Crypt0n1te

Definitely higher up, the closer to the street level, the dirtier it got. Just look at the pictures in the links. yuck! It was a freaking maze inside, I remember I had to go up and down 2 buildings to get outside the fortress everyday and inside one of the building, the first 2 floors were permanently flooded (no one lived there).

(1) I don't think it's possible to find your way if you had no idea where you are going. It was an absolute maze in there.

(2) The government moved everyone out to the nearby public housing way before it was torn down.

(3) Poverty, if you were recent immigrants from China to HK at that time, you didn't really have much option to choose from.

(4) Poverty. Illegal immigrants. People with no where else to go.

(1) I don't really know, I was very young then and I don't remember hearing about collapses.

(2) At my relative's place where I spent most of my time, it was surprising quiet. Probably because it's all concrete buildings and really no one opened their windows anyway especially if you live in the middle because all you see is the dirty wall and disgusting leakage of the other buildings.

(3) Seriously no, it's too dirty, just at those pictures, specially the street level alleys.

(4) It was back in the 80s and I think cameras were still a luxury at that time and our family back then wasn't wealthy (else wouldn't be living in KWC), so no unfortunately.

(5) Honestly there were lots of crazy passages between buildings, but they were too filthy, you wouldn't want to walk in there.

I was in grade school so I don't think I have much recollection of these heavy stuffs. But some comments on some of these points.

Poverty: For sure, everyone in there were poor, if you were rich you would not go within 100 feet of KWC.

Crime: I think the only crime that happened to our family was that my grandma was robbed by an addict with a butter knife. A story from one of my old classmate was that his neighbour got into a fight, I think the wife cut the husband with kitchen knife in the corridor, so for the longest time, there was a big pool of blood outside their door.

(3) Regulation: Probably not that much since it's just too hard to enforce, it was a maze! I only saw police in there a few times and they only showed up if there were serious shit...like murders or drug raid.

The few buildings I was familiar with didn't have elevator and I don't recall seeing one actually...it might have existed though.