Singapore Chronicles- Public Housing

SINGAPORE CHRONICLES

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s Independence, the Institute of Policy Studies and Straits Times Press are jointly launching the Singapore Chronicles series in 2015. This 50-volume series seeks to record, explain and offer insights into what makes Singapore, Singapore. Covering a wide range of subjects, from the philosophical to the mundane, the fundamental to the practical, these Singapore Chronicles titles include Constitution, Presidency, Housing, Transport, Demography, CPF, Sports and Food. Each volume in this series will serve as a primer on the subject. Written by leading experts, they will focus on key aspects of the subject, providing analysis as well as an historical account. Readers will gain an insight into what makes Singapore tick and also why it has chosen certain “paths un-trodden”.



PUBLIC HOUSING

The story of public housing in Singapore is a unique one. This book chronicles the journey from the early days of prevalent unhygienic slums and crowded squatter settlements to the current landscape where over 80 per cent of the resident population is housed in quality flats spread across the island. Of these, about nine in 10 households own the flats they live in. Central to this story is the Housing and Development Board (HDB), which was established on 1 February 1960 and has since built more than one million flats in the last 58 years. HDB remains committed to its mission of providing affordable homes, creating vibrant and sustainable towns, and promoting the building of active and cohesive communities.