“Public housing plays a major role in the collective memory and spirit of Hong Kong. If we’re talking about the ‘Lion Rock Spirit’, then public housing must be part of it.” ——— Professor Miles Glendinning
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If you’ve read any of my previous articles on Exploring Hong Kong Public Housing, you’ll know that I grew up in a Hong Kong public housing estate. As a child, I would often wander around the shopping arcade or play in the estate playgrounds, ride my bicycle, and slowly walk home along those long, straight corridors. Back then, I never imagined that these fragments of daily life might one day be documented by someone from abroad, treated as history, or even archived for academic research.
But what if I told you that a Scottish professor had already visited over 90% of Hong Kong’s public housing estates more than a decade ago, capturing their architecture through photographs and eventually compiling them into a monumental book: Hong Kong Public Housing: An Architectural and Policy History? Would you be curious as to why he began documenting this collective experience long before most of us ever thought to?
This time, let us take a moment to pause and reflect—through the lens of a foreign scholar—on how the value and meaning of Hong Kong’s public housing can be rediscovered.
Why Would a Scottish Scholar Enter the World of Hong Kong Public Housing?
During a recent visit to London, I was fortunate to have a rare and meaningful conversation with Professor Miles Glendinning, author of Hong Kong Public Housing: An Architectural and Policy History.
You may wonder why a Scottish academic would take such a deep interest in Hong Kong’s public housing—to the extent that he spent more than a decade writing a book devoted entirely to the subject. Before exploring his reasons, allow me to first introduce his academic background.
Professor Miles Glendinning holds the Personal Chair of Architectural Conservation at the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and serves as Director of the Scottish Centre for Conservation Studies. He is a long-time specialist in the study and preservation of large-scale public housing and modernist architecture. A prominent figure in the global heritage field, he has collaborated closely with international organisations such as DOCOMOMO.
Why Hong Kong? A Cross-Border Research Journey
How did a Scottish professor become so deeply involved in Hong Kong’s housing history?
The journey began in 2009, when he was working on a global study of mass public housing systems. His aim was to understand how different countries shaped large-scale housing through varying policy and architectural frameworks. Hong Kong quickly stood out as a uniquely complex case: one of the densest and most extensive public housing systems in the world, yet rarely mentioned in global academic discourse.
“Public housing in Hong Kong is often overlooked in international discussions, but it is in fact one of the most extensive and complex systems in the world.”
Recognising this gap, he chose Hong Kong as a key case study—one that he would continue to follow for over a decade.
From Visiting 90% of Estates to Writing a Decade-Long Book
In 2013, Professor Glendinning arrived in Hong Kong for fieldwork. He visited nearly every public housing estate in the city, photographing the buildings and compiling archival documents. These materials formed the foundation of what would become his informal but rich visual archive of Hong Kong public housing.
Although the project began as a preliminary investigation, his deepening understanding of Hong Kong’s socio-political history led him to see public housing not merely as a policy product but as a reflection of identity, memory, and cultural change.
“It’s not just about housing policy—it’s about memory, identity, and how a society understands itself.”
Over the next ten years, he pored over government records, conducted interviews, and explored estate histories. His final publication blends rigorous academic analysis with cultural insight. To him, the book is more than just a scholarly output—it is an international act of historical preservation.
“Public housing is a cultural treasure of Hong Kong. If we don’t record it now, we risk forgetting it entirely.”
The Greatest Challenge: Language
One of the key challenges Professor Glendinning faced in his research was the language barrier. While most colonial-era government records were written in English, many local newspaper reports, community stories, and estate histories were in Chinese. Although he relied on English-language sources like the South China Morning Post, he acknowledged that the inability to access Chinese-language material limited the depth of his research in certain areas.
“Every Estate Represents an Era” — A Question Too Difficult to Answer
I couldn’t help but ask: “Which estate do you feel best represents Hong Kong’s public housing?”
His answer was unexpectedly humble:
“That’s a very difficult question. Many estates are meaningful for different reasons. Some are linked to key historical figures or policy shifts—like Wah Fu Estate, designed under the leadership of Donald Liao. Even though many of these estates are being demolished, their cultural and social impact remains. Others stand out for their distinctive architecture or because of the time in which they were built. In truth, each estate reflects the values and aspirations of its era. It’s hard to choose just one.”
Beyond Architecture: Identity and Belonging
What stood out most to me in this conversation was how Professor Glendinning’s work differs from that of many local housing scholars. Though trained as an architectural historian, he didn’t focus on form or planning. Instead, his emphasis was on how estates create identity—how they foster belonging, community, and meaning.
This was also the central message of the book’s conclusion:
“Public housing plays a vital role in Hong Kong’s collective memory and urban spirit. If we talk about the ‘Lion Rock Spirit’, public housing must be part of it. It transcends economic or political categorisation. Built by and for Hongkongers, whether or not it fits into a national narrative, it is undeniably a cultural asset.”
From Vision to Provisional Shelter — What Public Housing Has Become
We also spoke about the public housing of today. Professor Glendinning observed that the golden era of public housing was defined by a strong sense of community.
“Residents had a shared identity and a clear collective purpose. That cohesion has largely been lost.”
He noted that today’s housing appears increasingly transitional:
“We seem to be back at the most basic level—housing as a shelter, and little more. The broader vision has faded. In the past, there was a clear ambition not just to provide accommodation, but to improve quality of life. This wasn’t just benevolence—it was about political legitimacy. The colonial administration wanted to leave something tangible before the handover. Nowadays, transitional housing often resembles temporary site offices, with little long-term thinking. By contrast, the old Mark I blocks had both physical integrity and social significance.”
If We Don’t Record, the History Will Be Lost
At the close of our conversation, Professor Glendinning emphasised once more the importance of archiving:“Archiving becomes crucial. If people like you don’t create and preserve this record, it could disappear altogether.”
Indeed, public housing in Hong Kong is more than a collection of buildings. It is a social institution—a vessel of memory. Every block, every walkway, every concrete corridor is a witness to everyday life, and a carrier of community identity.
Perhaps because we have always lived within these spaces, we forget just how extraordinary they are. But what seems ordinary today may be gone tomorrow. And if we don’t start recording now, it may be impossible to explain to future generations why these places once mattered so deeply.
“To record is not merely to commemorate the past, but to understand the present and carry memory into the future. Preserving the story of one estate is preserving a chapter of Hong Kong’s history. Documenting the evolution of a living space is uncovering the collective experience of a generation.”
Leave Your Mark — Keep the Memory Alive
What are your own memories of public housing in Hong Kong? Which estate do you feel best represents the “Lion Rock Spirit” of your generation?
Whether you lived in one, passed through one, or still call one home—I invite you to share your stories, images, or reflections. Each memory adds to the archive. Each voice keeps the history alive.
Let’s record together. Let’s preserve together. Let’s ensure that Hong Kong’s public housing legacy is never forgotten.
If you want to support Professor Miles Glendinning’s work:
To Read More……
- Cho Yiu Chuen, Lai King: Hong Kong’s Most Beautiful Public Housing Estate
- Oldest Hong Kong Public Housing: Model Housing Estate on King’s Road, Over 70 Years of History, Preceding Shek Kip Mei Fire; Enigmatic Fate of Housing Organization
- Ngau Chi Wan Choi Wan Estate – Changes and Continuity Over the Years