Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at HDB Peak Forum 2023
Oct 19, 2023
1. A very good afternoon to all. I am delighted to join you at today’s HDB PEAK Forum and to see so many partners from across the Built Environment sector – from architects and engineers, to builders and solution providers. We may come from different backgrounds and have different expertise, but we all have a common goal, which is to create endearing homes for Singaporeans.
2. “Designing for Life: Resilient Towns, Connected Communities” – this year’s theme gives us an opportunity to consider how our HDB towns can be designed better, to adapt to Singapore’s changing demographics and the evolving needs of residents.
Keeping Older Estates Vibrant & Liveable
3. Singapore public housing is unique with more than 1 million HDB flats across 27 towns and estates, providing homes for over 80% of our population, with about 90% being homeowners. As our flats grow older, ensuring the liveability of HDB estates grows in importance.
4. HDB kickstarted its estate renewal efforts from as early as the 1990s, to rejuvenate older estates in a systematic and comprehensive manner. It encompasses upgrading works at different levels – from individual flats, to blocks, neighbourhoods, to the whole town – and ensures that our estates remain good places to live in, no matter when they were built.
Remaking Our Heartland for Queenstown
5. At the town-level, we have the Remaking Our Heartland Programme, or ROH. ROH aims to transform our HDB heartlands into distinctive living spaces by introducing new homes, enhancing connectivity, adding green spaces, preserving heritage, and creating a senior-friendly living environment. Since its launch in 2007, a total of 13 towns and estates have been identified for ROH. This includes the fourth and latest batch of towns – Bukit Merah, Ang Mo Kio, Queenstown and Choa Chu Kang – whose renewal plans were unveiled recently.
6. This afternoon, I will share with you more on the transformation of Queenstown, our first satellite town. Over the years, HDB has implemented a wide range of upgrading programmes and initiatives to keep Queenstown vibrant and liveable. With the latest ROH announcement, about 79,000 residents, including those living in the neighbouring Farrer Road Estate, are set to benefit from the renewal, which were developed in consultation with residents. These would include upgraded neighbourhood centres, enhanced green spaces and improved connectivity.
Health District @ Queenstown
7. On top of the transformation under ROH, Queenstown will also see improvements that enhance residents’ holistic wellbeing under the Health District @ Queenstown initiative. Launched in 2021, this multi-stakeholder collaboration co-led by HDB, the National University Health System (NUHS) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), aims to support residents in leading healthy, active and purposeful lives. For example, Queenstown residents will be the pioneers in enjoying senior-friendly sports initiatives such as a fitness trail and town gym, which will be introduced as pilot programs in their town.
Rejuvenation of Tanglin Halt Estate
8. One of the oldest and much-loved estates in Queenstown is Tanglin Halt. In 2014, Tanglin Halt estate was identified for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme, or what most of us know as SERS. Tanglin Halt estate was the largest SERS exercise to date involving 3,480 households, who have since moved to Dawson estate. Tanglin Halt will be progressively redeveloped with a refreshed living environment and new amenities to serve both existing and future residents.
9. The redevelopment provides more housing opportunities for our future generations, including for young families who wish to live closer to their parents. With more young residents moving into the estate, the Tanglin Halt community will also become more vibrant over time. The inaugural public housing project, Tanglin Halt Cascadia, was recently launched for sale in the October Build-to-Order (BTO) sales exercise, with a second BTO project slated for launch next year. Upon completion, the Tanglin Halt redevelopment is expected to offer up to 5,500 new flats.
10. Another exciting plan is the new Tanglin Halt Integrated Development, which will have public housing, commercial shops, the redeveloped Queenstown Polyclinic, a hawker centre and market within one development, giving residents added convenience. The development will be built in two phases, starting from the second half of next year.
11. As an older state, Tanglin Halt holds cherished memories for many residents. As we introduce new features to refresh the estate, we will also ensure that we retain the estate’s rich heritage and mature greenery. We will carry out our redevelopment plans sensitively and put in special efforts to preserve as much of Tanglin Halt’s history and heritage as possible.
a. Many of you would fondly recall the 10-storey blocks at Tanglin Halt known as “chap lau chu” in Hokkien. We will continue to see “chap lau chu” in Tanglin Halt, as the new housing blocks immediately fronting the Rail Corridor will be kept to 10 storeys.
b. Besides retaining selected design features of iconic developments in Tanglin Halt, agencies are also exploring the adaptive use of some of the residential blocks in Tanglin Halt which hold cherished memories of residents. For example, Blocks 69 and 70, which were built by the former Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) could be repurposed for uses that will serve the community.
