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FORUM ON HDB HEARTWARE
After
eight months of public consultation, and garnering feedback
and suggestions from over 1,000 Singaporeans of various ages,
the Forum on HDB Heartware has completed its report of building
more cohesive HDB communities. A total of 14 recommendations
grouped under six thrusts have been identified to develop
cohesive and resilient communities in our HDB heartlands.
The
six key thrusts are:
Thrust
1: Enrich the Town
The
Forum’s vision for the HDB Town is one with character
and buzz; a place that residents closely identify with. To
this end, the Forum recommends the following:
| a. |
To
start dedicated programmes to strengthen the heritage
of individual Towns and promote heritage awareness among
residents; |
| |
|
| b. |
To
resume building wet markets and hawker centres at selected
estates where they are assessed to be commercially viable.
They can be privately run and operated; |
| |
|
| c. |
To
have Community Clubs (CCs) and other civic facilities
to be sited at Town Centres, within existing shopping
malls or as part of a “Civic District” for
new or redeveloped towns. This will add to the colour
of the Town Centre and help to attract more youths to
the community activities. |
Thrust
2: Enhance the precinct
The
HDB precinct should be a place that residents can call “their
own”. There should be more flexibility and greater resident
consultation in the physical design of the precinct.
The
Forum therefore recommends that HDB review its approach to
precinct upgrading, with a view to strengthening the mechanism
for engaging residents. This should be accompanied by more
flexibility in the provision of upgrading works and facilities
to meet residents’ needs. In addition, HDB should seek
to optimise the facilities across adjoining precincts so as
to avoid duplication and allow for more variety to meet the
different needs of residents. The Forum also recommends that
HDB review its flat upgrading programme as residents have
requested for improvement works to be done to their flats.
Thrust 3: Involve the schools
Our
youths spend considerable amount of their time in schools.
The schools are therefore effective channels for the community
to reach out to the youths.
The
Forum feels that more can be done to strengthen the community-school
partnership. In particular, there can be greater sharing of
facilities between the school and the local community. This
will draw the school closer to the community; at the same
time, it is practical and cost-effective. A cross-agency work
group led by the Ministry of Education (MOE) has been formed
to look into this, with a pilot trial to be conducted at Tampines
Primary and Secondary Schools.
Thrust
4: Support the family
To
strengthen the family within the community, the Forum proposes
to refine the existing priority schemes to further improve
chances of success for newly-weds to stay with or near parents.
For
those who do not live with their parents but visit them regularly,
the Forum proposes a Family Season Parking Scheme to support
them. Under this scheme, HDB will provide a discount for the
second season parking ticket for its residents to park at
HDB car parks of their parents’ residence.
Thrust
5: Engage the resident
HDB
residents should be positively and actively engaged in their
local community. The Forum feels that we can better exploit
IT in this age of educated and internet-savvy residents. The
Ministry of National Development will facilitate the development
of a Resident Community Portal that leverages on new media
to allow residents to interact via the Internet.
Beyond social activities and interactions, the Forum supports
expanding the scope for residents to be involved in decision-making
on matters affecting their immediate neighbourhood, to nurture
community ownership and allow residents’ needs to be
better met. Forum member Dr Lim Wee Kiak will conduct a pilot
project in Sembawang GRC, to give more room for residents
to make collective decisions through the Residents Committees
(RCs).
The
Forum also recommends that RCs further build up their capability
to reach out more to residents for consultation and feedback.
RCs will need the support of residents as they are staffed
by volunteers who have to work within existing resource constraints.
Thrust
6: Encourage the volunteer
The
Forum supports having more Voluntary Welfare Organisations
(VWOs) establish themselves physically within the housing
estates. Establishing voluntary activities within HDB estates
will make them more relevant and responsive to local needs.
These can complement the informal neighbourhood support network.
Forum
on HDB Heartware Report
The
Heartware Forum has submitted its report to the Minister for
National Development. The Minister has accepted the key thrusts
and recommendations. HDB and other agencies will follow up
on the various Forum proposals, including a review of the
HDB upgrading programmes.
The Heartware Forum would like to express its appreciation
to the many Singaporeans who took their precious time off
to contribute views and suggestions to make the report possible.
Report
and Recommendations by the Forum on HDB Heartware
(PDF,
1432 Kb)
| Issued
by |
: |
Ministry
of National Development |
| |
|
|
| Date
|
:
|
03
August 2007 |
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