Social effects of the provision and distribution of daily service shops in HDB new town in singapore

SOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE PROVISION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICE SHOPS IN HDB NEW TOWN IN SINGAPORE --- using case studies of Bedok, Jurong East, Bishan, Sengkang and Punggol New Towns... Ba

SOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE PROVISION AND DISTRIBUTION OF

SERVICE SHOPS IN HDB NEW TOWN IN SINGAPORE

- using case studies of Bedok, Jurong East, Bishan,

Sengkang and Punggol New Towns

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this thesis is my original work and it has been written by me in

its entirety I have duly acknowledged all the sources of information which have been

used in the thesis

This thesis has also not been previously submitted for any degree in any university

Sun Hongyu

August 11, 2013

Acknowledgements

In my Master’s program with Research Scholarship at the National University of

Singapore in this past two years, I feel so blessed and grateful to have met many

people who have helped me along my journey My experiences with them have been

very enriching I am indebted to:

Professor Heng Chye Kiang, who guided me not only in the direction and context of

my research study, but also on how to carry out effective research work Under his

professional supervision, I was able to finish my dissertation in time and enjoy the

process

Ho Leong Lai Koon, whose words gave me the experience of GOD as my Bible

study tutor She also assisted in the development of my dissertation with her own

critical thinking and English language

How Jun Sim, Ching Sia, Zhang Beiyu and Lin Jinbin, who gave me a lot of help

with my written English, and usage of computer software

Han Jie, Wang Liangliang and Huang Daxin, who were always there for me and

helping me to expand my ideas for research

You Mingliang, Wen Xianyun, Qi Yingjie, Zhu Ruolei and Zhanyi, my dear

friends, who lifted up my spirit when work becomes too tough

My dearest family-, my mom and dad who sacrificed much more than just missing

me; my younger brother, who is always ready with a funny story to cheer me up

My special friend Gong Yimin, who patiently and faithfully gave me much

encouragement and support during my dissertation writing

And last but not least,

My Holy Father - GOD, who had kept me safe cycling around the island and

protected me from storm and sunshine when I did the field work; He gave me the

wisdom to be “poor in spirit” to develop my research and to be “peacemaker” to

handle various kinds of respondents when I was doing the questionnaire survey

Summary

The success of Singapore new town development during the past fifty years is

impressive and world renowned Even with the limitation of land and natural

resources, HDB new towns have been able to provide housing for over 80% of the

population in Singapore, providing not only shelter from the elements, but also an

increasingly higher standard of living However, since the implementation of HDB

new town concept in Singapore over the last five generations, little academic work

had been done to critically analyze this HDB new town development in terms of the

changing paradigm of amenities and commercial offerings

This research intends to assess the provision and distribution of service shops, as well

as their urban typology within township fabric Five different generations of township

in Bedok, Jurong East, Bishan, Sengkang and Punggol have been selected for this

study Data has been collected via site visits, mappings and residents’ responses via a

questionnaire By doing so, this dissertation attempts to explore the social impact of

service shops on the interaction among neighbors and their attachment to the

community

Based on the comparative study on these five different generational cases, the results

illustrate the changes of service shops within new town planning from the perspective

of provision, distribution and urban typology Both the total amount of service shops

and the data by per dwelling unit decrease from the early generational new towns to

the recent ones In addition, the traditional first floor shopping streets are replaced by

modern shopping mall gradually via Singapore new town development The social

impact of such changes have been demonstrated by the results of questionnaire

survey The survey about the satisfaction degree to the service shops and their social

lives within new town was conducted on the resident samples of each town The

residents’ satisfaction level with the service shops declined from Bedok, Bishan,

Jurong East, Sengkang and Punggol in such order At the same time, the residents in

Bedok, Jurong East, Bishan new towns have a higher satisfaction on their social lives

compared to those residing in Sengkang and Punggol new towns

It is my hope that this study will be useful for promoting a more holistic and socially

