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... infoThe lost Roof-Tops of HongkongAn estimated 5.000 people live in hut communities erected on the flat roofs of the highrise buildings of Hongkong. You can find basic huts along with more complex, multi storey constructions. The Roof-Tops show a patchwork rug of tin, wood, bricks and plastic.
The huts heat up extremely in the hot summer months, during the rainy typhoon season the inhabitants fight against the leaks of the provisional roofs. The acute lack of housing space and the high rents in Hongkong do not leave the Roof Top People a choice. Many of them originate from Mainland China. They are not illegal but often do not hold an unlimited permission to stay and only occasionally get low paid jobs.
In the old days the Roof Top Communities have been a microcosm itself. On the open spaces the lively community life of a small village took place. Around the millennium change about 20.000 people still lived on the Roof Tops – some of them for decades already. But urban development will change the way Hongkongs residential areas look like. The building authorities plan to demolish the old residential blocks including their Root Top Communities. Many huts have been cleared and demolished already. Tower blocks shall arise – with more than 30 storeys including shopping malls.
This photo reportage has been sponsored by the “Kulturwerk der VG BILD-KUNST GmbH”, Bonn
