RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY IN HDB FLATS AND PRIVATE HOUSING IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

Mobility is a feature of many urban societies. Since the 1960s, the movement of population into HDB and private housing in Singapore has been massive. While the moves associated with urban renewal are better known, much less is known about moves due to other reasons. This study is concerned with the residential mobility of a cross-section of households in HDB flats, private flats and private houses, A housing cum socio-economic status typology is developed to analyze households' motivations in deciding to move, seeking alternatives and making a final decision about the choice of a new dwelling. The variables salient in the movement decision are also analyzed through the use of scoring, ranking, histograms and factor analysis. Computation of the data was done on the University of Singapore's IBM 1130. The spatial patterns of households' moves are studied in terms of the distance moved between the origin and destination areas, the direction of moves relative to the city centre and the sectoral form of moves. In addition, households' past mobility, their satisfaction with their current dwelling, their travel patterns for work, school, shops and market and their future movement plans are examined against the background of planning in Singapore. The characteristics of households' movements are compared with the Western experience and the implications of the present findings for the long-range Singapore Concept Plan are discussed in the concluding Chapter. Despite some variations, the findings suggest that the motivations prompting the decision to move and the spatial patterns at movements in Singapore conform to rather than deviate from the Western experience. Generally, households are satisfied with their present residence and only a small portion of households intend to move again in the future. In terms of the characteristics of households travels for work and shopping, Singapore exhibits more of an open society with broadly similar proportions in the HDB flats and private housing moving across the city for, employment and shopping. Future movers will have to relate their choice of a residential location to the developments envisaged in the Concept Plan for the future patterns of urban growth will increasingly be shaped by Singapore's long-range Plan.