Page 63 - URA Annual Report 2020-21

Caring for the Underprivileged
Besides adopting a people-oriented approach when delivering our core businesses of redevelopment and rehabilitation, the URA also seeks opportunities to engage our partners and help people in need. During 2020/21, the URA continued to offer some renovated flats in the acquired properties at Wing Lee Street and Staunton Street as well as units at our rehousing blocks to NGOs and SEs, who can in turn provide underprivileged residents with short-term tenancies below the market rent.
In 2020/21, the URA’s ‘Home Repair Services Community Programme’ has benefitted approximately 800 families with poor living conditions in aged buildings in Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po. Another pilot scheme, the ‘Home Improvement Community Programme’, was launched in the year to improve the living condition of elderly tenants in URA projects through comprehensive refurbishment of the public rental housing units where they were rehoused. A total of six cases were completed in 2020/21 under this pilot scheme with customised furniture and facilities provided to cater for the elderly tenants’ current and future physical needs.
In light of the pandemic, URA partners with a local community organisation in Sham Shui Po to provide cleaning for 20 patios of old buildings that are without Owner Corporations, serving 300 households.
URA enriches the living quality of residents in old districts through supporting various art and cultural activities.
Under the Home Improvement Community Programme, elderly tenants in URA projects receive customised furnitures and elderly-friendly facilities for their new public rental housing units.
In view of the pandemic, the URA partnered with a local community organisation in SSP to launch a new service programme to step up infectious control measure for households living in sub-divided units in Kim Shin Lane and other three-nil (no management, no owners' corporations and no maintenance) buildings in the district. The service programme provided cleaning of 20 patios of old buildings that were without Owner Corporations, serving 300 households. In partnership with another local community organisation in Sham Shui Po, the URA additionally launched a new service programme to provide inspection service and minor repair of sewage systems, as well as cleaning of patios for three-nil buildings in the Nam Cheong area, serving more than 500 households.
Cultivating Arts and Culture in Old Districts
Neighbourhood is more than its physical environment. It is the local culture and characteristics that create its identity. An appreciation of the local arts and culture will allow a deeper understanding of the community while providing enjoyment. In 2020/21, our ‘Arts and Cultural Partnership Programme in Old Urban Districts’ supported a total of six new and ongoing programmes and reached out to about 9,600 people. These programmes included activities to enliven old urban districts by bringing enjoyment to local residents and the general public who gathered to appreciate the local characteristics. Since its inception, the URA has supported a total of 65 arts and cultural programmes, benefitting more than 680,000 people.
URA ANNUAL REPORT 2020-21 59
Corporate Sustainability Management Discussion and Analysis Projects at a Glance Corporate Governance