PLANNING FOR HIGH-RISE, HIGH-DENSITY PUBLIC HOUSING

Abstract

High-rise, high-density living has become a permanent feature of urbanised society, however, this has not stalled criticisms from city dwellers about the inhibitions of being confined in high-rise towers. Host people would much prefer the freedom of living close to the ground. As much as high-rise high-density living and low-rise low-density living effect different kinds of lifestyle from the dwellers, there is nothing intrinsically good or bad about high-rise high-density housing. The success of high-rise housing depends very much on local context, social values and attitudes of society at large, behavioural patterns of the tenants, standards of community development, education, cultural .background and the physical environment. Singapore's high-rise public housing has been a success story. According to Mr Liu Thai Ker, the chief executive officer of HDE. the key elements that make high-rise living in Singapore acceptable are that "residents are by and large adaptable to changes the discipline and co-operation of our people also help keep human conflict and vandalism to a very low level." Two key factors which contribute to the success of highrise high-density living are quality of design and the degree of social development. Quality of design is the result of planning; through planning an aesthetic orderly environment for the whole spectrum of human activities can be created. Furthermore, with quality design, a healthy sense of community can be fostered within the megastructures. With all these considerations in mind, it is possible to provide a conducive living environment in a .high-rise high-density urban form.