NewHong Kong real estate chamber pushing for more public space to rebuild lost neighbourhoods
Property industry group in move to rebuild neighbourhoods lost in city's concrete jungle
A non-profit-making body representing the property sector is reaching out to similar organisations to raise awareness for the need to increase public space in a bid to rebuild lost neighbourhoods in the city.
Ivan Ko Kwong-woon, the chairman of the China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce, said it had formed a group to study the issue but had not yet submitted a proposal to the government.
"When we were young, we had close neighbourhoods," Ko said. "Nowadays, people do not say hello to their neighbours.
"They do not stay in the area they live during holidays. They go out to look for entertainment.
"We have lost the kind of neighbours we used to have."
The city's concentration of tall buildings had transformed the community from a horizontal one to a vertical one, which in turn had changed the way the people behaved and "especially the way we treat our neighbours", he said. "The value or importance of neighbours has diminished."