Tom’s Reviews > City of Darkness: Life in Kowloon Walled City > Status Update

Oh oh oh! This looks like emotions and space to me!!! Anything I can steal for Martin?

Probably lots! :) ‘The fung shui here is actually very good; the city sits on the lower slope of a hill and faces south to the sea. Our ancestors had obviously thought careful when choosing this place for their settlement’. So like feeling an emotional connection to space based on traditional Chinese practices and a feeling of connection with ancestors! Interesting right? He also links the self-regulation of the city to Chinese village life and says that they had a volunteer group instead of police to deal with crime. So much…

Oh wow! In the leaflets encouraging people to join the squatters movement one of the things they promise is “natural ordering” so, neighbourhood watch. Interesting I think to have to have a new way to regulate the grey zones when you’re already living in permanent illegality. Do they manage to keep down crime in Kowloon? I thought it was quite bad

They did keep it down :) [I mean yes there was a massive opium problem and some gambling/brothels]. But… ‘The city’s fearsome image hid a protective community that was relatively safe for its own members.’ 1975 survey found similar standards to HK social housing projects + people describe children playing in the streets etc.

Eh one man’s opium problem is another’s imperial wealth - it sounds pretty well regulated

I’ve been trying to find someone writing about the emotional experience of having to self police but can’t find much, have you seen anything about?

Hmmm not yet - but I wonder if you’d find something around BLM/the defund the police movement in the US? Or like Black panthers policing the police?