HOUSING estates with more than 10,000 residents will have to open their green spaces to the public in the future, according to a report published in the Daily Sunshine recently.

Access to the green space in these housing estates will be offered to the public free of charge, the Daily Sunshine report said, quoting a plan on the city's public space that was released last week.

Under the plan, the area of public space per capita in the city will more than double from 4.7 square meters to reach 8.3 to 16 square meters in the future.

The plan was formulated after an online survey of more than 1,000 residents and taking into account the experience of public space construction in some cities in Western countries like San Francisco, Vancouver and London, officials with the city's urban planning bureau said. The survey showed that 47 percent of the respondents are dissatisfied with the existing public space and 50 percent of the respondents hope that public space will be available near where they live.

There are enough public spaces in the central areas in the city and its six districts, the officials said. However, the public spaces in some subdistricts are too small to satisfy the need of residents. The city also lacks space for sports and exercises.

Starting this year, real estate developers in the city will have to promise to build a square for community activities when applying for land for commercial development, the Daily Sunshine report said. The square will have to be open to all people and auxiliary commercial and entertainment facilities will be a must.

The so-called "public space" refers to an open-air space open to all residents free of charge for various activities and entertainment.

Editor: Wing