cohesive development of new towns in Singapore and that the evolving Singapore

model would continue to be a leader among the rapidly developing cities in Asia

Key words: Singapore, New town, Town planning, Service shop, Social impact

Word account: 33,911

Contents

Acknowledgements I Summary III Contents I Figure Contents IV Table Contents VII

Chapter One: Introduction 1

1.1 Background 1

1.1.1 Success of Singapore New Towns Development since 1960 1

1.1.2 Facing Political Challenges 3

1.1.3 Facing Residents’ Requirements 4

1.1.4 Academic Gap 5

1.2 Study Objectives 6

1.3 Research Approach and Methodology 7

1.4 Study Scopes and Limitations 7

1.5 Structure of Dissertation 8

Chapter Two: The Contextual Framework 10

2.1 Definition of Terms 10

2.1.1 New Town Definition 10

2.1.2 New Town Self-containment 14

2.1.3 Singapore New Town 15

2.1.4 Quality of Life 22

2.1.5 Public Space 26

2.1.6 Shopping Facilities 28

2.1.7 Pedestrian Shopping Street and Plaza, and Shopping Malls 29

2.1.8 Service Shops 30

2.1.9 Social Cohesion 31

2.2 Relevant Study and Practice in Asia 33

2.2.1 Asia Studies and Practice in Korea 34

2.2.2 Asian Studies and Practice in Hong Kong 35

2.2.3 Singapore Studies and Practice 37

Chapter Three: Survey Methodology 42

3.1 Objective Indicators 42

3.2 Subjective Indicators 43

3.2.1 Design of the Questionnaire Survey 44

3.2.2 Data Collection and Analysis 45

Chapter Four: Singapore New Town Development and Case Studies 48

4.1 Singapore Planning System 48

4.1.1 Concept Plan 48

4.1.2 Master plan 53

4.2 HDB New Town Development 54

4.3 Five New Town from Different Generations as Case Studies 60

4.3.1 Bedok New Town Planned in the Early 1970s 62

4.3.2 Jurong East New Town Planned in the Late 1970s 71

4.3.3 Bishan New Town Planned in the 1980s 80

4.3.4 Sengkang New Town Planned in the 1990s 89

4.3.5 Punggol New Town Planned in the 2000s 97

Chapter Five: Analysis and Discussion 106

5.1 Comparative Analysis on the Provision of Service Shops 107

5.2 Comparative Analysis on the Distribution of Service Shops 113

5.3 Comparative Analysis on the Urban Typology and Building Forms of the Service Shops 116

5.4 Summary and Discussion on the Provision, Distribution and the Urban Typology of Service Shops in Five New Towns 120

5.5 Questionnaire Results and Discussion 124

5.5.1 Results 124

5.5.2 Analysis and Discussion 135

Chapter Six: Conclusion 140

6.1 Summary of Findings 140

6.1.2 The Findings on the Social Impact of Service Shops 141

Bibliography 143

Appendix One: English Version of Questionnaire 153

Appendix Two: Chinese Version of Questionnaire 155

Appendix Three: Samples of Questionnaire 157

Figure Contents

FIGURE 2 - 1 A 1902 DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING EBENEZER HOWARD'S CONCEPT FOR

THE GARDEN CITY 11

FIGURE 2 - 2 THREE MAGNETS TOWN, COUNTRY AND GARDEN CITY IN LETCHWORTH 13

FIGURE 2 - 3 LOCATION OF HDB TOWNS THROUGHOUT SINGAPORE 16

FIGURE 2 - 4 INITIAL STRUCTURAL MODEL OF SINGAPORE NEW TOWN 17

FIGURE 2 - 5 ADVANCED STRUCTURAL MODEL OF SINGAPORE NEW TOWN 18

FIGURE 2 - 6 LAYOUT OF PRECINCT, NEIGHBORHOOD AND NEW TOWN 18

FIGURE 2 - 7 TOP QOL FACTOR RANKS FOR JAPAN, AUSTRALIA, UNITED KINGDOM, CANADA AND GERMANY 25

FIGURE 4 - 1 1971 CONCEPT PLAN STRUCTURE 49

FIGURE 4 - 2 1991 CONCEPT PLAN STRUCTURE 51

FIGURE 4 - 3 2001 CONCEPT PLAN STRUCTURE 52

FIGURE 4 - 4 THE BISHAN PARK BETWEEN BISHAN AND ANG MO KIO NEW TOWNS 57 FIGURE 4 - 5 PITCHED ROOF FLATS IN BISHAN NEW TOWN 57

FIGURE 4 - 6 23 NEW TOWNS IN SINGAPORE ACCORDING TO CONSTRUCTION PERIOD 60

FIGURE 4 - 7 FIVE GENERATIONAL NEW TOWNS AS CASE STUDIES 61

FIGURE 4 - 8 LOCATION OF BEDOK NEW TOWN 62

FIGURE 4 - 9 PLANNING STRUCTURE OF BEDOK NEW TOWN 63

FIGURE 4 - 10 LAND USE DISTRIBUTION OF BEDOK NEW TOWN 65

FIGURE 4 - 11 PROVISION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICE SHOPS IN BEDOK NEW TOWN 67

FIGURE 4 - 12 TYPICAL WET MARKET IN BEDOK NEW TOWN 69

FIGURE 4 - 13 SERVICE SHOPS LOCATED IN BEDOK TOWN CENTER 70

FIGURE 4 - 14 SERVICE SHOPS LOCATED IN BEDOK NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER 70

