OLD TOWNS AND HDB NEW TOWN CENTRES: URBAN PLANNING PRINCIPLES AND THE KEY ELEMENTS OF A VIBRANT STREET LIFE

Abstract

The Housing Development Board has been designing and developing New Towns since the 1960s beginning with Toa Payoh New Town in 1968. Through the years, the New Town model has evolved in form while still retaining the original principles of creating satellite residential towns with vibrant streetscapes that support communities. At the turn of the millennium, Singapore saw the development of two new-generation transit-oriented development (TOD) New Towns in Sengkang and Punggol. The design of these TOD New Towns is driven by the relationship between transport infrastructures, land parcels and their proximity to the main transit station to enhance walkability and integration with mixed-used town centres. This translates into self-sufficient towns that have neighbourhoods that are closely connected together by public transport and pedestrian-friendly streets. However, it is observed that there is a stark contrast between the street life of these new generation TOD New Towns and that of the older precincts such as Geylang, Balestier and old generation New Towns like Toa Payoh. The street life in these older neighbourhoods are very much more vibrant with people engaging in a wide range of activities along the roads, pedestrian streets as well spaces between buildings. On the other hand, TOD New Towns like Punggol and Sengkang have limited street life with people using pedestrian walkways for the sole purpose of transit from point to point at certain times of the day with the rest of the day being deserted. Supported by surveys into the workings of the different town planning strategies and their resulting morphologies, this dissertation explores this phenomenon and endeavors to establish a basis for designing vibrant and livable towns. It hopes to add depth to the discourse on future new town planning schemes.