Amidst Hong Kong's status as a "Asia World City" with a towering GDP, lies a stark paradox: it is also the world's least affordable housing market. This blog delves into this crisis by examining the history of Ming Wah Dai Ha, one of the city's earliest public housing estates, to explore how government design and policy, shaped by intense real estate pressures, impact functionality, affordability, and the well-being of its residents.

Based on its origins as a coastal salt pan dating back to the Song Dynasty, Kwun Tong transformed from a neglected area in the 1950s into Hong Kong's largest industrial hub through massive reclamation and development. This industrial boom attracted a huge workforce, leading to the creation of the pioneering Kwun Tong Garden Estate. As one of the earliest and most resident-friendly public housing projects, its innovative architectural design—featuring self-contained flats and integrated communal facilities—fostered a strong, lasting sense of community and served as a social anchor, catalysing the area's explosive commercial and population growth around hubs like Yue Man Square.