Shelter and Water in Kowloon Walled City

CYNTHIA ENG

NOV. 21st, 2010

City of Darkness gives an inside look into the lives of many individuals who lived in Kowloon Walled City just a few years before the City was torn down. The essay, The Water Supply, provides useful information about the City’s struggle to meet its most indispensible need for drinking water, given that the Chinese government had long since refused to provide the City with access to the external water mains systems, with the exception to a few recognized charities (p.36). Residents resorted to several different sources of water.

Standpipes 

          The government did allow access to fresh drinking water through 8 standpipes around the perimeter of the City. However, only one of these standpipes was located inside the City. Being so few in number and inconveniently placed mostly outside the City, these standpipes failed to meet the water needs of the City’s 35,000 residents. “Residents were paying $12-15 a month for labourers to carry six kerosene cans of water each day from the stand-pipes to their flats … Business of carrying water for entire households became increasingly difficult the more the City grew skywards” (p. 36). Nevertheless, this service thrived until the end. 

Wells

Another source of water was from 70+ wells that were sunk around the city and reached depths of some 300 feet. Recent drilling had to reach 100 m deep because shallow water sources had been depleted and/or contaminated over time. New well drillers were usually property owners who drilled on their own land (p.37). What equipment and resources are required to dig a well this deep?

Residents and businesses paid suppliers to pump water from the wells to their flats. “Electric pumps shot water up to great tanks on the roof-tops, from where it descended via an ad hoc forest of narrow pipes to the homes of subscribers” (p. 10). The City’s alleyways were dark, damp, and sometimes even difficult to stand straight up in. Alley roofs were covered with a chaotic jumble of plastic water pipes, many of which dripped.

Because of water pressure and pumping difficulties, the electric pumps were only turned on to replenish tanks at set times, usually noon and midnight. This meant that residents still had to store water in bathtubs and buckets. Also water from the wells was mostly undrinkable (not even fit to boil), because it was usually contaminated by seepage of urban and industrial pollutants. Therefore, well-water was best used for washing and floor cleaning.

Depending on height and distance from the well, installation of a well-water link could cost as much as a few thousand dollars. By late 1980s, monthly water fees cost between $50-$70 per household. What is this as a percentage of average monthly wages?

Illegal Tapping of Mains

Residents and businesses could also pay the local Triad groups for water tapped illegally from nearby mains system. Illegal tapping of mains water from outside City, monopolized in the beginning by the Triads, remained an important source of drinking water until the end, even after the Triads sold off most of their business interest in the City (p.38).

Sources

Girard, Greg and Ian Lambot. The Water Supply. City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City. 5^th ed. Watermark Publications (UK) Limited, 2001.

Orangi Pilot Project(OPP)

JIYEON (RACHEL) KIM

NOV. 19th, 2010

Orangi Town: Orangi Pilot Project (OPP)

Orangi Town is located in the northwestern part of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It is currently the largest slum in South Asia, with an approximate population of 2.5 million.

In the 1980s, its inhabitants became frustrated at the lack of development in the area by the municipal administration and launched a community-initiated Orangi Pilot Project under the guidance of Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan. Their goal was to solve the town's sanitation problems by designing their own low-cost sewerage system, financed and constructed entirely by the local community. With the establishment of the sanitation system they successfully reduced the spread of disease in the local area. Without this socially innovative project, the community would not have had access to a sewer system, since the local government refused to recognize the town.

As a result, communities across developing countries adopted this programme as well. After its initial success, the project extended to finance and manage (on community level) other public facilities like schools, clinics, solid waste disposal and security. On the success of its five basic programs of low cost sanitation, housing, health, education and credit for micro enterprise, in 1988 OPP was upgraded into three autonomous institutions.

Low Cost Housing Program(Extended Part of OPP)

The Low Cost Housing Program aims to improve building components and construction technique, through action research, provision of credit and technical guidance to building component manufacturing yards, training of youths and masons and mobilization of house owners.

Comparing the OPP with his earlier Comilla project, Akhtar Hameed Khan commented:

"The Orangi Pilot Project was very different from the Comilla Academy. OPP was a private body, dependent for its small fixed budget on another NGO. The vast resources and support of the government, Harvard advisers, MSU, and Ford Foundation was missing. OPP possessed no authority, no sanctions. It may observe and investigate but it could only advise, not enforce."