FIGURE 4 - 15 LOCATION OF JURONG EAST NEW TOWN 71

FIGURE 4 - 16 PLANNING STRUCTURE OF JURONG EAST NEW TOWN 72

FIGURE 4 - 17 LAND USE DISTRIBUTION OF JURONG EAST NEW TOWN 74

FIGURE 4 - 18 PROVISION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICE SHOPS IN JURONG EAST NEW TOWN 76

FIGURE 4 - 19 TYPICAL HAWKER CENTER LOCATED IN JURONG EAST NEW TOWN 78 FIGURE 4 - 20 SERVICE SHOPS LOCATED IN JURONG EAST TOWN CENTER 79 FIGURE 4 - 21 SERVICE SHOPS LOCATED IN JURONG EAST NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER

FIGURE 4 - 23 PLANNING STRUCTURE OF BISHAN NEW TOWN 81

FIGURE 4 - 24 LAND USE DISTRIBUTION OF BISHAN NEW TOWN 82

FIGURE 4 - 25 PROVISION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICE SHOPS IN BISHAN NEW TOWN 85

FIGURE 4 - 26 SERVICE SHOPS LOCATED IN BISHAN NEIGHBORHOOD 88

FIGURE 4 - 27 SHOPPING CENTER - JUNCTION 8 LOCATED IN BISHAN TOWN CENTER 88

FIGURE 4 - 28 LOCATION OF SENGKANG NEW TOWN 89

FIGURE 4 - 29 PLANNING STRUCTURE OF SENGKANG NEW TOWN 90

FIGURE 4 - 30 LAND USE DISTRIBUTION OF SENGKANG NEW TOWN 91

FIGURE 4 - 31 PROVISION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICE SHOPS IN SENGKANG NEW TOWN 93

FIGURE 4 - 32 COMPASS POINT SHOPPING MALL LOCATED IN SENGKANG NEW TOWN CENTER 95

FIGURE 4 - 33 RIVERVALE MALL LOCATED IN SENGKANG NEIGHBORHOOD 96

FIGURE 4 - 34 RIVERVALE PLAZA LOCATED IN SENGKANG NEIGHBORHOOD 96

FIGURE 4 - 35 LOCATION OF PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 97

FIGURE 4 - 36 PLANNING STRUCTURE OF PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 98

FIGURE 4 - 37 LAND USE DISTRIBUTION OF PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 100

FIGURE 4 - 38 PROVISION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICE SHOPS IN PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 103

FIGURE 4 - 39 PUNGGOL PLAZA IN PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 104

FIGURE 4 - 40 SERVICE SHOPS IN PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 105

FIGURE 5 - 1 SERVICE SHOPS PER DWELLING UNIT IN FIVE GENERATIONAL NEW TOWNS 108

FIGURE 5 - 2 HAWKER CENTRE, FOOD COURT AND RESTAURANT PER DWELLING UNIT PROVIDED IN FIVE NEW TOWNS 110

FIGURE 5 - 3 HAWKER CENTER IN BEDOK NEW TOWN 113

FIGURE 5 - 4 FOOD COURT IN PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 113

FIGURE 5 - 5 400M-RADIUS ACCESSIBILITY TO SERVICE SHOPS IN FIVE DIFFERENT GENERATIONAL NEW TOWNS 115

FIGURE 5 - 6 PLACE AND ENVIRONMENT OF SERVICE SHOPS IN BEDOK NEW TOWN 117

FIGURE 5-7PLACE AND ENVIRONMENT OF SERVICE SHOPS IN PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 117

FIGURE 5-8URBAN TYPOLOGY AND BUILDING FORMS OF SERVICE SHOPS IN BEDOK,JURONG EAST,BISHAN,SENGKANG AND PUNGGOL NEW TOWNS 118

FIGURE 5 - 9 PLACE AND ENVIRONMENT OF SERVICE SHOPS IN BISHAN NEW TOWN

119

FIGURE 5 - 10 COFFEE SHOP IN SENGKANG NEW TOWN 121

FIGURE 5 - 11 PROPORTION OF RESIDENT POPULATION AGED 65 YEARS AND OVER BY PLANNING AREA 122

FIGURE 5 - 12 COFFEE SHOP IN PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 123

