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Task 2: USING YOUR E - PORTFOLIO that u have created earlier for ENBE, You are to write a reflection on this virtual visit on ‘The walled city of Kowloon’ and talk about how important it is the knowledge of built environment and abiding building law to ensure healthy, safe and positive life quality.
You are also to choose a scene or situation from any references that has given an impact to you and tell us how do you feel about it.
My Reflection on Kowloon Walled City
This place was really an eye opener for me. Kowloon wall city was like no other place I had ever 'visited'. This was an area designed for a few thousand people but overtime grew exponentially into a massively densely populated area 120 times that of New York City. Besides once being the most densely populated place in the world, it was a self sustaining city, where the government was not involved in.
The city's buildings have a unique architectural style (or should I say a lack of it) since almost everyone of the buildings are built on top one another by the residents themselves, built depending on the their current needs and uses. This though, does create problems and in the modern world, breaks many health and safety laws as well as trespassing proper quality of life. But even though living in this city is hazardous, there is nothing the authorities can do, creating a lawless environment which attracts many crime syndicates and criminal behavior.
I was quite shocked when I heard that the homes were built by the resident themselves as I thought to myself "Won't they collapse?". Furthermore, the homes were stacked upon one another. On the right I have included a image of the stacked houses, and you can clearly see that each floor and apartment are built differently. It was then I realized the importance of built environment and how building laws can ensure safe living environments which these people were not accustomed to.
Many of the people living in Kowloon Walled City were just normal residents without ties to criminal organisations who made their living selling items in their stores. They would set up shops in front of their homes and make food or tend their shops. It is said that Kowloon food was so delicious that even people outside the city would travel their just to try their noodles or culinary delights. I myself would be wary at the fact that health and food laws do not apply there, unsure if the food is actually safe to eat!
While looking at the comments of Kowloon Walled City: Hong Kong's City of Darkness by Geographics, I came across this comment below:
I found this comment quite funny and even gave a like :) In Kowloon the main authorities were the Triads i.e., Chinese mafia. They worked with residents and acted as a kind of city council as they settled disputes between businesses, organized a garbage disposal system, and created a volunteer fire department. This made me wonder the way we see people and groups. We must be careful defining groups by one's own particular biases. One man's terrorist could be another man's social services, education, and law. Stereotyping is not so clear cut as I thought.
In the end, the citizens were compensated a total of $350 million for the demolition of the city by the Hong Kong government.
According to many Kowloon city ex-residents, their times in that cramped up city was more enjoyable than their current areas where they are able to live in proper homes. Maybe it was because many of their residents shared close bonds with other families in this close knitted environment.
This 'visiting' experience was extremely enjoyable as I learned many new things about the importance of built environments and how community can bring people together, like Kowloon. In a way Kowloon was an amazing city, unique in its ways and had cherishing moments, but as Greg Girard said, “You don’t want to romanticize a slum, you know. Because it was that. But it was much more than that. The Walled City was a kind of architectural touchstone in terms of what a city can be — unplanned, self-generated, unregulated.”
References:
(1) 11 Facts About Kowloon Walled City – Once Known As The World’s Most Densely Populated Place
https://unbelievable-facts.com/2018/02/facts-about-kowloon-walled-city.html
(2) Inside Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fd56CGnVRU&t=8s
(3) Kowloon Walled City: Hong Kong's City of Darkness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcSBOUpgngM
(4) REAL SCENES AT KOWLOON CITY – RECORDED VIDEO –
Kowloon Walled City 1980 English documentary (Subtitles)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooQjAYJQ-xM
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