SINGAPORE – Imagine you lived with your family in a bright, airy, top-floor apartment boasting views of West Coast Park and Jurong Island beyond it. Every morning you’d spend a few quiet minutes on the balcony nursing your coffee, contemplating what’s in store for the day as you gaze at the sea and listen to hornbills cackle from the trees nearby.

Now imagine that idyll being shattered just because your youngest child scattered Lego pieces on the floor. The clatter sets off the difficult neighbour in the apartment directly beneath yours, and he is banging at your front door within minutes to complain about it.