ENGR0011 Section
L12
HIGH CAPACITY HOUSING IN EASTERN ASIA
Nathan Harlich ([email protected])
frequent in East Asia. Thanks to these building regulations
many apartment buildings are made with a limit on how
many floors they can have and how much total square
footage they are allowed on each floor. This limits buildings
to control population density within the city. Unfortunately
many buildings abide by these building regulations, but have
far more people in their buildings than they are made to
house. It is one of the most densely populated places on
earth and is a metropolis that runs smoothly, for the most
part, due to the presence of residential towers which house
the majority of the city’s population. To put the size of these
buildings into perspective, a study has shown that the
average number of dwellings in one of these buildings is
over one-thousand. A perfect example of this can be seen in
the 2008 Hong Kong government reports, which recorded a
population density of up to 43,290 per square kilometer.[2]
Hong Kong is a perfect example of these residential towers
being used at their maximum potential. Hong Kong is an
island with an area of 1,104km2 and a population that
exceeds seven million. Only 23.7% of the land on Hong
Kong is developed due to historical, political, and
geographical reasons.[5] The massive amount of people
held in such a small area exemplifies the problem with high
capacity residence, which is the ability to go from having a
building with an enormous amount of space holding many
people to building owners just renting space to as many
people as possible to make the maximum profit.[3] This
economic view of the topic leads to the majority of the
drawback associated with these apartment complexes.
Urban Housing Developments in Eastern Asian
Cities
The rapid migration of millions of people from the country
side to cities in the past century has created an enormous
demand for low cost high capacity apartment buildings.
This has led to the trend of high capacity residential
buildings in Eastern Asian cities, helping many countries
transition much of their populations from rural towns and
villages to dense city dwellings. I believe these apartments
are an essential part of transitioning such a large rural
population to cities, because they take up little land, which is
important in the already dense cities of Eastern Asia. Low
cost apartments in the city also make it possible for people
with low income to get housing which gives them access to
the cities job market, helping the countries industry develop
and giving jobs to people who need them. As a future
engineer I believe that high capacity residential buildings are
an important part of a country’s industrial development, but
pose an ethical dilemma for the engineers working on these
projects. Engineers often know of the overcrowding that
will make living conditions in these complexes substandard.
Therefore I believe that the decision to work on such a
project is an ethical and moral decision made by an engineer.
Engineers should make sure that if they do work on these
projects they should ensure that they provide the best
possible structure and environment they can with the
resources they are provided.
HISTORY
ETHICS
Apartment buildings in developing Asian cities are like the
tenement houses from turn of the century America, but on a
much larger scale. These building are not by any means the
first solution presented and are mainly used when constraints
such as limited land, geographic obstacles, or immense
demand for housing makes it necessary to create such a
structure. High capacity residential buildings are usually
built, like tenement houses, to be cheap and hold as many
people as possible.
The essential idea behind these
buildings, to fit as many people onto as small a plot of land
as possible. This can lead to some problems, but it provides
a place for workers to live which is close and affordable.
An apartment building does not necessarily have to be a
skyscraper or even that tall, as long as they can house a
substantial capacity; there is no specific height requirement.
They are often built with strong concrete and steel
foundations, due to building regulations, which help to
prevent collapse in the case of earthquakes which are
Engineers have a few basic ethical codes that are simple
ideals that include the improvement of the human welfare,
honesty in dealing with clients, keeping human safety and
wellbeing as their top priority, and ensuring the preservation
of the environment they are working with.[6] Like many
professions engineers have an obligation to their client and
the public that they serve to do important jobs that if could
lead to deaths if a mistake is made, preventing which is the
most important job of an Engineer.. That is why it is
essential to have a strong moral code and a sense of integrity
and ethical awareness as an engineer, because if you make a
mistake hundreds of people could die as consequence. With
this responsibility engineers need the strict ethical codes that
they abide by to ensure the safety of the public in the
presence of their creations.
Ethical Conflictions
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Nathan Harlich
not strictly only true of China, Japan, South Korea and
Taiwan all also have their major cities dotted with these
housing complexes.
The obvious conflict an engineer would face when working
on the construction of a housing complex in an already
packed city that may or may not have a reputation for a low
standard of living would be “is this improving the welfare of
the people”. This question is not simply answered and can
be looked at from many different points of view. As an
engineer it is important to ask if these buildings are going to
provide quality homes for their residence, taking into
account that they will, more than likely be overcrowded.
This question can be answered by answering whether the
buildings are structurally sound, they are built with quality
workmanship and materials, and they are up to the standards
that you believe are adequate. Another question to ask
yourself as an engineer is if you trust the structure with the
lives of those living within. These should be normal
processes for an engineer, but they are made more important
by the number of people and the relative condition they will
be living in. Ensuring the integrity of the structures does not
solve the question of if the building will be used in a morally
correct way and it is basically impossible for an engineer to
guarantee that it will be in the future. As an engineer this
leaves us at a dilemma, despite all the efforts that may be put
in, the structure will probably be used at above the
maximum capacity. The question now becomes “will the
work I’ve done improve the welfare of the people”.
