Situated between a hair salon and a general practitioner’s office, London’s narrowest house, just 1.7 meters wide, sells for more than a million euros. The strange property, whose facade is a very discreet little dark blue strip in the street, has just been put up for sale, estimated at 950,000 pounds (1.1 million euros, 1.32 million dollars).
This curious five-story house, located in the Shepherd’s Bush neighborhood, was originally a Victorian hat warehouse, with two warehouses to store merchandise and rooms on the upper floors. As a nod to its past, the house kept its small display case, adorned with a lamp in the shape of a bowler hat.
David Myers shows the house.
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For David Myers, sales director of the agency in charge of the property, this price is explained because the building, built in the late 19th or early 20th century, is “a unique part of London’s history.” “It’s a bit of the magic of London,” he told AFP. The price of the house is exaggerated in relation to the average cost of a house in the United Kingdom, which is 256,000 pounds, but it is nonetheless typical of the London market. (afp)
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Hong Kong: living in seven square meters and afraid of the future
In the bowels of Hong Kong
7.5 million people in 11 square kilometers: Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities in the world and one of the most expensive. Frustration and anger are growing among Hong Kong’s youth. Thomas Peter, a photographer for Reuters, visited them in their tiny rooms, and they didn’t just talk about the political situation in the Special Administrative Region of China.
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Hong Kong: living in seven square meters and afraid of the future
“We are still here, fighting”
Zaleena Ho, 22, studies filmmaking and lives in a 7-square-meter room in her family’s apartment. “The political situation is getting worse,” says the student. “Most of us risk everything to preserve what we have fought for. I also have an American passport. If things get worse, I’ll go. But we are still here, fighting.
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Hong Kong: living in seven square meters and afraid of the future
Frustration goes to the ceiling
Fung Cheng has already given up hope of having his own home. The 25-year-old lives in a room of only five square meters, in an apartment with his parents and his brother. The graphic designer is also frustrated by the “election” of Governor Carrie Lam, by a body approved by Beijing. “You don’t need to ask the people who should rule. We don’t have democracy here.”
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Hong Kong: living in seven square meters and afraid of the future
A comic without a superhero
Sonic Lee, 29, lives with his mother. His room is six square meters. His fight against the rising power of China reminds him of a Marvel comic. “Only there are no superheroes here. Many people have to come together to do great things, ”says the musician. “Yes, I am afraid that one day they will not allow me to read certain books or sing certain songs.”
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Hong Kong: living in seven square meters and afraid of the future
Not only the control of Beijing causes concern
Hong Kong residents are concerned about the increasing control by the Beijing authorities, says 30-year-old Eunice Wai. The primary school teacher lives in an eight square meter room, in an apartment that she shares with her parents and her brother. He also complains about an unfair housing policy.
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Hong Kong: living in seven square meters and afraid of the future
Without space
“The rich are getting richer,” says Eunice Wai, referring to the housing market in her hometown of Hong Kong. Housing in a serious problem: “There is little space in Hong Kong and most people cannot afford an apartment. Real estate companies control the market ”.
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Hong Kong: living in seven square meters and afraid of the future
The identity of Hong Kong
Living with his parents and that his room is five square meters, annoys the young Peter Chang, 23 years old. But he is even more outraged by the immigration program, under which Beijing is integrating 150 mainland Chinese into Hong Kong every day. “They are trying to dilute our identity,” believes Chang. China has already applied this policy in Tibet and Xinjiang.
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Hong Kong: living in seven square meters and afraid of the future
A look to the future
“It’s very scary,” says law student Ruby Leung, thinking about what will happen after 2048. China promised the former British colony autonomy for the first 50 years after its return. “But what will happen next?” Asks the 22-year-old. “Are they going to integrate us as a part of China?”
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