FIGURE 5 - 13 STATISTICS FOR DINING PLACES IN FIVE NEW TOWNS 127

FIGURE 5 - 14 STATISTICS FOR GROCERIES IN FIVE NEW TOWNS 128

FIGURE 5 - 15 STATISTICS FOR SHOPPING FOR DRESSING IN FIVE NEW TOWNS 128

FIGURE 5 - 16 STATISTICS FOR SHOPPING FOR ELECTRONICS/JEWELRY 129

FIGURE 5 - 17 STATISTICS FOR PLACES FOR LEISURE/ENTERTAINMENT IN FIVE NEW TOWNS 129

FIGURE 5 - 18 STATISTICS FOR MEDICAL/DENTAL SERVICE IN FIVE NEW TOWNS 130

FIGURE 5 - 19 FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE OF RESPONDENTS 131

FIGURE 5 - 20 STATISTICS ON TRAVEL TIME IN FIVE NEW TOWNS 131

FIGURE 5 - 21 STATISTIC ON WILLINGNESS FOR IMPROVEMENT IN FIVE NEW TOWNS 134

FIGURE 5 - 22 SATISFACTION DEGREE ON SERVICE SHOPS AND SOCIAL LIVES IN FIVE NEW TOWNS 136

Table Contents

TABLE 2-1 HIERARCHY OF PLANNING LEVELS IN A NEW TOWN 19 TABLE 2-2 LAND USE DISTRIBUTION OF NEW TOWN MODEL (UPDATE IN 1982) 21 TABLE 2-3 LAND USE DISTRIBUTION OF PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 21 TABLE 2-4 DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY OF LIFE: AVERAGE WEIGHTINGS FROM A NATIONAL OPINION SURVEY 24

TABLE 4-1 23 NEW TOWNS BUILT IN SINGAPORE 59 TABLE 4-2 FIVE DIFFERENT GENERATIONAL NEW TOWNS AS CASE STUDIES 61 TABLE 4-3 TOTAL QUANTUM OF SERVICE SHOPS AT TOWN CENTRE AND ZONES IN BEDOK NEW TOWN 68 TABLE 4-4 TOTAL QUANTUM OF DAILY SERVICE SHOPS AT TOWN CENTRE AND ZONES IN JURONG EAST NEW TOWN 77 TABLE 4-5 TOTAL QUANTUM OF SERVICE SHOPS AT TOWN CENTRE AND ZONES IN BISHAN NEW TOWN 86 TABLE 4-6 TOTAL QUANTUM OF SERVICE SHOPS AT TOWN CENTRE AND ZONES IN SENGKANG NEW TOWN 94 TABLE 4-7 TOTAL QUANTUM OF SERVICE SHOPS AT THE TOWN CENTRE AND ZONES IN PUNGGOL NEW TOWN 103

TABLE 5-1 STATISTICS ON COMMERCIAL LAND USE IN FIVE GENERATIONAL NEW TOWNS 106 TABLE 5-2 SURVEY ON SINGAPOREANS' LEISURE ACTIVITIES 111 TABLE 5-3 AGE DISTRIBUTION OF RESIDENT POPULATION 122 TABLE 5-4 SERVICE SHOPPING BEHAVIOR OF THE SAMPLES LIVING IN BEDOK, JURONG EAST, BISHAN, SENGKANG AND PUNGGOL NEW TOWNS 126 TABLE 5-5 STATISTICS FOR INTERACTION AMONG NEIGHBORS IN THE FIVE NEW TOWNS 133

Chapter One: Introduction

1.1.1 Success of Singapore New Towns Development since 1960

Singapore’s HDB housing program has achieved impressive results during the last

fifty years Since the 1960s, it has dealt with problems of overcrowding and

unhygienic conditions to provide a favourable living environment and supporting

community It is not a simple task for Singapore given its scarce land and other

resource constraints Singapore was founded as a British colony by Sir Stamford

Raffles in 1819 Today, it is an independent city state consisting of the main island of

Singapore and some 63 islets, yielding a total land area of approximate 710 sq km

