In Hong Kong spaces are small and a series of beautifully taken photographs shows just how cramped spaces are for many people living in the urban slums of the Asian metropolis.

The images have been taken by the Hong Kong based Society for Community Organisation and show the lives of people living in these cramped quarters. They range from the elderly to the unemployed. All living in poverty.

Hong Kong is a densely packed city with a land mass of 426 sq miles and a population of seven million. Rents are also high. The Daily Mail reported that it costs approximately HKD $90 per square foot a month. The waiting list for public housing is incredibly long and so many have to live in these small spaces to make ends meet.

The spaces look like closets with some rooms measuring at 4ft by 7ft.  The images were taken in the districts of Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong and Kowloon City. The director of SoCO Ho Hei Wah said to The Daily Mail, "Hong Kong is regarded as one of the richest cities in the world. However, lurking beneath this prosperity is great inequality in wealth and a forgotten group of poor people.

Hundreds of thousands still live in caged homes and wood-partitioned cubicles, while the unemployed, new-arrived families from China and children in poverty struggle for survival. SoCO's underprivileged clients are increasing in numbers - while the city's wealth continues to accumulate."

Ho Hei Wah said that the underprivileged include boat people, resettlement estate residents and squatters. SoCo was formed in 1971 by activists and  officials.

"Faced with rapid changes in society, SoCO has continuously worked together with grassroots people to fight for a reasonable livelihood by upholding the principles of "equality for everybody," "promotion of civil rights" and "implementing justice".

'Originally an underprivileged group of people has, in unison, become a stronger force to propel the reform of an unjust social system," he said to The Daily Mail.

"We will continue to soldier on with the underprivileged and hope more people will join forces with us to safeguard human rights and the rule of law, thus enabling the development of a caring and just society."