c. HDB has also captured residents’ and stall holders’ memories of the estate through longitudinal surveys, videos and photo documentation. Shown here is former Tanglin Halt resident Mdm Alice Lee, who has fond memories of the times when she and her neighbours would gather along the common corridor to chat, while their children ran about and played freely.
d. Mdm Tan Mui Moi, who runs a dessert stall at Tanglin Halt Food Centre, also shared how she misses the sound of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) trains from Malaysia that used to stop at the station nearby. You can hear their full stories and those of other Tanglin Halt residents and stall holders at the PEAK Forum exhibition upstairs, which we will be unveiling shortly.
Upgrading Existing HDB Homes & Precincts for Seniors
12. Besides rejuvenating older estates, we are also looking at ensuring our flats continue to meet the needs of residents, especially our seniors, as our society ages. Many seniors want to spend their golden years in their own homes and neighbourhoods, in a community that they are familiar with.
13. During the National Day Rally this year, PM Lee announced “Age Well SG” to better support our seniors to age well in their homes and communities, along with plans to enhance HDB homes and precincts for senior-friendly living. We want to ensure that our seniors can age in place safely and comfortably, and to stay active in the community. To achieve this goal, HDB is preparing to implement several initiatives.
a. For homes, we will increase the suite of senior-friendly fittings that seniors can choose from, under the expanded Enhancement for Active Seniors programme or EASE 2.0. For example, seniors can opt for foldable shower seats and widened toilet entrances to further enhance mobility within their homes.
b. We will also make it safer and more comfortable for seniors to move about their neighbourhoods. Seniors can look forward to more shelters, rest points, as well as therapeutic gardens and fitness trails to help them stay active.
c. We will launch more Community Care Apartments, which pair senior-friendly housing with care services that can be customised according to seniors’ care needs.
14. These improvements are part of a new national programme called “Age Well SG”, which will complement Healthier SG in improving the health of our seniors. More details of these plans will be announced soon. With these moves, we hope to keep existing HDB estates liveable and inclusive throughout residents’ lives.
Building Strong Partnerships to Make Our Towns a Home for All Ages
Working with Partners
15. To realise our vision and plans to create endearing homes and a quality living environment for Singaporeans, MND and HDB cannot do it alone. We need to work closely with different partners – adapting best practices and collaborating with them in the delivery of our plans.
16. For example, HDB partnered A*STAR to develop the Integrated Environmental Modeller. The IEM uses 3D city models to simulate the effects of the sun, wind and noise, and their combined effects on the surrounding urban landscape. With IEM, urban planners and designers can better adjust the placement and configuration of HDB blocks to create cooler and more eco-friendly homes. HDB is currently developing phase two of IEM, which will feature new capabilities such as the modelling of the Urban Heat Island effect, wind-driven rain, and building energy simulation, to further enhance our capabilities in town planning and design.
17. HDB also collaborates with enterprises and innovators to co-develop practical solutions to address public housing challenges. This is done through the Cool Ideas Enterprise (CIE), which is an open innovation platform. One notable example is our collaboration with Wavescan, a local startup. Together we developed and trialled a method that uses microwave scanning technology to identify sources of water seepage, and potential areas for spalling concrete. This innovative solution will better support the maintenance of our flats and sustain a quality living environment for our residents.
18. We invite you to collaborate with us, to come up with pioneering ideas to help our towns remain resilient. We will provide support to translate those feasible ideas into solutions that go on to benefit many.
Working with Residents
19. Partnering residents will also continue to be a key priority for HDB as we rejuvenate our estates and make them more inclusive for all residents. In Boon Lay, HDB engaged the community for a pilot Accessible City Network project. Close to 100 participants came forward and shared over 200 suggestions to address challenges in their built environment. Following the exercise, HDB rolled out many more enhancements, including improving barrier free accessibility at carparks, installing handrails, and providing covered linkways. More are in the pipeline. Following the successful pilot, HDB will extend this initiative to Nee Soon to benefit more residents.
Conclusion
20. In conclusion, our built environment plays a pivotal role in improving our quality of life and we remain committed to continuously reshaping it to refresh ageing amenities and meet residents’ changing needs. There are many opportunities for architects and builders to work with the Government to shape our built environment and make Singapore an endearing home for all ages.
21. On this note, I wish all of you a rewarding and productive HDB PEAK Forum ahead. Thank you.