This land has to provide for the needs of not just a thriving city but also an

independent nation Airbases, military training areas, reservoirs and water catchment

areas have to be provided alongside airport, seaports, power stations, incineration

plants, housing, industrial, commercial and other uses Meticulous planning was

needed to make the best possible use of its land and sea space to ensure the survival

of a city and nation (Keung, 1998) In addition, it has a plural society, comprising

mainly ethnic Chinese, Malays and Indians, and a population of 5.3 million in 2012

that is expected to hit 6.9 million by 2030 With a gross density of 7257 persons per

sq km, concentrated largely in new towns, it is one of the most densely-populated

countries in the world

Up to the 1960s, Singapore has been plagued by various problems, such as badly

dilapidated overcrowded slums with poor sanitary conditions Kong & Yeoh’s study

revealed that “the living conditions of a typical street in Chinatown in 1954” was

“among the most primitive in the urban area of the world” (Kong & Yeoh, 2003)

Similarly, Goh Keng Swee conducted a survey on housing and poverty in Singapore

in 1954 and found that 73% of households surveyed lived in badly overcrowded

conditions (Tong Chee Kiong & Lian Kwen Fee, 2008) Only 9% of the population

lived in low-cost housing (Lee, Lim, & Tay, 1993)

Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) was formed in 1927 to solve the problem of

overcrowding and dire shortage of housing but failed with the construction of only

23,019 housing units in 32 years Subsequently, Housing Development Board (HDB)

was set up on 1st February 1960 to assume the responsibility The original target to

build 100,000 dewelling units between 1960 and 1970 was an enormous challenge It

was mentioned in HDB’s first Annual Report that “there is no other authority in the

world confronted with so many problems and formidable a task like HDB when it

first came into being.” (HDB, 1961) But today, as mentioned by Minister Mentor

Lee Kuan Yew, more than one million flats have been built housing 83% of

Singapore’s population after HDB ten 5-year housing programmes (Lee Kuan Yew,

2000)

In the early period, the aim was to simply meet the basic housing need and to clear

the housing backlog To do that, HDB provided simple and functional housing blocks

that could be built cheaply and quickly Today, the demand is for homes and

communities to meet the rising aspirations of the residents (Fernandez, 2010)

Therefore, the next mission taken by HDB was not only driven by the political

challenge to provide sufficient housing, but also by the residents’ eager demand for a

higher quality of living standard in Singapore’s new towns According to Teo and

Kong, the ability to provide spacious quarters within the constraints of land scarce

Singapore in the form of high-rise estates also constitutes a measure of quality The

intention was also to create aesthetic and distinctive environments, contributing to a

living environment characterised by material comfort and convenience (Teo & Kong,

1997) However, the higher quality of living standard should be measured not only by

the physical town planning and aesthetic design and spaciousness but also by social

lives providing for its residents and attachment to the community The physical town

planning and design was to ensure that housing conditions have high accessibility to

shared amenities and facilities The framework needed to be structured in such a way

that it will promote interaction among neighbors and attachment to the community

1.1.2 Facing Political Challenges

Referring to the speech by Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the official

opening of Punggol 21 new town, the HDB housing program stems from a political

decision Today, the challenge for HDB is to provide not only affordable quality

houses, but also a cohesive community The new challenge ahead concerns the

win-win between globalization and the new economy and social cohesion (Femandez,

1996)

There are some foreseeable hurdles to social cohesion The Singapore 2013 White

Paper says that the government will introduce more foreigners into Singapore,

especially low-skilled workers This move is expected to widen the gap between

different income classes There is yet another urgent issue of the impending ageing of

population in Singapore It is forecasted that the number of persons aged 65 years and

above would make up19% of the total population in 2030 (Singapore Department of

Statistics, 2012) These challenges will test the cohesiveness of the nation

The HDB new towns where the majority of population lives must be planned and

designed and built to strengthen community bonds In addition, there were also some

findings indicating that although there were conducive physical environments and

infrastructure in HDB estate, cohesion among the neighbors in HDB estates was weak

and there lacked of a sense of responsibility and belonging to the community (Tai &

Chen, 1982)

1.1.3 Facing Residents’ Requirements

Maslow asserted that we each need to be able to satisfy our physiological and

psychological needs in the hierarchy of requirements and desires (Maslow, 1970)

For Singaporeans who have largely satiated their basic needs of food and shelter,

achieving a higher quality of life has become an important area of concern Their

living needs have evolved in-step with the attainment of higher education and higher

income There are various policies and programs currently in place to first help young

couples set up their first homes, then to help them upgrade, and finally to help them

monetize their flats when they are old (Mah, 2010) These rising aspirations of

Singaporeans are not only at the individual level but also at the level of enjoying

social lives and attachment within communities Therefore, it is an imperative for

