Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
A TRAGIC SHANTY TOWN fire in Hong Kong in the 1950s left more than 50,000 people homeless at a time when the population was growing through immigration by more than 10,000 people a week.
How to house everyone? The Hong Kong government first tried rapidly building bungalows but eventually made an extraordinary decision that would change the shape of the city forever: they decided to build upwards instead of outwards.
Rather than erecting houses for families of four or five people, each structure would accommodate 2,500 people: five or six thousand families at once.
The result was a new paradigm for Hong Kong, which would eventually become the world’s most high-rise city.
Today, there is just one of those original housing blocks remaining. Mei Ho House has been lovingly revamped and now a popular place for nostalgic visitors, history buffs or just people wanting a pleasant spot to spend a few days on holiday.
A TRAGIC SHANTY TOWN fire in Hong Kong in the 1950s left more than 50,000 people homeless at a time when the population was growing through immigration by more than 10,000 people a week.
How to house everyone? The Hong Kong government first tried rapidly building bungalows but eventually made an extraordinary decision that would change the shape of the city forever: they decided to build upwards instead of outwards.
Rather than erecting houses for families of four or five people, each structure would accommodate 2,500 people: five or six thousand families at once.
The result was a new paradigm for Hong Kong, which would eventually become the world’s most high-rise city.
Today, there is just one of those original housing blocks remaining. Mei Ho House has been lovingly revamped and now a popular place for nostalgic visitors, history buffs or just people wanting a pleasant spot to spend a few days on holiday.
