governance. The alleyways between the residential
structures were often very narrow (about 1-2 meters) and had poor lighting and drainage. A network of
staircases and passageways was formed on the upper level which was so extensive that
one could travel north to south through the entire city without ever touching the ground. A typical size of
a single apartment was 23 square meters and it was the living place for multiple people.
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Although the walled city was for many years a hub of criminal activity, most of its residents were not involved
in it and lived peacefully within its walls. Many small businesses and factories thrived inside the city and multiple
groups were formed to organise and improve daily life there. Charities, religious societies, and other welfare
groups were introduced to the settlement. The medical clinics and schools existing there were obviously
unregulated but were nevertheless useful for its residents.
The Hong Kong government provided some services such as water supply and mail delivery.
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Eventually at the end of 1980s the Hong Kong government decided that the sanitary conditions were a threat to living there.
The residents were provided compensations and were evicted, the city was
demolished soon after and in its place a park was established - Kowloon Walled City Park.
demolished soon after and in its place a park was established - Kowloon Walled City Park.
1. Have you heard about Kawloon Walled City before? Do you know any other unusual settlements?
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Source: Wikipedia
Comments
1. No, unfortunately, I've never heard of this city until now. It looks really interesting.
2. Sure! I love buildings, so I'd love to see this thing with my own eyes. After all, photos on the internet are not the same as live ones. It certainly must make an amazing impression!
3. I believe that when building new cities, some strict building regulations must be in place for order. The city should be accessible to everyone. So the rules must be followed.
I never heard about it before. It looks interesting :) I can't think of any other unusual settlements similar to this one.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Rather not. I am not a fan of spending time in cities, I prefer going on wild adventures. On the other hand I would like to visit cities like Tokyo but probably because of one of the highest technology level in the world.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
When building new cities, those rules should be regulated. As It is very important decisions which will take effect on later expand of the city
No, I have never heard about Kawloon Walled City before. It was interesting for me to know information about it.
Yes, I have heard about one more such unusual place. It is Freetown Christiania, the autonomous anarchist district in the Danish capital city of Copenhagen. Firstly it was a former military base. In 1971, a group of hippies broke down the barricades and began squatting there.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Most likely I would refuse to be a tourist in such a city. Knowing myself, I would not have enjoyed this walk and was constantly worried. So for me it is enough to read or watch videos about such unusual settlements.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Yes, I think that building regulations are required to build cities. Competent construction of houses will be very useful for future city expanding and developing.
2. Yes, sure, but not on my own. In such a dangerous place, a guide would be necessary.
3. Yes, because otherwise there is a huge mess. My opinion is probably unpopular, but I would for example ban constructing low buildings in the Warsaw city centre. They just waste very valuable space. Anything less than 150m high should not be allowed there.
Yes, I heard about it before. I am a Cantonese, I have many relatives in Hong Kong,
Hong Kong is beside my city Canton, and I have been to Kawloon many times, I really like that place. If I have to give some unusual settlements examples of my city, I would say the Shamian Island, this is like a small European island in a Chinese city, and the Polish consulate is also on Shamian Island. The second example is Shipai Village. The population density is similar to that of Kowloon Walled City. You can see the photo: https://timgsa.baidu.com/timg?image&quality=80&size=b9999_10000&sec=1589404958421&di=fea8028c4c1e363adce83d5606d018d4&imgtype=0&src=http%3A%2F%2Fimg2 .imgtn.bdimg.com% 2Fit% 2Fu% 3D3714795212% 2C3397520033% 26fm% 3D214% 26gp% 3D0.jpg
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Yes, I love Hong Kong, I would like to explore the whole Hong Kong again and again, as well as Tokyo and Osaka, which are simliar to Hong Kong.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
I fully agree, otherwise some irregular buildings will be built and demolished in the future, which will be a waste of manpower and material resources.
2. No, I would just be afraid that something would happen to me. The city was an oasis of criminals and a habitat of anarchy. I think it's great to read about it after years, but life there must have been a big challenge.
