kowloon walled city, hong kong

area - 0.026 km²

population prior to demolition - 50,000, approx

population density - 1,900,000 / km²

(it’s interesting to note that the city of london has a population density of 4,669 / km² and that hong kong itself a density of 6,206 / km2)

said to be the most densely populated area on earth until its demolition in 1993, kowloon walled city in hong kong was a near self-sufficient, self-regulated area pretty much un-touched by the rest of the world. in 1898 the majority of hong kong was handed over to the british, this tiny area being one of the excepted areas on the understanding that chinese troops stationed there didn’t interfere with british rule. the next year the british went back on the agreement, attacked the city and found no inhabitants. over the next few decades the question of ownership wasn’t really raised and the population (at that time residing in low-level buildings) increased.

after world war 2, squatters moved in and the real growth began, both in numbers and building size. surrounded by discussion about the future of the walled city and half-hearted attempts by different groups to assume control, the people within the walls started to modify their homes, building upwards, interconnecting apartments, slowly shutting out sunlight to all but those on the outer-edges. the triads even took control of the city until 1974, finally driven out by 3,000 seperate police raids.

in 1984 the chinese and british authorities finally realised that living conditions in the walled city were possibly ‘behind the times’ (the stench was apparently horrific and just walking down an alleyway would usually result in a downpour due to the plumbing systems between buildings) and agreed to demolish the area, this not actually happening until 1994.

a few movies were filmed inside the city prior to it’s demise, the most important being jean-claude van damme’s impeccable, oscar-worthy nugget of cinema, bloodsport. also, according to 100% factually correct website wikipedia, christopher nolan’s gotham city was largely based on kowloon walled city.