Inequality-Group project
There is a widely held perception in many parts of Hong Kong today that intensifying of inequality of Hong Kong is an undeniable truth. The gap between the rich and the poor is gradually increased along with the huge difference of incomes and social statues. The spatial inequality is easily visualized by observing the out-appearance of the streets and neighborhoods. High modern architectures and fancy stores flanked the main roads around Central and Admiralty, while in Sham Shui Po, the buildings and shops piled up in this area is relevantly old and shabby. Yet, people may not realize that the price of a mere bottle-water can be added to the developing debate as well.
The reason for choosing this object is that water, compared with other commodities; it is a necessity for human being. An adult will need approximately 2000ml water a day. Additionally, because of the Lead issues in Hong Kong’s water, we estimate that more people, in any classes, will purchase the bottled water rather than directly drink tap water in consideration of their own health.
By looking into ten places separately located in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Territory, our group conducted the investigation based on the metro line and visualized the inequality in Hong Kong by comparing the price of 500 ml Bonaqua, the most popular brand bottled water in Hong Kong. The following figure and the short animation illustrate our data and findings.
It is evident from the information we collected that Ocean Park had by far the highest price, though the number – 25 HKD we got is for 770 ML water, we estimate that the in this circumstance 500 ML Bonaqua water may be sold around 15 HKD to 20 HKD, which is still comparably higher than other investigative areas. Another tourist attractions today, Sai Kung, ranked second, for 13 HKD. Mong Kok and Central are marked as costly sites as well. The most expensive Bonaqua in both sites are 8 HKD, with 4 HKD Bonaqua in few steps distance in Mong Kok, while cheaper Bonaqua in no where to find in Central. Refer to the cheaper districts, Kwai Fong, Sha Tin and partly Mong Kok occupies the top with the price around 4-5 HKD. It is interesting to note that the price differences are not only among various districts but also exist in same area.
Why so big difference in a mere bottled water?
First of all, it is an indisputable fact, as mentioned above, that the first two most expensive sites are all tourist attractions. This drives me to think about the tourism impact. According to CNN, Hong Kong is the 10th most popular cities for travelers in 2015. Urban tourists can bring substantial economic benefits to cities. In order to provide its visitors the experiences and products they expected, tourism triggers a constant investment in infrastructure, promotion and conservation ultimately benefiting tourists and local residents. However, Hong Kong is a little bit different compared with other hot tourism spots. Hong Kong, as one of the world’s leading international financial centers, is super crowded with a population of 7,266,500[1] in 2014 (with 7,298,600 in mid-2015), and this hyper density is not only indicating the population, but also the density of buildings. International visitors in the same year is 60,838,836[2], almost eightfold of population of permanent residence, with 77.7%, approximately 47,200,000 person-time from Mainland China. Higher price of commodity in tourism area is a norm among all over the world, but some local people may view this higher price is a result of higher numbers of visitors, which may exaggerate the already tension of Hong Kong and Mainland China.
Another major contributing factor in disparity of Bonaque is the various land usage. Ocean Park and Sai Kung are all somehow developed into scenic spot, which can contribute to national income. And the money for development and maintenance for constant attraction also need to be taken into account. Thus, the price is relatively higher from my perspective. The area of Central, Admiralty and Causeway Bay are most expensive places in Hong Kong, which is regarded as business central. The money generated per second in this area is beyond our imagination, so as the price of a bottle of water. I will remember to bring my own bottle of water when come to there next time. While Mong Kok, where also have the same expensive bottled water as Central, is a little different, because Mong Kok is a hybrid of rich and poor. It contains both fancy office premises and also low-level marketplace, so as the bottled water. Kwai Fong and Sha Tin, main usage as living quarters, similarly, is reasonable lower in price.
In terms of my own contribution to this group project, I not only propose the idea of taking the bottled water as our object, do the field research in Kowloon Tong and Mong Kok, but also in charge of analyzing everyone’s collections and dividing the group workload. To illustrate our findings in an innovative and intuitional way, I made a short motion graphic animation in one day, with assistant of Gao Yi zhi helping me to find graphic materials. This project enables me to know more about the place I have lived for 4 years. And it is interesting to use a tiny object to observe such a significant issue.
[1] Government investigation of population on permanent residence http://www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/so20_tc.jsp
[2] Population of visitors in Hong Kong in 2014: http://www.tourism.gov.hk/tc_chi/statistics/statistics_perform.html
