Mind the big and small on public housing

Singapore’s public housing is a lived experience for the broad middle, with close to 80 per cent of Singaporeans owning their own HDB flat today. It allows them to partake in the country’s growth. It is a national treasure undergirding millions of cherished childhood memories and providing a vision of affordable and high-quality housing for the future.

For housing to remain intact as a key pillar of Singapore’s social compact, policymakers must tackle both macro issues such as affordability and the prioritisation of first-time buyers with more urgent needs, and micro issues such as the look and feel of a residential block and other last-mile issues in the implementation of housing projects. This last point has been underscored by the adverse reaction of many residents to the Housing Board’s decision to go for an all-red Tampines lift lobby.