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Housing and Development Board
The Housing & Development Board (HDB), often referred to as the Housing Board, is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (MND) that is responsible for public housing in Singapore. Established in 1960 as a result of efforts in the late 1950s to set up an authority to take over the Singapore Improvement Trust's (SIT) public housing responsibilities, the HDB focused on the construction of emergency housing and the resettlement of kampong residents into public housing in the first few years of its existence.
Focus shifted in the late 1960s as the HDB began building flats with better fittings and offering them for sale. Starting in the 1970s, the board initiated efforts to improve community cohesion and solicit resident feedback. In the late 1980s, town councils were established to manage common property and oversee day to day maintenance. During the 1990s and 2000s, the HDB introduced redevelopment schemes for mature estates along with new housing types designed for various income groups in partnership with private developers.
The HDB was reorganised in 2003 to better suit the housing market. Resident engagement regarding upgrading schemes increased throughout the 2000s and 2010s, and the board began solar panel installations in the early 2010s. Since the turn of the century, HDB designs have moved away from simple or brutalist styles toward improved contemporary aesthetics with improved amenities and facilities.
The HDB consists of a 12-member board and three departments, the Building, Estate and Corporate departments. Besides the provision of public housing, the HDB also handles land reclamation works in Singapore and maintains the infrastructure of Singapore's national resource stockpiles. It is also a major purchaser of state land from the Government with the purchase price payable by HDB going into the past reserves.
By the 1940s and 1950s, Singapore experienced rapid population growth, with the population increasing to 1.7 million from 940,700 between 1947 and 1957. The living conditions of people in Singapore worsened, with many people living in informal settlements or cramped shophouses. Moreover, the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), which was then responsible for public housing in Singapore, faced many problems in providing public housing, with the rents for flats being too low to be financially sustainable but unaffordable for many of the poorer people in Singapore. Delays in approval for new housing developments greatly slowed housing construction by 1958.
In the mid-1950s, in light of the findings of the Committee on Local Government, the government initiated efforts to set up a new housing authority in place of the SIT. These efforts culminated in the Housing and Development Bill, which was read to the Legislative Assembly in 1958 and passed the next year. With the bill's passing, the HDB was formed in February 1960, taking over the SIT's public housing responsibilities.
On the Housing & Development Board (HDB)'s formation, it announced plans to build over 50,000 flats, mostly in the city, under a five-year scheme, and found ways to build flats as cheaply as possible so that the poor could afford to stay in them. The HDB also continued the SIT's efforts in building emergency flats in Tiong Bahru, which were mostly used to rehouse people displaced by the Bukit Ho Swee fire in May 1961. After the fire, the HDB focused its efforts on Bukit Ho Swee's redevelopment, rapidly designing and constructing a public housing estate on the fire's site, with people displaced by urban renewal projects and kampong fires rehoused in the estate's flats. Their occupants disliked the one-room emergency flats, so by the mid-1960s, the HDB had moved on to building larger flats, especially around the Central Area. Nevertheless, the Bukit Ho Swee estate marked the beginning of the HDB's resettlement efforts, and kampong dwellers were swiftly rehoused in public housing. By 1965, 54,430 flats had been built, with an increasing proportion of the population living in HDB dwellings.
The rehousing of kampong dwellers allowed the HDB to pursue its redevelopment plans for the Central Area, and the Urban Renewal Department was formed within the HDB in 1966 to manage the redevelopment works. This department also handled the construction of new amenities in the Central Area and collaborated with private enterprises in constructing new buildings on cleared sites. However, by the 1970s, the urban renewal projects proved too large for the department to handle alone, so the Urban Redevelopment Authority, a statutory board, replaced the department in 1974.
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Housing and Development Board
The Housing & Development Board (HDB), often referred to as the Housing Board, is a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (MND) that is responsible for public housing in Singapore. Established in 1960 as a result of efforts in the late 1950s to set up an authority to take over the Singapore Improvement Trust's (SIT) public housing responsibilities, the HDB focused on the construction of emergency housing and the resettlement of kampong residents into public housing in the first few years of its existence.
Focus shifted in the late 1960s as the HDB began building flats with better fittings and offering them for sale. Starting in the 1970s, the board initiated efforts to improve community cohesion and solicit resident feedback. In the late 1980s, town councils were established to manage common property and oversee day to day maintenance. During the 1990s and 2000s, the HDB introduced redevelopment schemes for mature estates along with new housing types designed for various income groups in partnership with private developers.
The HDB was reorganised in 2003 to better suit the housing market. Resident engagement regarding upgrading schemes increased throughout the 2000s and 2010s, and the board began solar panel installations in the early 2010s. Since the turn of the century, HDB designs have moved away from simple or brutalist styles toward improved contemporary aesthetics with improved amenities and facilities.
The HDB consists of a 12-member board and three departments, the Building, Estate and Corporate departments. Besides the provision of public housing, the HDB also handles land reclamation works in Singapore and maintains the infrastructure of Singapore's national resource stockpiles. It is also a major purchaser of state land from the Government with the purchase price payable by HDB going into the past reserves.
By the 1940s and 1950s, Singapore experienced rapid population growth, with the population increasing to 1.7 million from 940,700 between 1947 and 1957. The living conditions of people in Singapore worsened, with many people living in informal settlements or cramped shophouses. Moreover, the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), which was then responsible for public housing in Singapore, faced many problems in providing public housing, with the rents for flats being too low to be financially sustainable but unaffordable for many of the poorer people in Singapore. Delays in approval for new housing developments greatly slowed housing construction by 1958.
In the mid-1950s, in light of the findings of the Committee on Local Government, the government initiated efforts to set up a new housing authority in place of the SIT. These efforts culminated in the Housing and Development Bill, which was read to the Legislative Assembly in 1958 and passed the next year. With the bill's passing, the HDB was formed in February 1960, taking over the SIT's public housing responsibilities.
On the Housing & Development Board (HDB)'s formation, it announced plans to build over 50,000 flats, mostly in the city, under a five-year scheme, and found ways to build flats as cheaply as possible so that the poor could afford to stay in them. The HDB also continued the SIT's efforts in building emergency flats in Tiong Bahru, which were mostly used to rehouse people displaced by the Bukit Ho Swee fire in May 1961. After the fire, the HDB focused its efforts on Bukit Ho Swee's redevelopment, rapidly designing and constructing a public housing estate on the fire's site, with people displaced by urban renewal projects and kampong fires rehoused in the estate's flats. Their occupants disliked the one-room emergency flats, so by the mid-1960s, the HDB had moved on to building larger flats, especially around the Central Area. Nevertheless, the Bukit Ho Swee estate marked the beginning of the HDB's resettlement efforts, and kampong dwellers were swiftly rehoused in public housing. By 1965, 54,430 flats had been built, with an increasing proportion of the population living in HDB dwellings.
The rehousing of kampong dwellers allowed the HDB to pursue its redevelopment plans for the Central Area, and the Urban Renewal Department was formed within the HDB in 1966 to manage the redevelopment works. This department also handled the construction of new amenities in the Central Area and collaborated with private enterprises in constructing new buildings on cleared sites. However, by the 1970s, the urban renewal projects proved too large for the department to handle alone, so the Urban Redevelopment Authority, a statutory board, replaced the department in 1974.
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