In the second of a three-part series on the review of the urban renewal strategy, Olga Wong and Joyce Ng look at how old areas like To Kwa Wan and Kwun Tong can become more vibrant
For the elderly lingering outside the Cattle Depot Arts Village in To Kwa Wan, musical chairs is not so much a game as part of their daily routine. They watch and wait, hoping for one of the few public benches there to become free so they can sit down.
Urban renewal projects that have aimed to replace old buildings with high density high-rises have left the city with limited open space. However, the chance to change the current approach - formed in 2001 - may have arrived as the review of the renewal strategy will be opened to public discussion this month, government advisers said.
The government is already studying To Kwa Wan to see if industrial zones and old tenement buildings could become arts communities, a source close to the government said. But as in other old parts of the city, lack of open space remains a pressing issue, especially for the elderly.
The four seats outside the Cattle Depot Arts Village were the closest thing to open space residents had, 70-year-old resident Yeung Chi-kan said. He lives in 'Thirteen Streets' - a dilapidated area in To Kwa Wan named for its 13 parallel streets.
The arts village, which opens at noon, is closed to its neighbours unless they are friends of artists or an exhibition is on. The nearest park, on Ma Tau Chung Road, is too far for most elderly people to walk, Mr Yeung said.
Disillusioned by the slow pace of the renewal process, Mr Yeung said the 83 buildings in Thirteen Streets were too shabby and small for the elderly. The ground floors are occupied by garages. Pavements are blocked by parked cars. Chemicals sprayed in the garages hang in the air.