Solution to Sewage Problem
•Development of Orangi natural ‘Nalas’ into box trunks for sewage/rainwater disposal
•Nalas: drainage channels
•Discovered low cost method through research and edcuating local residents
•Technical guidance to construct sanitary latrines in the homes, underground sewerage lines, small secondary sewers
•Trunk mains and treatment plants under gov’t responsibility

Outcome

•72,000 sanitary latrines installed
•1.3 million ft of sewer lines laid out

I thought that OPP is a good example of how a community can solve its problems without the aid of its government. One thing to note, however, was that the project was directed by Dr.Akhtar Hameed Khan who had previously directed another community-level project.

Lane Before the Construction

Lane After the Construction

Orangi Town, Pakistan

Shikumen

MARYIA SAKHAREVICH

NOV. 19th, 2010

         Shikumen (Lilong Housing); Shanghai

Between 1852 and 1949 was an open trade period in Shanghai, resulting in a population increasing rate of over 900%. Most people were involved in commercial or business activities, and various types of shops started to cover the facades of streets and buildings. Shikumen (Lilong housing) was created as a solution to a rapidly growing population and lack of space. They started off as temporary wooden shacks, later evolving into brick or brick-concrete two-three storey residences, connected by internal pedestrian walkways. They were integrated into the existing street blocks, where the shops occupied the street front and housing took the enclosed space. These developments made good use of land, while maintaining the sense of privacy in a home.

Plan, section, elevation

Sources

Qian Guan, Lilong Housing, A Traditional Settlement Form (M.Arch Thesis, School of Architecture McGill University, 1996). "Shanghai Shikumen." polar inertia journal. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2010.

Kowloon Walled City

SNEHANJALI SUMANTH

#20378875

NOV. 19th, 2010

Kowloon Walled City has an aura of disbelief surrounding it. It is a marvellous anomaly, a phenomenon that now, after its destruction, I cannot believe actually existed.

Even after all the struggles it went through, from the British to the Japanese to the Triad, the city managed to grow at a very fast rate.

"Almost to the end it retained its seedy magnificence. It had never looked more impudent, more desperate, more evil to some eyes, more weirdly beautiful to others. (City of Darkness, pg. 9)"

There are many aspects I view the city from, some that are contradictory. It even has the strength to redefine some of the aspects, and the strength to make us question the idea of a city as we know it.

As a slum

The city unarguably falls under the category of a slum. The housing, living conditions and high rates of poverty deem it unconditionally so.

"The City reared up abruptly from the bare ground, 10, 12, in places as many as 14 storeys high, and there was no mistaking it: six-and-a-half acres of solid building, home to 33,000 people, the biggest slum in the world. It was also, arguably, the closest thing to a truly self-regulating, self-sufficient, self-determining modern city ever built. (City of Darkness, pg 9)"

As a city

"What is a city in essence? How do we arrive at one that really works, that satisfies the deep emotional as well as the everyday needs of the people who live in it, to the same degree as the ideal sort of village? For all its squalor and its legacy of vice, Kowloon's Walled City offered some intriguing answers. (City of Darkness, pg. 9)"

The idea of a city is still one that I am not very certain of. In all its failures, Kowloon Walled City still is, essentially a city. A Popham said, how do we arrive at one that works? Does this city work? How can it function as a slum and a city, that too a modern one? The idea is clearly spectacular; one of great debate. As for suiting the needs of the people who live in it, we would get down to the question "what are needs?"

As an anarchy

"The Walled City became that rarest of things, a working model of the anarchist society. Inevitably, it bred all the vices that the enemies of anarchism denounce. (City of Darkness, pg. 10)"

This is just another way the city flourished. It is human nature for a power structure to form when a group of people come together. The city did go through its stages of power struggles, from the British to the Triads, but essentially fought and each time became stronger.

As an architectural marvel

"What fascinates about the Walled City is that, for all its horrible shortcomings, its builders and residents succeeded in creating what modern architects, with all their money and expertise, have failed to: the city as 'organic megastructure', not set rigidly for a lifetime but continually responsive to the changing requirements of its users. (City of Darkness, pg. 13)"

As a person whose aim is to become an architect but is not quite there yet, I do not feel I have enough experience to contemplate and even debate this sentence; my knowledge does not span that far yet. However, the architecture of the city has adapted to the changes the city has gone through, especially population growth.

