Singapore's Housing
Past, Present, Future
Singapore's housing in the past
Through our interviews and observations, we found out that people living in Tiong Bahru are mostly elderly. We asked them about the conditions in the past and their responses were that there used to be kampong houses and very less food stalls. There was a low level of cleaniness, no facilities for children and there was only one market. There were many shop houses, 2-5 storey flats and there were about 30 apartment blocks with a total of over 900 units which were very expensive during the World War II years.
Singapore's housing in the present
As we went to Tiong Bahru, we also have observed that the people living there were mostly Chinese who could also speak fluent English and it was not so bustling and crowded. It was quiet and the food that was being sold in the coffeeshop was cheap too. Now, the kampong houses have been replaced with flats. Cleaniness has also improved and there are playgrounds provided for children. More shop houses, flats and houses have been built and markets to buy groceries have also been provided for the residents living in Tiong Bahru. Moreover, the coffee shop is the residents' favourite place to go to as they can happily chat and meet different people from different walks of life. This contributes to the inclusiveness of the Tiong Bahru estate. This means that the residents have a wider range of facilities and amenities compared to the past, thus housing has became more inclusive throughout the years. In the punggol estate, there is a west and east side like sengkang and I have to say they are similar. In the east side is somewhat developed with schools , supermarkets , hawker centrex and community clubs. In punggol, there is a kindergarten issue as the new generation of family come to punggol to settle down being new and building lots of condominium , also both of the parents have to work so that they can pay for the condominium as punggol is building lots of communion and the government has lots of plans to develop punggol into a green city , so maybe the land value will increase ? In punggol there is also a park called punggol waterway and it connected to punggol park and in the centre of the waterway there is Popeyes and river side restaurants, there is also a roofed . In the west side all you see is construction and very ulu but it is going to turn out into a prosperous estate. Luckily they are building a new mall for punggol as the other mall is very blend. So with the upcoming plans that the government sets out for us, I am sure it will make punggol more inclusive.
Present estate in Tiong Bahru
Present Tiong Bahru market
Expected future sight of Tiong Bahru
Singapore's housing in the future
When we sat down to do our field sketching, we sat on a big field of grass. Since there is a large population of elderly living in Tiong Bahru, i think we could transform it to a conducive multi purpose hall which will allow the elderly to do exercises like Taichi to let them stay fit. Moreover, the government should build more slopes and railings for the elderly's safety and convenience if they are in wheelchairs or if they are too weak to walk or if they are without support. The government should also build more lifts so that the elderly do not have to walk up the stairs. Building facilities like these will add up to the convenience of the elderly and the accesibilities to their facilities and amenities and their houses. We should create a platform where elderlies can show off their skills like cooking, handcraft and tailoring, etc since our 21st century students are not exposed to skills like these and these skills should be passed down from the older generations.
Tiong Bharu community centre
It is situated in the centre of the estate