QUALITY OF LIFE : THE IMPACT OF AMENITIES IN THE PUBLIC HOUSING ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Quality of life (QOL) studies can be used for various policy-making purposes, depending on the nature of the study and the application of QOL studies are also gaining important roles in the urban planning of Singapore. This study aims to study the QOL in relation to the provision of amenities in public housing environments, specifically the Bukit Panjang Planning Area, Bukit Batok Planning Area and Choa Chu Kang Planning Area. Based on a 5-point Likert scale, it was found that the mean of the importance of amenities to the QOL amongst three hundred respondents was 3.93 and the mean score of satisfaction with amenities was 3.59. Results also showed that amenities in the living environment had notable influences on the aspects of public safety, transportation, leisure, consumer goods and services and the environment. Furthermore, it was determined that four demographic variables (age, ethnic group, household income and household size) were found to be statistically significant in contributing to the overall satisfaction with the QOL. It is hoped that results from this study can be a potential contribution to the field of urban planning in Singapore, with the findings giving greater insight into the impact that amenities could have on residents of a particular public housing environment.