A STUDY ON THE SUCCESS OF NEW TOWNS DEVELOPMENT: SPA (SPATIAL, PHYSICAL AND AMENITY) FEATURES AS A POLICY TOOL TO ENHANCE PLACE ATTACHMENT

Abstract

As Singapore progresses towards a global city, the country experiences evolving social diversity, rising aspirations and the dilution of community spirit among her people. The consequential political and social implications thus bring forth the importance of building place attachment in the country. Existing fields of research have investigated various perspectives of place meanings but few studies have explored the topic from the spatial, physical and amenity (SPA) features of a neighborhood. The dissertation aims to explore, examine and evaluate the success of SPA features in HDB new towns in creating high levels of place attachment among HDB dwellers.

It is hypothesized that SPA features would influence the levels of interactions and involvements in a housing estate, of which both have a bearing on place attachments.. A regression analysis ran on the 250 survey responses revealed that SPA features have a significant impact on the levels of social interaction and community involvement in a neighborhood. Specifically, the frequency of use of amenity features had the strongest relationship with the levels of social interaction while the duration of use of spatial features was found to affect residents' level of community involvements in the estate. It is further propounded that the intensity of neighborliness varied across different demographic groups.

Intrinsically, it is concluded that appropriate SPA settings are mandatory to create an enticing HDB environment capable of inculcating strong sense of place attachment among Singaporeans. Recalling how Kampongs were spaces made by the community, it would be rewarding to look into engaging residents in the preliminary stages of planning and the possibility of public spaces to be constructed by communities.