PUBLIC SPACES IN HDB ESTATES

Abstract

About 80% of the population in Singapore stay in public housing. This reason alone makes public spaces in HDB estates worthy for research. In addition, great amount of literature has also stressed the impact of public spaces to the quality of urban life. In this research on public spaces in HDB estates, the study has extended beyond the physical factors, to include the human factors. This gives a more comprehensive understanding of the public spaces in HDB estates. The objectives of this study aim to examine the factors affecting the quality of public spaces as perceived by their users, trace the usage of such places and finally investigate the relationship between the level of usage in public space and quality of these spaces. It is found that, among the physical factors, introduction of safety features and maintenance play a more important role in the quality of public spaces. Comfort, a good sense of security and good access are more important to the residents, as compared to the other human factors. Generally, human factors are slightly more important than the physical ones. Altogether, this study has helped to identify the more important spaces and the more important factors pertaining to these spaces. The usage level of each space is studied to reveal its link to the quality of that space. The authorities should improve the important spaces and work on the factors identified as more important to the residents so as to obtain the optimal results.