Housing


 * Public Housing in Singapore **



The first public homeownership program in Singapore began in 1964 as an effort to rid the country of its slums and squatter settlements. Currently, Singapore boosts one of the most successful public housing programs in the world, with 90% of its residents living in houses provided be the HDB, or Housing Development Board.

Initial development saw the growth of new towns and housing estates, such as Tao Payoh New Town and Ang Mo Kio New Town in Northeastern Singapore, and the Queenstown housing estate in central Singapore. The HDB has gone well beyond simply providing amenities for its residents—in fact, quality and affordability are ensured in Singapore’s public housing units as well. These housing units are also characterized as being both high rise and high density, meaning that only a small amount of land resources are used.

In order to alleviate poverty, other Southeast Asian countries should strive to provide government funded public housing units in a manner similar to Singapore. An increase in high-quality, affordable housing made available to the public could effectively eliminate slum populations, leading to the staggering results Singapore has seen in the last 3 decades.

[] 2. [] 3. Ideologies of ‘Upgrading in Singapore Public Housing []