32-702: The Housing & Development Board ( HDB ; often referred to as the Housing Board ), is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development responsible for the public housing in Singapore . Established in 1960 as a result of efforts in the late 1950s to set up an authority to take over the Singapore Improvement Trust 's (SIT) public housing responsibilities, the HDB focused on
64-468: Is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore . The authority was established on 1 April 1974, and is of critical importance to the city-state. Singapore is an extremely dense country where land usage is required to be efficient and maximized. The city state is trying to reduce land wastage in
96-661: The Economic Development Board , it initiated the SolarNova programme to handle solar panel installation on government properties and buildings. Under the Housing and Development Act, the HDB is tasked to plan and carry out the construction or upgrading of any building, clear slums, manage and maintain the estates and buildings that it owns, and to provide loans to people to buy land or public housing. The HDB also carries out land reclamation works and handles
128-530: The past reserves . By the 1940s and 1950s, Singapore experienced rapid population growth, with the population increasing to 1.7 million from 940,700 between 1947 and 1957. The living conditions of people in Singapore worsened, with many people living in informal settlements or cramped shophouses . Moreover, the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), which was then responsible for public housing in Singapore, faced many problems in providing public housing, with
160-464: The public and private sectors . In approving development applications, the URA states its goal is to foster orderly development conforming to the planning guidelines as stated in the statutory Master Plan and the existing control factors. URA tries to provide quality service when working in partnership with building industry professionals and the general public to foster development. URA is responsible for
192-665: The urban design of the city. For areas of special interest, such as the Singapore River area, the Orchard Road shopping belt, and the Marina Bay , URA devises specific medium and short-term urban design and land use plans. It also works with other government agencies in enhancing the city's urban design. Building conservation in Singapore is the responsibility of URA, which issued a Conservation Master Plan in 1989. This plan laid down guidelines and processes for
224-560: The 1970s, the urban renewal projects proved too large for the department to handle alone, so the Urban Redevelopment Authority , a statutory board, replaced the department in 1974. With the construction of the Bukit Ho Swee estate, the HDB also sought to change how estate residents behaved, and to give the state greater control over their lives. Moreover, with the new housing estates not segregated by race,
256-457: The 2000s, such as Build-to-Order, in which construction of flats began only after applicants had applied for them, and the Design, Build and Sell Scheme , in which the flats were developed and sold by private developers. Nevertheless, the HDB was unable to adapt to the changes in Singapore's housing market fast enough in the early 2000s. To determine and redefine its position in the housing market,
288-721: The Building and Research Institute are under the Building department; the Estate Administration and Property, Housing Management, Community Relations and Properties and Land groups under the Estate department; and the Corporate Development, Corporate Communications, Finance, Information Services and Legal groups under the Corporate department. The HDB also controls 75% of EM Services, a company handling
320-701: The HDB announced a large-scale upgrading scheme for those estates in 1989. Known as the Main Upgrading Programme , it attempted to improve these estates by adding new facilities to these estates, improved fittings in flats and varying the looks of the housing blocks in different precincts. In addition, the HDB initiated a redevelopment programme, the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) in 1995, in which selected housing blocks were razed and their residents compensated. SERS carried out renewal schemes in town centres in several older estates in
352-513: The HDB facilitated the formation of multiracial communities in place of racially divided ones. Nevertheless, by the 1980s, racial divisions within HDB estates became increasingly pronounced, so to mitigate possible ethnic tensions, the Ethnic Integration Policy, which capped the racial proportions of residents in HDB estates, was introduced in 1989. The HDB began offering flats for purchase in 1964, but as many flat dwellers at
SECTION 10
#1732773272478384-423: The HDB introduced upgrading and redevelopment schemes for mature estates, as well as new types of housing intended to cater to different income groups in partnership with private developers. The HDB was reorganised in 2003 to better suit Singapore's housing market in the 2000s. Efforts to engage residents with upgrading schemes increased in the 2000s and 2010s, and the HDB also began solar panel installation works from
416-581: The HDB was reorganised, transferring the provision of flat loans to private banks, and corporatising its Building and Development Division to form a new subsidiary, HDB Corp. The HDB increased efforts to engage residents in its provision of public housing in the 2000s. These efforts included public consultation schemes and the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme , in which facilities within multiple adjacent precincts were improved or upgraded, and residents were able to provide feedback on
448-619: The Housing and Development Bill, which was read to the Legislative Assembly in 1958 and passed the next year. With the bill's passing, the HDB was formed in February 1960, taking over the SIT's public housing responsibilities. On the Housing & Development Board (HDB)'s formation, it announced plans to build over 50,000 flats, mostly in the city, under a five-year scheme, and found ways to build flats as cheaply as possible so that
480-465: The Parliament of Singapore. The statutes define the purpose, rights and powers of each authority. These organisations would usually subsequently report to one specific ministry. This list includes both current and new statutory boards formed. Singapore is a country known for its highly efficient and centralised government system largely due to these statutory boards. They play a significant role in
512-538: The Sample Household Surveys (SHS) from 1975. In 1982, control over the Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) was transferred to the HDB. With the prices of HUDC flats approaching those of private housing, and the middle class being able to purchase HDB flats, the HDB stopped building HUDC flats in 1985. In a bid to encourage younger people to continue living in older public housing estates,