"Through a continual process of demolition and reconstruction - with never an architect in sight - individual buildings gradually homogenized. An intricate network of communal stairways and corridors linked on to the other, creating a warren of passages that made it possible to traverse the City without once touching the ground.

As a home

Most importantly, this city housed approximately 33,000 people. 33,000 people who called that place home. Although the conditions were quite horrible, the work was excruciating and poverty was high, simple people lived simple lives. Families were born, children played and they had a roof over their head.

Sources

Girard, Greg, and Ian Lambot. City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City. [Chiddingfold]: Watermark, 2007. Print

"The Power of Community" Trailer

JANICE WOO

NOV. 19th, 2010

Here is the trailer for the movie Kyle recommended us, called "The Power of Community".

[REFERENCE] Formatting

JANICE WOO

NOV. 19th, 2010

TEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXT
TEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXTTEXT (research, cut and paste)

MYOWNWORDS/COMMENTARY MYOWNWORDS/COMMENTARYMYOWNWORDS/COMMENTARYMYOWNWORDS/COMMENTARYMYOWNWORDS/COMMENTARYMYOWNWORDS/COMMENTARYMYOWNWORDS/COMMENTARYMYOWNWORDS/COMMENTARYMYOWNWORDS/COMMENTARY

Caption caption caption ("Add Caption" option should appear when you insert a picture)

"Quotation quotation quotation"

- Person who said the quote

Sources

blahblahblahblahblah

Survival in the Special Period: Urban Organic Agriculture in Cuba

JOHN KYLE PAISLEY

NOV. 19th, 2010

Garden in Havana, Cuba

With the collapse of the Soviet Bloc and its economic support in 1989 as well as the tightening up of the US economic embargo, Cuba plunged into an economic crisis called the special period. In short order, the country lost approximately 80% of its imports, 80% of its exports and its Gross Domestic Product dropped by 34 percent. The early stages of the Special Period were defined by a general breakdown in transportation and agricultural sectors, fuel, fertilizer and pesticide stocks and widespread food shortages. For a time, waiting for a bus could take three hours, power outages could last up to sixteen hours, food consumption was cut back to one-fifth of their previous levels and the average Cuban lost about nine kilograms (twenty pounds). Nutrition fell from 3,052 calories per day in 1989 to 2,099 calories per day in 1993. Other reports indicate even lower figures, 1,863 calories, well below the recommended minimum of 2,100–2,300 calories. Fidel Castro stated in 1991: "The food question has the number one priority.”

(Organic agriculture) made its appearance as a necessity and that necessity helped us to advance, to consolidate and expand more or less uniformly…”

Adolfo Rodriguez. Cuba’s top urban agrarian

Organoponicos, Havana, Cuba

Urban Agriculture
            The effects of the Special Period and consequent food shortages had greatest repercussions in the city of Havana. In addition to the decline in food production needed to serve the capital, there was also a shortage of petroleum necessary to transport, refrigerate, and store food available from the rural agricultural sector. Urban organic agriculture evolved as a means to cope with the increasing shortages and a need for survival.
            While Havana's urban agriculturehas taken on many forms, ranging from private gardens (huertos privados) to state-owned research gardens (organicponicos), Havana's popular gardens (huertos populares) are the most widespread and accessible to the general public. Popular gardens are small parcels of state-owned land that are cultivated by individuals or community groups in response to ongoing food shortages and range in size from a few square meters to three hectares.

Additional Benefits of Urban Agriculture

Plants have the ability to reduce the overall heat absorption of the building which then reduces energy consumption. Plant surfaces, as a result of transpiration, do not rise more than 4–5 °C above the ambient and are sometimes cooler." (Ong, B. (2003). Green plot ratio: an ecological measure for architecture and urban planning. Landscape and Urban Planning, 63 (4). Retrieved November 19, 2010, from ScienceDirect database.)

