Small Dwelling, Big Wisdom 綠適蝸居*

Subdivided flats are a ubiquitous kind of rental housing in Hong Kong. These flats are created by subdividing the original approved plan of a building into more individual rooms. Many think that lacking living space is the sole problem for the resident. In fact, poor indoor air quality can lead to discomfort and illness. According to a survey of the air quality in subdivided flat, the average concentration of air pollutants (PM2.5) is 1.06 times exceeding the World Health Organization’s standard in 20% of the sample. The average wind speed in more than 70% of sample flat is “0”, which shows that air quality in these flats is even worse than the outdoor area. Air circulation is also bad in the flats as it is not well-ventilated in such a small area while some of the flats don’t even have windows and exhaust fan.

Four HKUST Connect Ambassadors for Community Engagement (Connect ACE) have been working with Sham Shui Po Salvation Army to improve the air quality inside the subdivided flats through workshops to introduce houseplant that absorb pollutants, sharing of cooker cooking recipes which produces less smoke, and hiking with the residents to encourage them to do more outdoor activities.

劏房居民不單面對生活空間不足，室內空氣污染亦令他們的健康受損。根據早前民間團體對劏房空氣質素的研究， 劏房室內空氣污染物pm2.5的平均濃度高達百份之二十，比世界衛生組織標準高出1.06倍。劏房室內空氣污染，相信與單位空氣不流通，加上大多數單位沒有缺乏獨立廚房和抽油煙機等設備，, 住戶煮食時的油煙不易吹散。

有見及此, ，四位科大侍學行的社群服務參與大使 (Connect ACE)與救世軍深水埗家庭支援網絡隊中心合辦「綠適蝸居」義工服務計劃，希望透過洗樓、無煙煮食及及綠化家居活動，能改善劏房的室內空氣質素，並鼓勵住戶多到郊外活動呼吸新鮮空氣，減低空氣污染所帶來的負面影響。