Kowloon Walled City
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"Hong Kong's Kowloon Walled City is particularly notable for its disorganized hyper-urbanization and breakdown in traditional urban planning to be an inspiration to cyberpunk landscapes." --Sholem Stein |
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Kowloon Walled City was a largely ungoverned, densely populated settlement in Kowloon City in Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese military fort, the Walled City became an enclave after the New Territories were leased to Britain by China in 1898. Its population increased dramatically following the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II. By 1990, the Walled City contained 50,000 residents within its Template:Convert borders. From the 1950s to the 1970s, it was controlled by local triads and had high rates of prostitution, gambling and drug abuse.
In January 1987, the Hong Kong government announced plans to demolish the Walled City. After an arduous eviction process, demolition began in March 1993 and was completed in April 1994. Kowloon Walled City Park opened in December 1995 and occupies the area of the former Walled City. Some historical artefacts from the Walled City, including its yamen building and remnants of its South Gate, have been preserved there.
See also
- Lung Tsun Stone Bridge
- Centro Financiero Confinanzas, an abandoned skyscraper populated in a similar manner
- History of Hong Kong
- List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong
- List of urban public parks and gardens of Hong Kong
- Terra nullius
- Ras Khamis, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem that also has unplanned highrise construction due to uncertain political jurisdiction
- Dharavi, a densely populated community within Mumbai which has developed a similar localized economy and unplanned infrastructure system.
