COMMUNITY BONDING AMONG PUBLIC RENTAL FLAT DWELLERS

Abstract

As Singapore develops into an increasingly affluent society, social and income disparities are widened, causing segregation between different income groups. As such, the State has been emphasizing the building of a “fair and inclusive” society since Budget 2012. This vision has been reiterated by various national leaders, including Prime Minister Lee and President Tony Tan. In line with this vision, Housing Development Board (HDB) aims not only to provide affordable housing for the masses, but to also promote “active and cohesive communities” (HDB, 2014). Given that HDB houses 80% of the population, community bonding is undeniably a key area of concern for the State. However, there is a vulnerable minority group whom despite various grants and subsidies still find it difficult to own a home. Public Rental Housing (PRH) thus provides highly subsidized flats for these low-income households. Hence, the question of whether community bonding is achieved only in regular HDB and less apparent among rental flats arises. Using HDB’s Sample Household Survey (SHS) 2013 as a framework, this paper seeks to uncover the gaps by comparing the extent of community bonding between PRH dwellers within their local communities as compared to HDB residents as a whole. This is measured using three main indicators: Neighbourly Relations, Sense of Attachment and Community Pride and Community Engagement and Participation. Existing literature shows weaker community bonding and social integration among low-income households, as they are unable to reciprocate favours when a need arises due to their limited resources. Research has shown that people invest in social relationships expecting some form of return. As a result, those who have a limited ability to share resources with others and those who are (or perceived to be) incompetent, unreliable or inaccessible, such as low-income PRH dwellers, are likely to be socially rejected and isolated, leading to a lower sense of belonging to the community. Based from past studies, three research hypotheses formulated will be examined through an empirical study with survey questionnaire was carried out with 167 residents living in 12 rental blocks across five locations in the Northwest and Central regions of Singapore. Contrary to past studies, findings from empirical data collected shows that community bonding among PRH dwellers was found to be stronger in terms of stronger neighbourly relations with wider scope and frequency of interactions, stronger sense of belonging and community as well a higher participation level, compared to the general HDB population found in SHS 2013.