3. Yes, I agree with that. If the city is being built according to plan - the streets remain wide, pavements, estates, parks, waterworks and gas pipelines are planned. Then repairs and renovations take place much faster. In addition, it is much easier to move around. Of course, such cities are much uglier than cities built without plans (an example here are cities in the United States - built on a square plan), but they have more pluses. Cities founded 1000 years ago, developed without a plan, have many problems with planning roads and beltways. It is necessary to build viaducts and tunnels, which causes a huge increase in the prices of such investments.
1. Have you heard about Kawloon Walled City before? Do you know any other unusual settlements?
I heard that. Generally, that's how I imagine a cyberpunk. The main theme will be a game where there is no boundary between one structure and another. Places that can be reached in 100 ways and isolated clinics that only one road leads to. I think that the favelas in Rio are very similar. I read a book about it recently. Favela is a poverty district in Brazil. There is a very high crime rate in the favela. An average of twenty people are killed every day in the city, and shootings break out at different points in the agglomeration. No one knows how to stop the spiral of violence in Rio, and the idea that gang aggression can be defeated by police and military aggression is counterproductive.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
I am not interested in such attractions. But there are people who pay too much money to watch slums. The closest you can go to kaszyce, there is a housing estate lunik ix. It is a Roma settlement sometimes referred to as the largest gypsy ghetto in the world. A friend was in Rio and visited Fawele. The cost of the trip is not small. People who were born in the favelas are guides to the favelas, they live in the favelas and know them like the back of their hand. You can feel safe with them, because you are surely not in danger. Guides bring tourists and tourists mark the money needed for the development of the favelas. The locals respect that. Visiting the favela costs about 120 realities, that is about 150 PLN. The tour time is two hours.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Certainly for safety reasons, building regulations are needed.
1. I have never heard about this city before. Very interesting article. I know about Brazilian favella, the architecture there is interesting as well as the story. The most unusual city I think is Buenos Aires. I have heard that the city separated in two parts rich and poor. The difference is big. Poor part is dangerous and even cops can not control this area. It is dangerous district for tourists, the most interesting thing that it is located in center of capital city
2. For sure I would like to visit this kind of places. I very interested and I think life there is different then in urban areas.
3. Yes I think that buildings are a part of city. Infrastructure is important of construction, and it may leads to some benefits in future for the city.
I have never heard about this before. Hmm few weeks ago i heard rapper akon is creating his own city. He will have or maybe already he has his own cryptocurrency akoin or something with similar name.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Yes, it could be really interesting experience to explore this city as tourist.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
I think it is important to build something safe for people but sometimes building regulations are bad constructed in few cases and it only make it more difficult to create something on your own.
I haven’t heard about this city. Pitcairn settlement is quite extraordinary. The town, which is also a whole country is populated by less than 100 people. They live in the middle of pacific ocean so they are completely isolated from the outside world.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
I don’t really like traveling so not really, but nevertheless if there was such a possibility I would visit it virtually, preferably using google earth street like tool to move around.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
I think not only they are not necessary, but there shouldn’t be any in first place. People should be free to build what they want wherever they please. We live in free country aren’t we?
have never heard about the city before and I hope there are not many such places on earth. Fortunately, I do not know unusual settlements that could reassemble the place which is Kawloon Walled City. I could hardly imagine this place without being there tho.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
I would prefer to visit it abandoned in the form of Urbex. I think visiting the place as a tourist would not be that great there. Probably only a few more people would be interested in this place and it would be similar to normal abandoned site and not become in front of everyone's eyes so much.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
I don't think that they are necessary in order to build a city, but it makes the city more unique in a way. Cities have to be built a certain way for it to have a certain type of environment, so the city should be carefully planned by a local city manager, so it's really important to me that a city has its own distinctive features. That way, I believe it can have more character.