HDB to listen to the advice and comments from the grass roots that have been

accumulated for a half century The community and residents should be given more

authority to have a say in what kind of neighborhood they would prefer and how they

would organize their neighborhood and shape their lives

1.1.4 Academic Gap

The success of Singapore’s new towns has resulted in many studies done to focus on

the successful experience and elements of new towns Most critiques point to the

boring and monotonicity of new towns rather than the social aspects Even though

surveys have been carried out regularly by HDB to obtain the opinions of residents

about various facets of public housing, data collected were not readily available to the

public and there was no noticeable research into residents’ use and satisfaction with

service provision (Teo & Phillips, 1990) In addition, large-scale sample surveys of

1093 and 2187 respondents from 81 census divisions in Singapore were conducted in

1997 and 1998, respectively, to measure overall life satisfaction as well as levels of

importance and satisfaction towards most aspects of life ranging from social life,

working life, family life, education, wealth, health, religion, leisure to environment

(Department of Statistic, 2012) Unfortunately, no attention has been given to the

requirement and satisfaction of service shops in any aspect whatsoever

planning and design in some relevant studies However, the findings indicated that

although there are condusive physical environments and infrastructures in HDB

estate, social cohesion among the neighbors in HDB estates was still weak and there

was a lack of a sense of responsibility and belonging to the community (Tai & Chen,

1982) In a 1984 HDB study of residents’ lifestyles in Ang Mo Kio new town, it was

suggested that the daily routines of residents generally determine their shopping

behavior, hence, their patterns of patronage of the shopping centers (Ooi & Tan,

1992).For many of the public housing residents, stopping by the shops forms part of

their frequently traversed circuits This is especially so for the housewives and elderly

who are not in the workforce, thus reducing the range of their shopping routines to

within more estate-based retail outlets

Therefore, this study seeks to assess the self-sufficiency of new towns especially its

service shops within a new town, as well as the social impact on the interaction

among neighbors and residents’ attachment to the community

1.2 Study Objectives

The study intends to assess the provision, distribution and the urban typology of the

service shops within a new town including the food and beverage, groceries, clothing,

electronics/jewelry and medical/dental services Bedok, Jurong East, Bishan,

Sengkang and Punggol new towns would be studied as cases representing five

different generational new towns Furthermore, the study will explore the social

impact of these service shops on the interactions among neighbors and their

attachment to the community This study hypothesizes that the residents’ social lives

is closely related to the provision and distribution of the service shops within new

town, as well as the urban typology Therefore, this study can generate valuable

information for a more holistic and improved development of new towns in

Singapore with the hope that the evolving Singapore model would continue to be a

leader among the rapid developing cities in Asia

In order to achieve the above objectives, a comparative study was conducted on the

five different generational new towns, namely Bedok, Jurong East, Bishan, Sengkang

and Punggol new towns The service shops in each new town would be investigated

and assessed based on objective indicators including the provision, distribution and

the architectural forms The data was collected during site visits, by observation and

photography, as well as mapping In addition, the subjective indicators such as the

residents’ attitude and utilization of the service shops as well as the satisfaction

degree on the service shops provided within their new town and their social lives

were also documented through questionnaires

1.4 Study Scopes and Limitations

Although URA and HDB have defined both HDB and private housing estate as a

planning area, the scope of this study involves only HDB housing flats and excludes

the private housing estates

There were also some limitations in this study Firstly, although the study tries to

still may be inevitably missed out due to time constraint Secondly, the provision of

service shops would depend on the requirement and patronage of the residents The

mapping of service shops in each new town is accurate and documented as it is on the

date of the site visit Thirdly, the questionnaires are conducted randomly at some

selected areas Other areas may have been left out and some ethnic groups such as

Malays and Indians may be much less than Chines because of the language of

interview and questionnaire Last but not least, social issues are always complex

topics In this study, the social issue concerning about interaction among neighbors

and attachment to the community have correlation with many factors that are not

limited to those such as the demographic profile, social-economic factors, changing

lifestyles, and other amenities provision This study intends to explore one of them

from the perspective of the provision and distribution of service shops, as well as the

urban typology within a new town

1.5 Structure of Dissertation

The Introduction Chapter is followed by Chapter Two which reviews the relevant

definitions and theories on new town, quality of life and public space and so on In

addition, some similar studies and practices in Asian countries such as Korea and

