1
This 19-storey point block at Toa Payoh consists of three-room (improved type) flats of 630 sq. ft. The flats are sold at S$7,500 each
town centre or district centre is also built to provide common facilities such as post-office, banks, cinemas, departmental stores, etc. to serve the needs of the residents.
Although the neighbourhood prin- ciple has been adopted in the planning of the housing estates, the whole concept is quite different from its European origin. In the British New Towns such as Harlow, Stevenage and Crawley the accent is on the maximum privacy between individual homes. This principle of a self-con- tained and self-centred family unit is against the basic upbringing of the Asian people and therefore cannot be used as a basis for the planning.
Most of the Singaporeans who move into the new housing estates are used to some degree of communal living in the urban area where the facilities are shared by several families. The children play together and the womenfold work and gossip in one another's company. Mutual assistance is provided by the neigh- bours on happy and sad occasions.
To adopt the European concept of planning without amendment would deprive the people of their accustom- ed environments and would force them into an alien setting. There- fore, the aim of planning in the new housing estates is always to preserve the Asian character of communal way of living while providing the essential and modern amenities which are lacking in their old areas.
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The following are the criteria used
as the standard in the planning of the estates for the First 5-Year Plan. Queenstown is the biggest estate completed under the plan.
(a) Density:
In the Singapore Master Plan the residential density ranges from 25 p.p.a. to about 500 p.p.a. zoned for the various areas. The densities of the public housing provided by the Singapore Government are in ac- cordance with the Master Plan densities. However, the maximum of 500 p.p.a. has seldom been exceeded.
Queenstown has a gross average density of 140 p.p.a. and eventually the density should reach 170 p.p.a. gross. The nett average density is 400 p.p.a. and eventually the popula- tion will grow to the planned density of 500 p.p.a.
In the Master Plan the density has been calculated at 5 persons per flat. However, the actual occupancy rate is about 2.5 persons per habitable room. In all our housing estates, a phenomenon observed is that there are more pople in the smaller flats than in the larger flats.
(b) Layout of Roads & Carparks:
The roads constructed in the housing estates consist of three categories:-
(i) State roads connecting the housing estates to the main road system within Singapore. All State roads are used as routes for buses and other
forms of public transport. The roads are dual-carriageway capable of accommodating two to three lanes of motor traffic each way.
(ii) Internal link roads within the housing estates have 22 ft. to 30 ft. carriageways. The wider ones are also used as bus routes.
(iii) Smaller roads connecting the link roads to the carparks. This type of road is not to be used by buses. The car- riageways range from 18 ft. to 12 ft. wide.
The number of private cars in Singapore has increased at a much faster rate than that of the popula- tion. In 1949 the number of cars was 13,695 and by 1959 the number of cars had quadrupled, to 57,894. At the end of last year the number had increased to 104,729.
The provision of carparks in the housing estates is based on the car- ownership and the actual require- ments. Before 1960, the provision of carparks was one carpark to every six flats. However, the ratio for carparks in the housing estates con- structed after 1963 will be one car- park to every four flats. The car- parks are provided free for the tenants. But, if the number of cars continues to increase certain restric- tive measures might have to be in- troduced in the estates such as rental charged for the carparks to discour age the increase of private cars and to encourage more extensive use of public transport.
(c) Schools:
The provision of schools has been planned on the principle that the neighbourhood should be self-suffi- cient in both primary and secondary schools and all school age primary and secondary students should be accommodated by the neighbourhood schools.
The standard adopted by the Planning Department and the Minis- try of Education is 31⁄2 acres for one primary school and 7 acres for a secondary school. However, in order to conserve and overcome the shortage of land a new standard has been evolved recently on the joint use of the football pitches. The new planning standard adopted one school complex of 9 acres for 2 primary schools and 1 secondary school.
Students attending the primary schools are from 6 years old to 13. secondary schools from 13 to 16 (academic) and secondary technical and vocational schools from 13 to 15 years of age. The community centres and other Government-aided organisations also run kindergarten. classes for children from the age of four.
Approximately 25 per cent of the population are school age children and most of the schools in our hous- ing estates have been utilised very intensively. Most of the schools have both morning and afternoon sessions and some of the schools have also
Far East Architect & Builder December, 1967