No! That was really surprising that such a city exists. I don't know any other unusual settlement like that. But I was never into that topic really.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Maybe one day. It would be quite an experience for certain.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Yes! It's necessary to plan the city, otherwise, there would be architectonic chaos. Even in Warsaw, we have some bad examples, especially nearby the Central Warsaw.
2. I am not sure. I suppose it could be a very interesting experience as well as traumatising one. The example of this city shows how unfair a world can be.
3. Yes, I do. Even in ancient Greece, they knew it was necessary to plan the city properly so that people could live in it comfortably. Buildings leave a permanent mark on the structure of the city and therefore it should be undertaken consciously and reasonably.
2. Honestly no, I would probably be scared to walk there as a tourist.
3. I do, otherwise it may be impossible to expand city and there would be a total chaos
2. I wouldn’t. Such places are very dangerous for outsiders. It’s easy to be robbed or even killed.
3. Yes, regulations for building are crucial for cities. Thanks for that we know where we can build a high building and where we can not. They also care about air corridors to prevent smog. Lastly they protect cities architecture and culture.
I have never heard about Kawloon Walled City before. I think that i dont know any unusual settlements. Its not the topic i have ever looked into from closer perspective to.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Probably not. I am not that type of a person that like to watch how other people lives especially in slams.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
I would agree that regulations are necesarry. As a civilization we need to control a lot of thing to allow living without chaos.
No I haven't heard about it but It looks really interesting.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Yes, I am really curious about this kind of places.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Not really, there should be regulations of course but I quite like when city truely "lives its life" becouse it makes every city so special and unique and it's the mirror of its cititizens.
I have not heard of this estate so far. I don't know such others. It must have been some prank on earth, but intriguing.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Sure, a trip to such a place could be very interesting. I would love to see something like that and other if it also exists.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Yes, building regulations are necessary for the proper functioning of cities, villages and estates. Without such regulations, it is very difficult to control the expansion. They should be and well that they exist. Sometimes they are brakes but they should be 100%.
Yes, I have heard about it. There was a small documentary series about Hong Kong on Vox Channel on YouTube. I think that the host mentioned something about it. I actually think that there are similar settlements in Hong Kong right now. Maybe not that huge as Kawloon but still, there’s a lot of people living in inhuman conditions in a tiny 1.5 by 1.5 room.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
It could be interesting and a nice experience for some people. I think that I would like to see it.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Yes, I think that building regulations are required to build cities. Thought-through constructions are useful for future city expanding and developing.
2. I think i would like to explore it, it definitely was an interesting looking place.
3. Yes, i do think so. By having strict building regulations we can ensure safety for the city.
2. No, I'm not interested in visiting cities. Personally, I prefer to travel far away from civilization. Due to such a dense population as in Kawloon Walled City it is more I would avoid them.
3. Yes, every city should have building regulations and comply with them in detail. Without them, there would be too much arbitrariness, which would lead to many problems, e.g. building up air corridors (as it is now done in Warsaw).
Regarding your last point, if it were so, then the city center after business hours would be an empty place, because people would have no purpose of travelling to it.
a local guide is a must. The favelas in South America are unfortunatley not the same, even though they are also interesting. I thought that the price for the guide would be higher
No, I haven't heard about Kawloon Walled City before. From "typical" unusual settlements I heard about slums from Rio, but in Poland we also have some interesting places. For example, Kłomino and Borne Sulinowo are post-war towns where russian army used to live during occupation. Nowadays, Kłomino is abandoned (it was planned to become demolished) but Borne Sulinowo received socond chance and has approximately 5000 residents now.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
I don't think so, I'm not into this type of cities, so probably I wouldn't like to visit Kawloon Walled City.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
I'm not sure, but in my opinion building regulations can be really helpfull. It's definitely less dangerous than constructing without any plan and government can include some fancy and beautiful spots.
