Housing : Turning Squatters into Stakeholders

Housing: Turning Squatters into Stakeholders - An immediate task facing Singapore's first independent government was to fix the housing problem. The housing landscape in the post-war 1940s and 1950s was a melange of slums, overcrowding, unhygienic living conditions and a lack of decent accommodation. Singapore now boasts high standard of living with over 80 percent of Singapore's resident population living in public housing. How has Singapore managed this in a mere half-century? Drawing from first-hand interview material with urban pioneers and current practitioners, this study traces the evolution of Singapore's public housing story. Beyond the brick and mortar, it interweaves and fleshes out how Singapore has managed to use public housing policies to achieve wider social and nation building goals - to root an immigrant population and build a home-owning democracy; eradicate ethnic enclaves; meet the aspirations of Singapore's growing middle class; care for the less fortunate; and foster a sense of community.

Features
(1) Uses the CLC Framework for Liveable and Sustainable Cities to examine how Singapore has responded to a complex urban challenge and remained at the forefront of urban development.
(2) Presents an overview of social aspects of Singapore's housing policies, including home ownership, ethnic integration, and pro-family policies, among others.
(3) Traces the evolution of housing policies and programmes in Singapore over the last half century, in response to socio- economic changes in Singapore.
(4) Includes primary material in the form of interviews with the country s urban pioneers and leaders.