Reinterpreting the Kowloon Walled City: From a “cesspool of iniquities” to an entrepreneurial discovery lab

David Emanuel AnderssonCollege of Management, National Sun Yat-sen University, Lawrence WC LaiRonald Coase Centre for Property Rights Research, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Mark Hansley ChuaInstitute of Policy Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong, Nixon TH LeungDepartment of Architecture, Hong Kong Chu Hai College, Hong Kong, Vincent NH Chan, Stephen NG DaviesDepartment of Real Estate and Construction, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Planning Theory

Published online on January 11, 2026

Abstract

Planning Theory, Ahead of Print.
The Kowloon Walled City (City), as curated to the world in the media, emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as the world’s most densely populated and “lawless” neighbourhood, but was demolished in the early 1990s to make way for a public park. It was ...