That's amazing really.
The government of Hong Kong has zero interest in freeing up more land. They get a large percentage of their revenue from leasing out land, which allows them to have very low taxes. The downside is it's expensive for people to rent space, and to save money they cram into little spaces.
You see this starting to happen in the US too. In San Diego, small second houses built in people's back yards seem to be common. In San Francisco, people are renting out "boxes":
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/20...co-pod-living/
My house is 3200 sq feet. Our only kid is leaving so it will be only my wife and I. There are rooms in our house - the play room and a guest room - that I haven't stepped into in months. It's going to be time for us to downsize soon.