At Home with Density

4. SPATIAL CONCEPTS

4 SPATIAL CONCEPT S Size Matters At tha t time , when w e first cam e here, we didn't hav e as much stuf f . . . i t was spacious. O f course i t was good. We had no place t o live, where could we find a flat lik e this to live? In the past, we only had a small par t o f what w e have now and had to share wit h severa l othe r families. W e slept o n the floor, w e had to. If they allocate d a flat t o you, you were very lucky . For this grandmother th e offer o f an HKHA flat represente d mor e than jus t a spac e t o live ; i t mean t security , an d stabilit y i n a plac e that was self-contained, new , saf e and affordable. Resident s appeare d to hav e a stron g an d lastin g impressio n o f th e firs t tim e the y sa w their home: it was 'spacious', 'very big' and 'empty'. It reinforced th e sense tha t wit h th e mov e int o publi c housin g accommodatio n thei r lives ha d significantl y improved . We didn' t hav e an y say in th e matter. I n short, whe n ou r hut was demolished the y sai d 'w e will allocat e a flat t o you in due course'. Then the y sen t us a letter informin g u s of the address of the flat and where to get the key. Everything was already fixed. . . . in other word s we couldn' t complai n . . . . th e hut where w e lived befor e wa s very small. . . when we got this big (300 square feet or 27.9 square metres ) flat w e were so happy. 84 A t Home With Density Moving from th e inconvenience of communal to private facilitie s was somethin g tha t peopl e greatly appreciated . Before this we lived in a Mark-type estate. The facilities were simple and crude. No private toilet. The toilets were located in the middle of the level. So were the bathrooms. There was no kitchen. You had to cook outside in front of the door. When you compare it to those Marktype estates this is so much better .... W e thought this flat was great because it included a kitchen. One famil y o f six , wh o 2 3 years previously , ha d bee n livin g i n just 8 0 square fee t (7. 4 square metres) recalle d tha t thei r applicatio n was approve d quickly . Withi n a mont h the y wer e give n thei r 30 0 square feet (27. 9 square metres) flat i n Kwai Chung, which wa s the n a relatively undevelope d are a o f Hong Kong . We had no neighbours a t that tim e because we moved here quickl y before th e Lunar New Year . . . my family wa s in a bad way at tha t time. Four kids, my wife and I, but I was the only one earning a wage. Life was very hard . .. One of the difficulties i n asking long-term residents to reflect o n their hom e i s tha t i t force s the m t o recal l value s an d prioritie s an d experiences, whic h ma y hav e change d ove r time . Resident s mad e constant shift s betwee n pas t an d present, referrin g b y association t o individual and collective memories and lifestories withi n that space . Changes mad e to the home were recalled according to events withi n their family, th e cycle of seasons and the festive calendar ; significan t events tha t marke d th e passing o f time . And, a s long-term dwellin g decisions concernin g th e househol d an d th e spac e are part o f a n on going process , the y recalle d thei r hom e i n term s o f layer s an d it s evolution a s a resul t o f decision s mad e i n respec t t o differen t lif e...