Hong Kong government considers plan to cram in more people
Proposal involves raising density levels by 20pc in some areas, which would be above the maximum allowed in many major world cities
The population density in Hong Kong, already the highest in the world in some districts, is set to go even higher.
Under a proposal before the government, the plot ratio - the total built area of a development divided by the total site area - is to be increased by 20 per cent or more in some urban areas and new towns, which will raise living density above the maximum allowable in housing developments in the world's major cities.
Plot ratios, also known elsewhere in the world as floor area ratios or floor space ratios, are tools employed by urban planners to control development intensity.
"Hong Kong's ratio is similar to that of New York's downtown district, which has a floor area ratio of between six to 10 times," Lam said. But it is higher than London's ratio, which ranges from as low as one to as high as six times; and Shanghai's 1.6 to 2.5 times.
Singapore, a long-time rival of Hong Kong for attracting businesses, has a low plot ratio of 2.2 to four times.
While admitting that "exact" comparisons of plot ratios or floor area ratios was not possible, since the development intensity was calculated in different ways in different cities, Lam noted that the government of Singapore tended to favour lower development intensities to enhance the quality of living spaces, unlike the policy trend in Hong Kong.