It was calculated that "the temperature in Tokyo could be lowered by 0.11–0.84 °C if 50% of all available rooftop space were planted with greenery. This would lead to a savings of approximately 100 million yen per day in the city's electricity bill. ( Yuen, B, & Wong, N. (2005). Resident perceptions and expectations of rooftop gardens in Singapore. Landscape and Urban Planning, 73 (4). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from ScienceDirect database.)

In addition to providing resistance to thermal radiation, rooftop gardens prove beneficial in reducing rain water run off and potential flooding; relief from the generally impermeable surfaces within an urban context.

Outcome

As a result of the response to The Special Period, 80 percent of the vegetables and herbs grown on the island today are organic. In addition, the urban gardens they are grown in are generally within walking distance of those who will consume them. Through the response of both individuals and the government, Cuba reduced both the use of fossil fuels in the production and transportation of food, while producing additional benefits for the nation. As described in the video clip from Community Solutions, these innovative solutions will become increasingly more relevant as we respond to the impending needs of a post-peak oil world. 

Sources

Ong, B. (2003). Green plot ratio: an ecological measure for architecture and urban planning. Landscape and Urban Planning, 63 (4). Retrieved November 19, 2010, from ScienceDirect database.

Yuen, B, & Wong, N. (2005). Resident perceptions and expectations of rooftop gardens in Singapore. Landscape and Urban Planning, 73 (4). Retrieved November 19, 2020, from ScienceDirect database.

What can slums teach us?

JENNIFER YONG

NOV. 19th, 2010

        A task that the UN puts a lot of its efforts, and therefore money, towards is implementing state finance systems that will allow people with low income to have shelter/housing.

The main activities of the Housing Finance Systems are:

1. Review and analysis of housing finance systems and mechanisms;
2. Conducting studies on important housing finance issues such as market infrastructure – legal and regulatory frameworks, property rights, land rights and registration, law enforcement; relationship of housing finance systems to the wide national economy and financial sector;
3. Government intervention and subsidies/incentives in housing finance systems;
4. Strategies and instruments for financial resources mobilization for housing and infrastructure;
5. Project Finance
6. Mortgage finance and credit enhancements
7. Community-based finance institutions and instruments;
8. Links between formal housing finance and informal housing finance;
9. Provide advisory and technical assistance in capacity building, financial instruments, policy development and reforms.

          This almost hits me as an overanalysis. Places like Dignity Village and Kowloon Walled City were able to survive (maybe thrive?) without any outside funding by simply creating shelters out of materials available to them. These shelters can be seen as innovative because of their very practicality.

          Maybe in our keynote we might state that while the UN uses time and money to try to implement government systems to improve situations of poverty (a lot of resources are wasted in this struggle, as the attempts are not always successful in improving low-income housing ex. in Ciudad Bolivar in Bogota), it is actually possible for people in poverty to create their own means of survival--shelter, water, agriculture. As problem-solvers and architects we should realize how successful simple solutions and simple materials can be (ex. even like those plastic bottle houses) and apply that to our own buildings. Maybe the strategies used to cram a whole lot of people in a very small space (Kowloon Walled City, any rooftop housing) can be applied to urban design in developed countries. I realize that space-efficient and economic housing is already a big thing in large metropolises and is the only kind of thing in places like Japan and China. But what we need to address is that in North America we also need to be thinking about making the most of our space. While most architects are interested in this issue, our society as a whole is not there quite yet. It is important that this quickly becomes a concern of people and the government. Has anyone watched The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream? Basically it discusses how after peak oil (which has occurred) it is impossible for North Americans to continue supporting the lifestyle we have enjoyed since WWI when oil was dirt cheap. Even with any combination of alternative energy sources, we cannot continue living in suburbs with several hours of commute every day.

         What does everyone think about these ideas as a part of our "standpoint" for our keynote?

Sources

Zhang, Xing Quan. UN-HABITAT. “Urban Economy and Financing Shelter: Housing Finance.” Accessed November 19, 2010. http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?typeid=19&catid=292&cid=5957

Beer Can Roof + ECO-TEC

MARYIA SAKHAREVICH

NOV. 19th, 2010

I found a tutorial on how to make a roof out of aluminum cans (beer or coke cans). It requires minimal amount of materials (besides all the cans) and the process is quite simple. You can read the step-by-step instructions, but also check out the short video on the first page- it sums up the entire process pretty nicely.

