THE CASE FOR INCREMENTALITY IN PUBLIC HOUSING

Abstract

Singapore ranks as densest country in the world, with more than 80% of its population living in high-rise high-density environments. The close proximity and its ever increasing density has however, shown to have an inverse relationship with social interaction and the use of communal spaces in neighbourhoods and precincts in recent years. While this problem is a product of a rather complex cocktail of factors, numerous urban and architectural theorists agree that a big part of the equation is that of Time, which cannot be replicated/replaced. This puts Singapore in a stalemate, with the increasing rate of mobility and decrease in length of tenancy in public housing hindering the formation of successful communities. identity, stake, and personal investment in the immediate communities, has proven to be vital mitigating force against this phenomenon. This paper is a study into the past and present manifestations of Incrementality, its role in community creation and the possibility of implementing or adapting such processes in the design of present and future public housing.