Urban encroachment---disadvantage & solution

Disadvantages:

-rural decay(農村衰落)
→rural depopulation since the rural-urban migration→lots of farmland has been abandoned

-land use conflict(土地利用衝突)
→the pleasant environment in rural areas is damaged

-changes in lifesyle
→fast-paced urban lifesyle(急促的城市生活模式)

-increased land prices
→increase in land price
→farmers have to face a higher production cost

-unauthorized land use(未經授權的土地利用)
→farms near urban areas and main roads are ofen attractive to speculators
→farmers abandoned the farmland since they expect developers to buy their farms
→no production during the period
→some farms are occupied and used for illegal use(非法佔用) such as car repairing workshops or open storages(貨櫃場)

-environmental problems
→urban encroachment damages the natural environmentof rural areas
→machineries and trucks causes air and noise pollution
→traffic congestion is getting more common in rural areas
→construction of transport networks damage wildlife habitat
→unauthorized development leads to degradation of the environment

-flooding
→building of houses and roads in rural areas may disrupt(干擾) the drainage of river
→floods may easily occur in low-lying areas during the wet season


Solutions:

-developement of new towns
→put the expansion of urban areas under control within designated areas(指定地區)
eg: Kwu Tung(古洞), Hung Shui Kiu(洪水橋) and northern Fanling(粉嶺)
→concepts of environmental conservation and sustainable development(可持續發展的概念) have been considered tin the development of these new towns
-land use zoning
→land use conflicts are minimized
eg: industril zones are located away from residential zones
-residential density control
→complatible(配合) with the infrastucture costraints and the low density development
-environmental conservation
→new towns have been developed with adequate(足夠) open space, green belts and woodland
→proper systems for wastage and sewage(排污) disposal should been developed

-control of unauhorized development
→set up laws to control unauhorized development
→offenders will be punished and required to reinstate(恢復) the demaged land to the original condition

-a balance between development andenvironmental conservation
→achieve a balance between development andenvironmental conservation
eg: The Town Planning Board(城市規劃委員會)
→many rural areas have significant ecological value(特殊生態價值)
prevent them from urban developments and conserved by zoning them as 'green belts(綠化帶)', 'nature reserves(自然保護區)', 'marine reserves(海岸保護區)' and etc

-heritage preservation
→historial, cultural and archaeological value(有考古價值) are guided and controled by planning standards and guidelines, and the Antiquities and Monuments Ordianace(古物及古蹟條例)