Urban planner and representative of the Urban Renewal Investigation Project, Lam Iek Chit, said that it may not be realistic to replicate external urban renewal methods in Macau, considering the small area of the city.
At a recent radio program, Lam was asked by a member of the audience whether urban renewal in Macau will refer to precedents in mainland China or Hong Kong.
In response, Lam gave a partially negative answer. He pointed out that in mainland China, urban renewal projects mainly take place in large cities. In these places, the land prices of different districts or communities can vary significantly.
Meanwhile, older districts are usually located in the city center, such as the Puxi District of Shanghai. In order to conduct urban renewal, the government or developers have the option to compensate property owners with larger properties in the outskirts, suburbs or developing districts of the city.
He stressed that this policy can only be implemented in large cities.
By contrast, Macau is a small city: its entire area is only the size of the Tsuen Wan District in Hong Kong or Wenshan District in Taipei. It means that the differences in the price of land between various districts is small, making it difficult to offer similar compensations in land.
When referring to the policy in Hong Kong, the urban planner pointed out that the common method of compensation is in cash. He added that land utilization rate is usually the main concern in Hong Kong.
He stressed that compensations will be different in future if Macau focuses on quality of living in future urban renewal legislation.
Urban Planner and Representative of the Urban Renewal Company, Tam Hoi Ian, who was on the same radio show, reiterated that even if future redevelopments are allowed to have taller height limits, the number of residential apartments or units in each building will remain unchanged.
The added floor area, she said, would be used for commercial activities or parking lots. This will provide a higher cost efficiency to residents.
She admitted that residents are looking for redevelopment options incurring as little cost as possible, including no cost at all. She said the company will try to look for the most cost-
efficient alternative, before releasing the proposals to invite residents’ feedback.
In addition, she said that some property owners in districts such as Horte e Costa, Praia Grande and São Lourenço have sought assistance from the company, mainly because their properties are too old, making it difficult to renovate.
However, these cases only represent around 70% of all home-ownerships. Many of these owners currently reside outside Macau.
In addition, she said that the company can help with overall planning, such as referring property owners to construction firms.
No Comments