Earlier this year there was an article in the local Chinese papers highlighting the issue of illegal structures in residential buildings; essentially pointing to the many thousands of dwellings in Macau that have unauthorized buildings on their roofs.
It seems that a purge, similar to the one started in Hong Kong a few years ago is in the wind. How will it be enacted one wonders?
If you stand on Penha Hill and look toward the inner harbour you look down on a multi-coloured tapestry of higgledy-piggledy illegal erections ranging from rusting metal awnings and corrugated ‘shacks’ to fully built up structures with permanent walls.
These are the homes of the poorer end of the Macau’s population, who struggle to make ends meet for their families, clinging on to every spare inch of space. Pot plant gardens, shaded sitting out areas and granny flats for the elderly nimble enough to climb the 6 storeys to the roof, extra space for the children, or families priced out of the normal rental or purchase market … over the years these have slowly graduated upstairs …
Short of a Big Brother Campaign – neighbour encouraged to spy on neighbour and report any wrong doing – I can’t imagine how the DSSOPT, the government department that oversees urban planning and urban construction including ‘ruined and badly-maintained building examination’ will be able to enforce removal of such structures. They form an important fabric of working class society – a breathing space for otherwise cramped, crumbling dwellings. There would be an outcry; people would take to the streets in demonstration if all structures deemed illegal were forcibly removed. And it seems the government will do its utmost to prevent unrest amongst the populace.
But is it just a matter of an accident waiting to happen, when the next major typhoon rips off a flimsy piece of awning that drops and God forbid, kills someone?
It’s a difficult one for sure. It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out, and what measures are devised to combat further illegal structures being built, if any. For now, it seems, the approach is to let sleeping dogs lie.