544-502: The conservation of culturally and historically significant buildings. More than 7000 buildings in Singapore have been gazetted as conserved buildings. URA also sells land by tender on behalf of the Singapore government to meet demand from private developers. URA deals with tenders for government land and applications to buy reserved land. The URA plays an important role in managing all public car parks outside of Housing Development Board estates. It provides information and services to
576-401: The construction of emergency housing and the resettlement of kampong residents into public housing in the first few years of its existence. This focus shifted from the late 1960s, with the HDB building flats with improved fittings and offering them for sale. From the 1970s, it initiated efforts to improve community cohesion in its estates and solicit resident feedback. In the 1990s and 2000s,
608-486: The development and implementation of policies and programs in various sectors of the country. These boards are responsible for providing essential services and regulating key industries, with the goal of ensuring the welfare and well-being of Singaporeans. The highly centralized and efficient system of statutory boards has contributed to Singapore's success as a modern and prosperous nation. Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority ( URA )
640-420: The early 2010s. The HDB consists of a 12-member board and three departments, the Building, Estate and Corporate departments. Besides the provision of public housing, the HDB handles land reclamation works in Singapore and maintains the infrastructure of Singapore's national resource stockpiles. The HDB is also a major purchaser of state land from the Government with the purchase price payable by HDB going into
672-467: The estate's flats. Their occupants disliked the one-room emergency flats, so by the mid-1960s, the HDB had moved on to building larger flats, especially around the Central Area. Nevertheless, the Bukit Ho Swee estate marked the beginning of the HDB's resettlement efforts, and kampong dwellers were swiftly rehoused in public housing. By 1965, 54,430 flats had been built, with an increasing proportion of
SECTION 20
#1732773272478704-473: The face of land shortage in the area. URA's main responsibility is land-use planning . URA planners devise both long-term strategic plans, along with medium-term plans, which are reviewed every five to ten years. These plans designate the land use and urban density for the entirety of Singapore. These designations are divided by URA into 55 planning areas . It is the responsibility of URA to evaluate and grant planning approval for development projects from
736-452: The infrastructure for Singapore's national resource stockpiles. The HDB consists of a chairman and 11 other members, along with three departments, the Building, Estate and Corporate departments, under the purview of a chief executive officer, who is a member of the board. Each department is further subdivided into different groups. The Research and Planning, Development and Procurement, Building Quality and Building and Infrastructure groups and
768-495: The late 1990s. There have been a total of 81 SERS sites as of 2018. Along with the upgrading schemes, the HDB introduced several new housing schemes in the 1990s. These included the Design and Build and Design Plus schemes, with flats designed in collaboration with private architects and built to a higher standard than other flats, and executive condominiums, with amenities similar to private housing. Further schemes were introduced in
800-517: The planned improvements. Efforts to foster more extensive resident participation were made in 2013 with the Building Our Neighbourhood Dreams! project, in which residents could propose neighbourhood improvements instead of just providing feedback, but the initial projects were not well received. The HDB began installation of solar panels on public housing blocks and in its properties in the 2010s. In 2014, together with
832-628: The poor could afford to stay in them. The HDB also continued the SIT's efforts in building emergency flats in Tiong Bahru , which were mostly used to rehouse people displaced by the Bukit Ho Swee fire in May 1961. After the fire, the HDB focused its efforts on Bukit Ho Swee 's redevelopment, rapidly designing and constructing a public housing estate on the fire's site, with people displaced by urban renewal projects and kampong fires rehoused in
864-511: The population living in HDB dwellings. The rehousing of kampong dwellers allowed the HDB to pursue its redevelopment plans for the Central Area, and the Urban Renewal Department was formed within the HDB in 1966 to manage the redevelopment works. This department also handled the construction of new amenities in the Central Area and collaborated with private enterprises in constructing new buildings on cleared sites. However, by
896-473: The public in regard to coupon parking, season parking, and heavy vehicle parking. URA also sets the bylaws to parking infringement and fines. In keeping with URA's function as the authority for urban design in Singapore, the URA Centre was conceptualised by URA's in-house architects. Kenzō Tange Associates and Kajima Design Asia Pte Ltd served as design consultants. The building consists of two blocks:
928-425: The quality of life. To further these efforts, in the 1970s and 1980s, the HDB introduced residents committees in its housing estates to promote community cohesion, loosened regulations on flat modifications, and engaged in upgrading works. These works included the expansion of old one-room flats and the construction of new amenities in older estates. In addition, the HDB started soliciting feedback from residents through
960-473: The rents for flats being too low to be financially sustainable but unaffordable for many of the poorer people in Singapore. Delays in approval for new housing developments greatly slowed housing construction by 1958. In the mid-1950s, in light of the findings of the Committee on Local Government, the government initiated efforts to set up a new housing authority in place of the SIT. These efforts culminated in
992-420: The time could not afford to do so, it was initially not very successful. Applicants could use their Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions to pay for their flats beginning in 1968. The take-up rate for flat purchases increased such that by the 1980s, most flat applicants were opting to purchase them. From the late 1960s onwards, the HDB designed flats and estates with improved amenities and fittings to improve
Housing and Development Board - Misplaced Pages Continue
1024-631: The upkeep of the HDB's housing estates and properties, and the properties of other public organisations. HDB employees are organised under a house union, the HDB Staff Union (HDBSU). Statutory boards of the Singapore Government [REDACTED] The statutory boards of the Government of Singapore are autonomous organisations that have been tasked to perform an operational function by legal statutes passed as Acts in
#477522