SUSTAINABILITY IN MATURE ESTATES OF SINGAPORE: A CASE STUDY OF YUHUA

Abstract

Green retrofitting has been gaining popularity around the world and in Singapore due to the augmenting cognizance of environmental issues such as global warming and climate change. The Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) was set up to chart the nation’s future national sustainability strategies, with a goal of at least 80 per cent of all buildings in Singapore achieving the BCA Green Mark Certified (GM) rating by 2030.

To achieve this, existing public housing can play a vital role as they dominate the total building stock of Singapore (84 per cent), yet, a review of government initiatives revealed that green retrofitting has been focusing on commercial buildings instead. Ultimately, this dissertation aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Housing Development Board (HDB)’s first green retrofit initiative for residential buildings, whilst examining case studies from the United Kingdom and Sweden, and explore the possibilities of extending this programme further.

A survey was conducted with 100 residents from the Yuhua Greenprint programme. The results indicated that overall, the pilot programme was well-received as respondents recognized the importance of energy conservation and hence, were willing to take up ownership to be more pro-sustainable, although high upfront costs continue to act as a barrier. For further analysis, one-way ANOVA was conducted to examine whether there were any differences in willingness towards green retrofitting in individual’s households compared with 3 factors: monthly income, utility bills and type of HDB dwelling unit. Results showed that the willingness was indeed correlated with these identified factors and besides financial capability, other underlying reasons require further analysis and study.

The recommendations to improve the Greenprint Programe focus on 3 areas: introducing new green features to the precinct, extension of green retrofit to individual households, and the introducing of green financing mechanisms to lower the upfront costs, ultimately helping Singapore to achieve the goal set by IMCSD by 2030.