Inconvenient transport meant that development came relatively late compared to other parts of Hong Kong, and many islands are still undeveloped.
Many of the outlying islands are sparsely populated and remain largely rural, although there are significant traditional villages and towns on the islands of Lantau, Peng Chau, Lamma, and Cheung Chau.
For instance, the island of Tsing Yi became part of Tsuen Wan New Town in the late 1970s, and is now linked to the rest of Hong Kong by several road and rail bridges.
In the 1980s, Discovery Bay was privately developed as an upmarket residential area on Lantau, served by a fast ferry service to the central business district.
In the 1990s, the development of the new Hong Kong Airport, off the north shore of Lantau, led to the creation of a road and rail link to that island and the development of Tung Chung, previously a small settlement, into a new town adjacent to the airport.