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Density and precarious housing: Overcrowding, sensorial urbanism, and intervention in Hong Kong

Chen, Hung-Ying; Mcfarlane, Colin

Density and precarious housing: Overcrowding, sensorial urbanism, and intervention in Hong Kong Thumbnail


Authors

Hung-Ying Chen



Abstract

This paper offers an approach to understanding high-density living in precarious housing. Developing a conception of housing density based on ‘density expressions’ and ‘density modalities’, we argue for a focus on how domestic density is experienced and intervened in by residents and other groups. This approach builds in existing work in Housing Studies and Urban Studies on domestic overcrowding by demonstrating the value of attending to its sensorial experiences, and practices that seek to alleviate those experiences. Drawing on fieldwork in Hong Kong, one of the densest and more unequal housing markets in the world, we identify ‘infiltration’ as a key form of density expression. We go on explore two density modalities through which residents and other groups, including civil society organisations and the state, practice modest forms of intervention in the struggles of precarious housing: ‘improvisation’ and ‘transition’. We conclude by considering the implications both on housing in Hong Kong and for future research on precarious housing.

Citation

Chen, H., & Mcfarlane, C. (2023). Density and precarious housing: Overcrowding, sensorial urbanism, and intervention in Hong Kong. Housing Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2023.2280033

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 1, 2023
Online Publication Date Nov 21, 2023
Publication Date 2023
Deposit Date Nov 2, 2023
Publicly Available Date Nov 23, 2023
Journal Housing Studies
Print ISSN 0267-3037
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2023.2280033
Keywords urban density; overcrowding; housing precarity; senses; Hong Kong
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1874913

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Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.





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