A website has mapped the history of land reclamation in Hong Kong since 1840, serving as an online “geodatabase” that aims to provide “spatial, temporal and historic context” to Hong Kong’s numerous, massive land reclamation projects.

According to the website, the mapping application uses geographic data and historic photos to visualise and document Hong Kong’s ever-changing coastline.

reclamation map
A screenshot of the interactive map.

Users can use the time slider feature to view land reclamation projects from a certain time period and use the layers feature to turn on or off the three available overlays: original coastline, reclamation and historic photos.

land reclamation
A feature on the interactive map allows users to view historic photos of certain landmarks and areas in Hong Kong.

The interactive map was developed by Vivian Ngo, a Hong Kong-born architect currently based in Los Angeles, as a part of her research on the impact of land reclamation on the coastline of Hong Kong.

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Medhavi Arora is in her final year at the University of Hong Kong studying Journalism and International Relations. Her print, video and multimedia pieces have been featured in the Times of India and CNN-IBN. She is a former intern at UN Women and has additional experience in sustainability, international affairs and communications.