Space under flyovers could house young people, campaign suggests
Shipping containers slotted under flyovers would serve as temporary flats for young people priced off property ladder under new proposal
Young people struggling with staggering property prices could live in shipping containers stacked beneath flyovers, a campaign has suggested.
Pressure group Underneath Flyover Action launched a campaign yesterday to seek community support for the idea.
"Policy-wise, it's beneficial to society that the government releases the vacant areas underneath flyovers for public use," Chinese University associate professor of architecture Wallace Chang Ping-hung, a member of the group, said. Lawmaker Chan Yuen-han and prominent art critic Mathias Woo Yan-wai are also members.
The group says there are 1,213 vehicle flyovers and 693 pedestrian overpasses in the city. Most of these sites have potential for further development, although there is no official data on this.
The group will make a further assessment and pass the proposal to the government soon.
Chang estimated that the space below the flyover at Hoi Bun Road in Kwun Tong, which is currently office space for the redevelopment of Kowloon East, could hold 300 to 400 containers.
But the idea drew a lukewarm response from the public. University student Gloria Lin said building cheap, temporary flats would not solve the city's housing problem in the long run.