Hong Kong is a city with a small area of only about 1075 sq miles but is populated by as much as 6.5 million inhabitants. The topography is such that about 90% of the land are of such hilly terrain that they are uneconomical to build on. This has brought about an insatiable demand for relatively flat and therefore buildable lands throughout the territory. The critical shortage of buildable land results in Hong Kong, a city which is crowded with high-rise buildings of every kind without defined zoning. It is not uncommon to find offices, market, carpark, school, and apartment buildings built in close proximity to one another. A closer look of the city reveals an interwoven network of elevated roads which has been the chief cause of noise pollution in Hong Kong. Such form of noise pollution brings about a background noise level of as high as 75dBA through day and night in most areas of the city. The situation often gets worse when contractors employ percussive pile driving in constructing foundations. Such piling method which is economical and therefore popularly used, inflicts excessive noise and air pollution to the neighbouring inhabitants. Because of the virtual non-existence of urban planning, multi-storey industrial buildings are often built among residential buildings in older districts. These multi-storey industrial buildings are another major form of noise pollutants for the residents. It was not until the mid-1980s that the Hong Kong Government finally began confronting the issue of pollution in Hong Kong's environment by establishing a Environmental Protection Department. Since then, the department has taken active steps to combat noise and other forms of pollution. This paper details the effort taken by Hong Kong in dealing with noise pollution. The paper also cites how legislators, architects and acousticians work together in producing an innovative prototype floor-plan for high-rise residential buildings, which has proven to be very effective in reducing environmental noise for the inhabitants.
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