Market Disequilibrium and Urban Land Shortages: Analysis of Policy and Patterns in Hong Kong
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 132, Issue 2
Abstract
Government regulations on urban land use can cause urban land shortages, and hence higher prices of urban land and housing. Hong Kong, in particular, is under the innate constraints of limited land resources. But developments appear to look further restrained, due to government land use policy and regulations. However, little has been done regarding the impact of planning policies on residential market operations, when both zoning and control on land supply are employed by the government. This study attempts to fill the literature gap by developing a measure for the effectiveness of urban land use, from an analysis of land demand/supply mechanisms within a structure of stringent land supply constraints. The findings suggest that provision of low-rise public housing, in addition to the rigidity of plot ratio, appears to induce floor space shortages in some older/poorer areas, although those districts happen to have a comparatively high proportion of land for residential use. A more flexible land supply policy, particularly concerning the plot ratio, is recommended in order to minimize the impact caused by floor space shortages by encouraging private participations in redevelopments.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank the referees and others who have contributed to this paper. Our special thanks go to Mr. Ka-hung Yu for his valuable assistance. This research was supported by the Hong Kong RGC CERG (BQ664&BQ364) and PolyU Research Grant (APD36).
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Published In
Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 132 • Issue 2 • June 2006
Pages: 80 - 88
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Jul 26, 2004
Accepted: Mar 22, 2005
Published online: Jun 1, 2006
Published in print: Jun 2006
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