Cage homes, described as "wire mesh cages resembling rabbit hutches crammed into a dilapidated apartment", were built in Hong Kong in the 1950s for single working men from Mainland China.[6] As of 2012, the number of impoverished residents in Hong Kong was estimated at 1.19 million, and cage homes, along with substandard housing such as cubicle apartments, were still serving a portion of this sector's housing needs.[6] The combination of high rents and income inequality has been given as one reason that cage homes persist.[7][8][9][10]