Product Code Database
Rooftop slum () or penthouse slum generally refers to illegal housing on the rooftops of apartment buildings. In Hong Kong, some people are unable to afford traditional apartments and are forced to wait years for affordable public housing. They therefore live in Squatting shacks on top of buildings. According to the Hong Kong population census, there were 47,091 rooftop dwellers in 2011 and this number is likely to have dropped as working class areas are redeveloped.
The rooftop dwellings, generally built atop tenement buildings from the 1950s and 1960s, typically range from . As of 2011, they were regularly sold in a grey market for around HK$50,000. The shanty homes are contrasted against legal apartments of Hong Kong, the "world's most expensive luxury city". Many people have lived in rooftop dwellings for over 30 years. New residents are from other Asian countries, like Nepal or Pakistan, or from mainland China.
Social worker Sze Lai-Shan, from the Society for Community Organization, comments:
The number of illegal dwellings has reduced dramatically as working class areas of Hong Kong are redeveloped. However, as of 2011 there were still more than 300,000 people on the waiting list for public housing and just 15,000 new apartment units built every year. When the rooftop dwellers are evicted, they can receive compensation of between HK$10,000 and HK$100,000 from the property developers or they can simply have their shacks burnt down. If they are offered public housing, this can be on islands far from their place of work and children's schools.
|
|