Also, I found this organization called ECO-TEC, Environmental Solutions (was founded in Honduras in 2001). They created the first water bottle house, which is a very eco-friendly, quick construction house, using mainly water bottles, sand, and rubble. It was created in response to massive amounts of water bottles being wasted in the dumpsters (80% of water bottles are not being recycled) so they came up with a solution to a) provide housing, water storage tanks, etc. and b) solve the garbage issue (to some extent).

Basically, they take 1.5L or 2L plastic bottles, use a funnel to fill it in with local material (such as sand, soil, rubble, etc), and then to bind them together they use soil mixed with clay/mud (every 6 courses they use cement, but otherwise cement is avoided) and bind them with nylon/twine (commonly used in agriculture) afterwards. Because of the use of local materials, each project becomes eco-friendly and 40% cheaper than conventional housing.

Check out their website (the short videos on the left hand side and the list of projects), they explain their various projects in more detail. 

Sources

Robbtoberfest. Instructables. "Make shingles and siding out of aluminum cans (beer can roof)." Accessed November 19, 2010. http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-Shingles-and-Siding-Out-of-Aluminum-Cans-Bee/

Examples of temporary shelter and water filtration and purification

JUSTIN LAI
NOV. 19th, 2010

Temporary shelter

A view Port-au-Prince's National Stadium, where Haitians displaced by the earthquake have pitched makeshift tents for shelter.

Simple tent in Mongolia that consists of 4 long sticks supporting a large piece of cloth forming an A-shape.

Sandwater filtration system

This method can be easily made in the wilderness, utilizing mostly sand and gravel.

1. To start with, you need a container. If you can find a large, empty can, use it. Punch 5-10 holes in the bottom of the can. A large plastic bottle is also fine. Cut the end of the bottle off evenly. If there is no container available, you have to use what material that nature can provide, or that you brought with you. If you find a birch tree, make a cone of birch bark. The cone will need to have a fairly small hole in the bottom. Tie the cone with rope to keep it from opening up.
2. First, you need to stop the sand to get out of the container. Find some filter material you can place at the bottom. For instance:
           • a couple of inches (centimeters) of pebbles.
           • a grass mesh, make sure it’s nonpoisonous grass.
           • or cotton material.
3. Add a layer of gravel. The main purpose of the gravel layer is to strengthen the filter material and prevent sand mixed with the water you get from the filter.
4. Fill your bottle or cone with sand.
5. Collect some water. Pour your collected water through the filter. Catch it in another container at the bottom. Look at the water that comes out of the filter. It should be clear. If not, you may have to pass the water through the filter more than once.

This method s effective and accessible, however it still does not necessarily make the water drinkable. Purification is needed as there may still be harmful bacteria in the water.

Water Purification

A useful technique recently developed is called Solar-Water Disinfection (SODIS). This involves placing water in a grade 1 PET plastic bottle and then exposing it to direct sunlight for at least 6 hours. The UV rays from the sun interferes with the cell structure of the bacteria, thereby destroying it. It thus allows unsafe water to be drinkable. However there are several limitations to this method. It is very difficult to be effective if the water is mirky or unclear as it effects the UV ray's ability to cleanse the water. More over, you need to have an adequate source of sunlight in order for this to work. It helps if you are located near the equator line as this is where you can maximize the sunlight.

Sources 

Paris, Sophia. United Nations. “Haiti Earthquake.” Last modified February 03, 2010. Accessed November 19, 2010. http://www.unmultimedia.org/photo/detail.jsp?id=426/426984&key=47&query=subject:%22Haiti%20Earthquake%22&lang=en&sf=.

Wilderness Survival Skills for Safe Wilderness Travel. “How to make a water filter.” Accessed November 19, 2010. http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/how-to-make-a-water-filter.html.

Section of Kowloon Walled City

CYNTHIA ENG

NOV. 19th, 2010

Here is a detailed section of Kowloon Walled city. Notice the dank ground level, and the pipes rising to the roof top water tanks.

Sources

Deconcrete. "Un-real estate Kowloon." Last modified March 30, 2010. Accessed November 19, 2010. http://www.deconcrete.org/2010/03/30/un-real-estate-kowloon/.