PEOPLE - THE HEART OF PLACES

Abstract

“The measure of a society’s humanity is not the magnificent office towers or the state-of-the art laboratories it builds, but the care and attention it pays to its public realm of landscaped streets, lively urban squares, and beautiful parks that belong to everyone no matter how rich or poor, young or old, black or white.” Joseph P. Riley, mayor, Charleston, South Carolina

Since its formation in the 1960s, the role of HDB has been to develop public housing and improve the quality of the living environment for its residents. In the initial years, the government’s focus was to relocate a huge mass of the population who were living in shanty slums. In just less than two decades, the streetscapes of Singapore’s public housing estates have been transformed into high-rise, high-density multi-unit living amidst the backdrop of a rising nation growing its economic prowess. The nation’s rehousing of the population was indeed a success story. Four decades on however, what have become of the public spaces in these housing estates? Moving forward with change, new challenges emerge with an increasingly affluent populace- redefining what it means to be satisfied today. Would places mean the same without the emotional attachments to them? This dissertation aims to review the effectiveness of common spaces in HDB estates in facilitating the development and maintenance of strong neighbourly ties in the community. In reviewing the backdrop upon which the housing environment of Singapore was built upon, the author hopes to highlight the existing emerging challenges and propagate the principles of placemaking as a solution to instill social cohesion in Singapore’s HDB estates.