Is redevelopment of squatter in urban area a possible way to increase housing supply?

Abstract

In the past decade, the problem of high property prices in Hong Kong has been criticized, and housing supply, especially public housing, is seriously inadequate. The Hong Kong Government does not seem to be able to solve these problems for the time being, but it seems that the government is actively addressing housing issues from different channels and programmes. Recently, the Government has also revealed that it will conduct studies on the use of squatters in urban areas during the year. This seems to be paving the way for the redevelopment of squatter areas, particularly urban areas. Therefore, this paper hopes to point out the current situation of the squatter in Hong Kong and its problems, and explore the feasibility of redeveloping the urban squatter area through quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the end, it will put forward suggestions and measures to improve squatters and policies for solving the problem of squatter housing in Hong Kong.