I have never heard about Kawloon Walled City but I am happy that I know about it now. Despite all of the poverty and criminal activity in that city there is something beautiful about that place. Maybe they were poor but they were also independent. People created their own city and thier own rules and that's beautiful.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
YES! This sounds like one of those one of kind places in the world. There is a park there right now but I guess that it has not much to do with the places that it once was.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Yes, they are. Without those restrictions cities would be able to function properly only for a short amount of time. Parents' mistakes causes their children to suffer consequences. Air tunnels and proper ground limitations are necessary for a city to be solid and timeless.
No, I haven't heard about Kawloon Walled City before, and no other unusual settlements I can think of right now.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Yes, it always interesting to explore different place and the more the place is unique the better so definitely yes.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Yes, I think it very important to have strict buildings regulations otherwise people will build house that can put life of many at risk.
I have never heard about Kawloon Walled City before, but I would recommend to read about Songdo. It is one of cities which I would like to visit one day. For me it is a great example of power of the engineering. Songdo is a place build from nothing and we can descrive it as Smart City or city of future. For now it is not finished yet, but I hope that the plan will be realized as it is described.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Yes, for sure I would. I like to visit interesting places and it looks like one of them.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Yes, all the cities have to well planned and the strict building regulations are necessary. It is so hard to control free expansions of cities. There is a lot of examples of dangerous of letting cities grow without any regulations.
2. I don't think so, I don't consider it a tourist attraction and I wouldn't find anything interesting there. The only sense I can imagine for something like this is as a form of support and publicity for the people living there.
3. I am not in favour of strong regulations, but as you can see in the construction industry they are necessary at least at a minimum level.
No, I haven't heard about this city before, but I think I will search for more unusual settlements now. I find this an interesting topic to explore and learn more, how it looks like to live in such places and how people deal with their problems living in such places.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Maybe yes, I am not 100% sure. I mean reading about these places online and going there as a tourist is a little bit different experience. I think I would visit this place as a tourist, but for one day, just to see how it looks like, see some places and then move on.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Yes, we need strict building regulations for cities. I think, when there is a situation, that no one is in charge of what is going to build and there are no strict rules and managing departments hundreds of lives are in danger. Also, it should be remembered, that such regulations helps also citizens to be sure, that the building is safe and good materials were used to build it.
I haven't heard of Kawloon Walled City before. In one of my favorite books – Ready Player One written by Ernest Cline, and in a film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg
there are settlements called Stacks. Stacks were towers built of many caravans located on special scaffoldings where the poor part of society lived (i.e. the vast majority)
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
why not? after the coronavirus outbreak, I will gladly visit everything I can.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
I believe that regulations are needed. Without regulation, we would have more frequent cases of construction disasters and many more victims.
To be honest I didn't but it is very interesting. People daily life in these kind of unusual places is something that is often surprising and it makes me curious.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
To be honest I don't think so. First I would rather visit some popular cities where there is lot of art museums and iconic architecture like f.e. Madrid that I have never been to. Maybe one day I will visit Kawloon Walled City but I don't think so.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
Yes but not to strict. For example Warsaw is very irregularly build. It was also almost fully destroyed during World War II. Many spots in Warsaw look messy. There are many ugly buildings that were build during PRL times but I think that it is very unique in nice kind of way that they interpenetrate with new ones. This is probably one of the most fun things about Warsaw. It is so mixed up.
Do you know any other unusual settlements?I have heard about Kawloon Walled City before because I'm interested in Hong Kong and it's history. Unfortunately, I don't know any unusual settlements, that would be nearly as interesting as this one.
2. If it wasn't demolished in the 90s, would you like to explore it as a tourist?
Of course, I would like to explore it. I find Hong Kong and Kawloon Walled City very interesting.Now in the place of Kawloon Walled City you can visit only a park with the same name, which is also a very interesting place, but not nearly as interesting as original Walled City.
3. Do you think that strict building regulations are necessary to build cities?
I think that building regulations are necessary, but I don't think they should be very strict.For example, new buildings in Hong Kong can be built only by state-owned enterprises, which causes the housing crisis in Hong Kong, as the supply doesn't match the demand.