Hong Kong would be illustrated Significant contributions from a few Singapore

researchers and scholars would also be included Chapter Three is a demonstration of

the survey methodology The Singapore new town development would be

subsequently reviewed, followed by an investigation of the five case studies of new

towns Next, analysis and discussion would be necessary and significant for us to

come to the conclusion of the study

Chapter Two: The Contextual Framework

In this chapter, a contextual framework of the study would be built by defining

concerning significant items and employing the relevance among them, as well as

reviewing some case studies in Asia

2.1.1 New Town Definition

Definition “New towns, in the contemporary sense, are developments that are

planned initially to provide for a broad range of social, economic, and physical

activities within a defined area of land and within a predetermined time period The

social activities will normally include educational services from preschool through

college, health services, recreational facilities, civic organizations, and religious

institutions The economic aspect will normally include an industrial park,

commercial centers, and the like The physical aspect embraces the provision of

roads, utilities, and housing The housing aspect normally represents a range wide

enough to accommodate moderate through upper income categories Conceptually, all

of these activities will exist within an environmentally sound, economically viable,

and socially interactive framework” (Campbell, 1976)

In short, “new town is a planned urban community designed for self-containment and

providing housing, educational, commercial and recreational facilities for its people”

(The American Heritage, 2000)

History The new town concept was the brainchild of Ebenezer Howard He had

perceived that overcrowding in cities leading to their rapid deterioration were

troubling issues of their time He conceptualized a method of urban planning in his

book Tomorrow: the Peaceful Path to Social Reform in which his ideal Garden City

would house 32,000 people on a site of 6,000 acres (2,400 ha), planned on a

concentric pattern with open spaces, public parks and six radial boulevards, 120 ft

(37 m) wide, extending from the center as shown in Figure 2-1 (Anderson, 2012) The

garden city would be self-contained and when it reached population potential, another

garden city would be developed nearby Howard envisaged a cluster of several garden

cities as satellites of a central city of 50 000 people, linked by road and rail (Goodall,

1987)

Howard’s garden city concept combined the town and country in order to provide the

working class with an alterative to work in either distant farms or “crowded,

unhealthy cities” (Howard, 1902) The first two garden cities Letchworth and

Welwyn, both built in Hertfordshire, England, are not regarded as successful

examples Lethworth, the first garden city came about in 1899 with the help of two

outstanding architects, Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker It was planned based on

the Howard’s three magnets diagram shown in Figure 2-2 which addressed the

question “where will the people go”, the choices being “Town”, “Country” or

“town-Country” Even though it made the garden city concept into reality proving it was not

just another utopian pipe dream, it later became the living estate for skilled middle

class workers against Howard’s initial goal that the Letchworth was designed for the

lower social-economic class Although Letchworth became profitable and started

paying dividends to its investors ten years later (Hall, 2002), it did not immediately

inspire any government investment into the building of more garden cities Then in

1919, Howard proceeded to buy land at Welwyn himself to house the second garden

city However, the Welwyn garden city also could not be regarded as a successful

self-containment case because its distance to London was only 20 miles (Hall &

Ward, 1998)

F.J Osborn took on Howard’s garden city concept and developed it into regional

planning with strategic plans for new housing that also included countryside access

and protection, and public transport integration He became the key person to propel

the garden city movement towards regional planning and later new towns In addition,

the New Town Acts passed in 1946 through which the government was allowed to

designate areas as new towns and passed on development control functions to a

development corporation (UrbanAreas.co.uk, 2013) Therefore several new towns

were planned and built with three main purposes: Firstly, new towns as the answer to

the decongestion of the city center (Self, 1972) Secondly, new towns as avenues for

organizing the vast volume of new development with the benefits of channeling

economic development and at same time reducing congestion and decentralizing the

territory’s population Thirdly, every new town is built to be a “balanced community”

and self-contained (Bristow, 1989)

2.1.2 New Town Self-containment

There are many researchers and scholars focusing on the study of new towns

worldwide One hot topic of this field is about new town’s self-containment It is one

of the most emphasized principles in new town design and the main purpose of new

town programs around the world (Pakzad, Lotfi, & Jahanshahloo, 2007)

Although self-containment is one of the most emphasized principles when designing

a new town, researchers and scholars are still debating on its definition and scope

Some scholars hold the opinion that self-containment could be understood as the

balance between jobs and housing in a community Within a balanced community,

residents can both live and work (Lee & Ahn, 2005) In this context, many studies

have also been conducted to assess self-containment from the aspects of employment

opportunities and working travel (Hui & Lam, 2005； Bannister, 1994；Cervero,

1995) However, there are also arguments that the concept of self-contaiment is more

than a job-housing balance within a community but rather refers to a built form that

allows people to live, work, shop and recreate wihin a community (Rogers, 1977)

