A Temporary Housing Area (THA; ) is an area designated for people living in temporary houses made by wood frames and zinc plates in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. The houses are built by the
Hong Kong Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...
beginning in 1964 to replace wooden huts and squatter areas that began to emerge in the late 1940s and 1950s. The name was created in the 1980s to replace the original reference of ''Licensed area''.
The building design was likely influenced from military
barracks
Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...
.
Each house is divided into tens of tiny flats, with one flat per household. Most of the THAs were demolished by the 1990s and the last demolished was in 2001.
The THA is being replaced by
Interim Housing, a more resilient temporary home concept since the 1970s.
Life
Living in a THA affords little privacy. Interior walls are only visual barriers. Cooking and showering can only be done outside the flat. Toilets were common areas for all residents to use; additionally, open sewer channels along the walkways connecting the THAs were often used by residents to brush their teeth or laundry.
Temporary housing serves displaced people while the city is being planned or if their house is being remodeled or relocation from disasters like fire or typhoons.
See also
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Mount Davis
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Shau Kei Wan
Shau Kei Wan or Shaukiwan is a neighborhood in the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern District of Hong Kong Island. The area is bordered by Chai Wan to the east, Mount Parker (Hong Kong), Mount Parker to the south, Sai Wan Ho to the west, and ...
*
King's Park (
Ho Man Tin
Ho Man Tin is a mostly residential area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, part of the Kowloon City District.
History
Section of lists of villages in the book ' (literally ''The History of Bao'an County, Xin'an County'') published in twenty fourth year ...
)
*
Lai Chi Kok
Lai Chi Kok is a neighbourhood in Kowloon, Hong Kong, east of Kwai Chung and west of Cheung Sha Wan. Mei Foo Sun Chuen is the largest housing estate in the area and also the largest in Hong Kong with 99 blocks. Administratively, it belongs t ...
References
External links
Chinese article ad gallery of THAs
Public housing in Hong Kong
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