Public housing and ethnic integration in Singapore

doi:10.1016/S0197-3975(02)00050-4

Habitat International

Volume 27, Issue 2, June 2003, Pages 293-307

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0197-3975(02)00050-4 Get rights and content

Abstract

Prior to 1960, various immigrant ethnic groups were concentrated in different parts of Singapore, forming enclaves. The immigrant population was thus spatially segregated, with different ethnic concentrations in different parts of the island. Since 1960, the Singapore Government has used public housing as a policy instrument to integrate the multi-ethnic population spatially. This paper examines the implementation of this policy over the past four decades and evaluates its success. Using geographic information system technology, the ethnic composition of public housing estates can be traced on maps. The spatial distribution of the main races is shown at constituency level (i.e., division) but discussion includes the individual block level. The findings show that public housing has succeeded in reducing the intensity of the ethnic enclaves while increasing social integration.

Introduction

Singapore in the mid-20th century witnessed various immigrant ethnic groups that were concentrated in different parts of the island, forming enclaves of different races and dialect groups. The population then was thus spatially segregated. Since the 1960s, with the establishment of the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Singapore embarked on massive public housing development programmes to accommodate its rapidly expanding population and at the same time used it as a key policy instrument to disperse ethnic concentrations and integrate the multi-ethnic population spatially. The HDBs allocation policy of promoting family formation was fitted into the wider aim of nation-building through the integration of all the ethnic groups in Singapore.

This paper examines the implementation of public housing policy over the past four decades and evaluates its success in dispersing ethnic enclaves and integrating the multi-ethnic population. The ethnic composition of public housing estates is traced on maps using geographic information system (GIS) technology. The spatial distribution of the main races is shown at the constituency level, but the discussion includes the block level.

Section snippets

Housing and ethnic integration

Studies using different approaches to explain ethnic concentration and segregation have identified access to housing as the main factor influencing a household's ability to move. Households’ housing condition and housing-market position are closely related to financial and other resources. Their financial ability determines to a great extent the type of housing and the residential area that households can live in although some governments intervene in their housing markets.

Government and

Singapore's ethnic enclaves

As in many western cities, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, various immigrant ethnic groups were concentrated in different parts of Singapore, forming enclaves, distinguishable by their ethnic origins.

The reason for this ethnic segregation was historical. When the British drew the town plan for Singapore, the different ethnic groups were allocated different sections of the city and compartmentalized, reflecting the differential roles of each of the ethnic groups in the economy (van Grunsven,

Public housing: Homeownership and allocation policy

Singapore's public housing programme began in the early 1960s with the formation of the HDB in 1960. The establishment of the HDB was motivated by several factors. The most important factor was to alleviate housing shortage. Another was the desire to achieve a different overall population distribution. Thus, from the initial challenge of providing basic shelter for an increasing population, HDBs programme has evolved over the last four decades to meet the various challenges of increasing home

Community organizations in public housing estates

Ethnic and social integration in public housing estates is also achieved through the participation of residents in community organizations. Since independence, the Singapore government has made a conscious effort in building up grassroots support with the formation of the People's Association (PA) in 1960. Under the umbrella of the PA, each electoral constituency in Singapore has its own Citizens’ Consultative Committee and several Residents’ Committees to cater for the various HDB

Racial distribution in public housing estates

In this section, we present some empirical evidence about the composition of ethnic groups in public housing estate in Singapore. Our focus is on a public housing estate which was built and was in existence over the last three decades, or, in other words, a mature estate. Due to data constraints, we make use of a case study area rather than extending our assessment island-wide. We believe that the policies on public housing distribution among various ethnic groups have resulted in certain

Conclusion

Similar to many other cities, in the late 1950s and early 1960s various immigrant ethnic groups were concentrated in different parts of Singapore, forming enclaves, distinguishable by their ethnic origins. The immigrant population, consisting of Chinese, Indians and Europeans were spatially segregated from the indigenous Malays. From the 1960s, public housing was used as a policy instrument to reduce the formation of enclaves and integrate the different ethnic groups.

The Singapore experience is

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Citation Excerpt :
For instance, Singapore has implemented quotas on ethnic composition of public housing estates, where over 80 percent of the country’s population lives, to ensure these neighborhoods would broadly reflect national ethnic proportions. Each neighborhood in Singapore is also broadly planned to include a variety of housing types to cater for different income groups within the same area (Ho, 2013; Sim et al., 2003; Tan and Samsudin, 2017; Shanmugaratnam, 2015). Furthermore, urban planning is guided by ‘objective’ planning norms such as a provision of 0.8 ha of park space per thousand persons (Tan and Samsudin, 2017) which serve to ensure an egalitarian distribution of urban resources throughout the island.
Most empirical research studying the link between neighborhood environments and child obesity risks are conducted in contexts such as the U.S., with pronounced patterns of residential segregation, making it difficult to extrapolate how far built environment characteristics contribute to socioeconomic disparities in obesity risks in less segregated contexts. Using a large national dataset of almost 625,000 students’ height and weight data collected at ages 7, 11 and 14, between 2004 and 2015, this paper explores whether differences in eight neighborhood characteristics measuring access to different type of food outlets, parks and other active spaces, and public transport infrastructure might be responsible for socioeconomic differences in child obesity risks in Singapore, a city-state with relatively low levels of residential segregation. Through descriptive analyses we find that socioeconomic disparities in child BMIz in Singapore widened from 2004 onwards. However, while longitudinal regression models with individual and time fixed effects suggest that family socioeconomic status modified the relationship between environmental exposures and BMIz, there does not seem to be a clear, unequivocal relationship between built environment changes and the observed widening of the socioeconomic obesity gap.
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View full text

Public housing and ethnic integration in Singapore

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Housing and ethnic integration

Singapore's ethnic enclaves

Public housing: Homeownership and allocation policy

Community organizations in public housing estates

Racial distribution in public housing estates

Conclusion

Habitat International

Housing segregation and the poorNew trends in French social rented housing

Housing Studies

The Vietnamese concentration in Cabramatta: Site of avoidance and deprivation, or Island of adjustment and participation?

Australian Geographical Studies

Opening housing opportunities: Changing Federal Housing Policy in the United States

Singapore: The Changing Residential Landscape in a Winner City

EMAPS—a GIS application in town council management in Singapore

Facilities

Racial groupings in Singapore

Malayan Journal of Tropical Geography

Upper Nanking Street Singapore: A sociological study of Chinese households living in a densely populated area

Undivided cities in the NetherlandsPresent situation and political rhetoric

Housing Studies

Street-level bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the individuals in public services

Dislodging the welfare state? Housing and privatization in four Europeans nations