January_1970 — Page 27

Conference paper

19701

Public housing in Singapore

by

Teh Cheong Wan chief architect Housing and Development Board

THE housing problem in Singapore is almost as old as the history of modern Singapore, founded by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1819.

The problem is the direct result of the rapid increase of the population and throughout the last 150 years since the founding of Singapore, the population has never failed to double itself within 20 years. The growth of the population has only been slowed down in the last four years due to the success of the "family planning pro- gramme".

The rate of housing construction has always been far from adequate to meet the requirements of the popula- tion growth. By 1959 when Singapore

achieved self-governing status, the housing problem had become so acute that the nett residential density in some of the central areas had exceeded 2,000 persons per acre and all the vacant land in and around the city was completely covered with insanitary slums of temporary huts and sheds.

Five-Year Plans

When the present Government took office in the second half of 1959, the solution to the housing problem was given priority among the tasks ahead contained in the Government's Development Plan.

The Housing and Development Board was formed in early 1960 to replace the former Singapore Improve ment Trust which had proved to be quite ineffective in solving the housing problem. During the 22 postwar years, the S.I.T. had built about 20,000 units of housing between 1947 to 1959.

After the formation of the Board an assessment was made of the housing situation in the Republic and it was estimated that 150,000 units of per- manent housing was required between

1960 to 1970 to meet the deficiency of the housing shortage and to relieve the overcrowding in the central areas as well as provide alternative accom- modation for the clearance of the slums, pilot schemes for the urban renewal and the development of public projects.

It was further estimated that pri- vate enterprise would build about 4,000 units of housing per annum and therefore the public sector had to build 110,000 units in the decade.

Two 5-Year Plans were formulated to construct in the first, 50,000 units of housing from 1960 to 1965, and in the second 60,000 units of housing from 1966 to 1970.

Third Five-Year Plan

The first 5-Year Programme was completed in the middle of 1965, a few months ahead of the schedule and the second 5-Year Programme will also be completed in early 1970. At pre- sent, about 650,000 or almost a third of the total population in the Republic are enjoying the benefits of public housing.

Night scene

- Queenstown Estate, Singapore

Far East BUILDER, January 1970

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