Columbarium Siting in an Urban Chinese Society: Any Way Out?

Columbarium landuse is unwelcome in many societies. The Hong Kong case can serve as an epitome of the controversies related to columbarium siting in an urban setting because of its dense population, compactness and citizenry upholding traditional Chinese gravesweeping practices. Columbarium-building can be viewed as in public interests according to Barry’s, Rees’ and utilitarian definitions of the term. However, this will bring about various nuisances and costs to the hosting community. “Equality” in the “share of responsibility” as represented by District-Based Columbarium Development Policy of Hong Kong government may serve as a short-term way out through increasing available land for such landuse, thereby increasing supply of columbarium niches. In the long run, managing and reducing demand for such landuse will be a longer term win-win solution which may take the form of “revolutionizing” the “tradition” of handling the dead through promotion of green burials. More fundamentally still will be educating the public about life and death, removing Chinese myths and negative overtones of death, thereby enabling serene co-existence of landuse for both the living and the dead within an area.