ABSTRACT
This chapter devotes to a brief overview of public housing policy which provides an essential context for understanding the issue surrounding Aged Temporary Housing Areas (ATHAs), and identifies the urban minorities whose housing needs are ignored. It points out that the housing needs of some urban minorities have received insufficient attention in public housing policy. The chapter examines further the nature and management of Temporary Housing Areas (THAs), and their role in the public housing policy. The main function of the THAs is to rehouse squatters who are affected by the government’s clearance policy but are not eligible for public rental housing. Public housing policy is formulated by two implementing agents, namely, the Housing Authority and the Housing Department. The chapter argues that insufficient attention to the housing needs of urban minorities generates disputes and conflict with the government. It examines the extent to which the allocation policy of public rental housing meets the needs of urban minorities.