Unfortunately this question can’t be answered by the
Engineer, because though many people may consider the
conditions that will exist in the building as intolerable, it
may be a great improvement in the quality of life for some
people, even if their situation seems bleak to us, it may be a
great improvement for them. In this aspect the code of
ethics cannot help decide
My Opinion
The use of these enormous residential buildings is not a
purely Asian trend. It is only more common there due to the
recent urbanization of countries such as China, many of
these developing countries find these super apartments to be
the most effective and efficient way to deal with the urban
population boom. I have always been interested in the
cultures of the Far East and the changes that these countries
are undergoing are fascinating to me, especially how they
deal with population issues, such as housing. I believe the
approach taken to deal with housing in these countries is an
efficient and practical way of dealing with a problem
encountered by many European cities of today, which is
having cities which sprawl out instead of being compact like
cities which have residential towers. This is creates a more
centralized down town area, which reduces the distance that
is needed to be traveled using vehicles and allows people to
just walk, bike, or take public transit to work. I believe if
this idea of a centralized city can develop it will reduce the
need for cars and will allow for more people to walk to work
and create a more traditional, environmentally friendly, and
comfortable city experience. I hope for this because I plan
on visiting china, if not living there for a time for work and
to explore the country and culture. I also hope, in time, to
improve the living conditions of people living in apartment
complexes in Asian cities. Though this is not an entirely
realistic hope, it’s what I hope for the future of these heavily
populated cities.
Occupants Decisions
EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF
RESEARCH
At this point it is important to note that many of the people
in these towers are there because they are willing to put up
with the bad living conditions to have the job they have or
the opportunity they are afforded by where they live.
Though this over occupation is quite common, many people
live comfortably in similar buildings, which actually rent
apartments individually. This creates what can vary from
comfortable living to deplorable living conditions, but I
believe this is a necessary part of the transition from a rural
based populous to an urban based populous. The strict
building codes enforced by the Chinese government also
gives the government control over how many people can
reside in the city. Due to this control and the total control of
the Chinese government over industry they can allow just
enough people into each city as are needed, controlling both
supply and demand for labor.[1] Without high capacity
apartment buildings it would be nearly impossible to move
the numbers of numbers of people into cities to meet the
demand for labor produced by new industrial jobs. This is
Research is an important part of the education process.
Looking up information that interests you personally gives
you something you are willing to invest your time in.
Actively researching a topic helps you gaining knowledge
on the subject and gives you the skills needed to do future
research assignments. These skills stick with you and are a
necessity as you progress through more research intense
classes.[8] Using this research and relating it to the
engineering code of ethics helps give a direct application of
the engineering code of ethics. Introducing us to the code of
ethics in this way gives us the ability to see the code of
ethics as an aspect of engineering that is universal and can
apply to any situation that involves engineers.
CONCLUSION
I believe residential towers are an essential part of the
development of Eastern Asian countries. This is based on
my belief that these towers are a practical solution to the
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Nathan Harlich
formidable problem of housing an enormous amount of
people in a small area constrained by the city’s geographical
location and the location of certain industrial centers. This is
why I believe Residential high rises are an essential part of
the growth of developing Asian cities.
REFERENCES
[1] J. Wallace (2009). “Cities and Stability: Urbanization,
Migration, and Authoritarian Resilience in China” ProQuest
Dissertations and Theses.
http://search.proquest.com/docview/305000261/previewPDF
?accountid=14709
[2] B. Tang, C. Yiu (2010). “Space and scale: A study of
development intensity and housing price in Hong Kong”
Landscape and Urban Planning, Volume 96, Issue 3, 15 June
2010, Pages 172–182. (book)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2010.03.005
[3] A. Yeh, B. Yuen (2011). “High-Rise Living in Asian
Cities” Springer Science+Business Media B.V. (book)
http://www.springerlink.com/content/h506746567th1x15/ful
ltext.pdf
[4] Yung Yau, (2011) "Homeowners' participation in
management of multi-storey residential buildings: The Hong
Kong's case" Property Management, Vol. 29 Iss: 4, pp.345 –
356. (book)
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1943
630&show=abstract
[5] Fauna, (2012) “Hong Kong’s High-Density Housing &
Cramped living conditions” ChinaSmack. (online article)
http://www.chinasmack.com/2012/pictures/hong-kong-highdensity-housing-cramped-living-conditions.html
[6]http://files.asme.org/ASMEORG/Governance/3675.pdf
[7] http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html
[8] H. Downey, “Why Is Research Important When Writing
a Paper?” eHow. (online blog)
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5848358_research-importantwriting-paper_.html
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to Billy Lowerie for helping me correct my
format
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