Giuliano and Small concluded that job-housing balance does not have a large

influence on new town self-containment, but the non-working trips do (Giuliano &

Small, 1993) Non-working trips involve looking for services such as dining,

shopping for groceries, clothes, electronic equipments, jewelry, as well as accessing

to leisure/entertainment and medical/dental services (Pakzad, Lotfi, & Jahanshahloo,

2007) Also as seen in An’s study, self-containment should cater to the residents’

physical and social needs within a new community In her study, the social needs are

based on the provision of essential services Children’s playgrounds, schools, and

clinics must not be too far away from homes; housewives should be able to go to the

market easily; and there should also be shops for day to day needs Such new town

planning criteria are standardized and applied (An, 1982)

In Singapore, new towns are designed to be self-contained, referring to commercial,

educational, health care, and recreational requirements For provision of employment,

as certain industries are located in accordance to the Singapore Master Plan

As the subjects in this study, the service shops belonging to commercial facilities are

the significant and necessary items of the Singapore self-contained new town

2.1.3 Singapore New Town

The new town concept was first introduced into Singapore in 1957 by the National

Public Housing Authority Housing & Development Board From the setting-up of the

first new town, Queenstown to the latest one, Punggol new town, 23 new towns have

been built throughout the island with approximately 1,011,027 housing units provided

in 11,000 public housing buildings as shown in Figure 2-3

Singapore new towns are planned with clear boundaries and characteristic forms of

structural framework which was devised to aid in planning such self-containment

towns and quantitative planning This structure framework is the essential element for

achieving a diverse mix of function within the same area Thus, an initial structural

model for Singapore new town planning developed for future new towns by 1970s as

premised on a comprehensive system of transport infrastructure and planning of

housing based on neighborhood principles

Figure 2 - 3 Location of HDB Towns throughout Singapore

Source: HDB Annual Report 2012/13 – Key Statistics, 2013

Figure 2 - 4 Initial Structural Model of Singapore New Town

Source: HDB, Housing a Nation - 25 Years of Public Housing in Singapore, 1985

The new town model is not unchangeable and permanent, but transforms regarding to

the dynamic requirement of residents and society so that the new town model can be

in line with the social development For instance, the arrangement of housing clusters

was further broken down to the use of precincts as a basic planning unit in the late

1970s In 1980s and 1990s, the concern with solving housing shortage problem

turned to meeting of qualitative aspirations of better community interactions as well

as moving away from the previously standardized and monotonous spaces of the

earlier generational new towns

According to Figure 2-5, the advanced Singapore new town model offers the desired

distribution of residential, commercial, open space, recreational, industrial and

institutional land use in a new town in conjunction with its road network (Foo T ,

2001) It also spells out clearly the planning of new town using the strategy of a

hierarchical basis that each town has a town center which most of the time is located

in the geographical center Around the town center, five to six neighborhoods are

or seven precincts (Field, 1992) The planning standards of the new town,

neighborhood and precinct are shown in Figure 2-6 and Table 2-1

Figure 2 - 5 Advanced Structural Model of Singapore New Town

Source: HDB, Our Homes: 50 Years of Housing A Nation, 2011

Figure 2 - 6 Layout of Precinct, Neighborhood and New Town

Source: HDB, 25 Years Housing a Nation, 1985

Table 2-1 Hierarchy of Planning Levels in a New Town

Planning Level

No of Planning Units

No of Dwelling Units per Planning Unit

Population per Planning Unit

Land Area per Planning Unit (ha)

Neighborhood 5~6 4,000-6,000 20,000-30,000 80-100

Source：HDB, 50 Years of Housing A Nation, 2011

In addition, the planning standards enacted in the new town model is for

self-containment in terms of the facilities provided and the employment generated by

local industries The planning standards for facilities and services have evolved over

time and are meant to support the modern urban lifestyles of residents at the town,

neighborhood and precinct levels However, as Phillips said in 1987 the

self-containment has relatively limited application in such settings as Singapore and Hong

Kong (Phillips D R., 1987) Singapore’s new town has relatively few opportunities

for office employment and activities that require the support of large user population,

such as cultural centers and the national sports stadium, keeping the responsibilities

of the city as whole Moreover, the light, clean, labor-insensitive industries are

usually located on the town’s fringe and mainly cater to female labor (Teo S , 1986)

In terms of service shops, the new town is planned to be self-contained with a town

center, 5 to 8 neighborhood commercial centers with forty to fifty shops For

instance, a neighborhood center with a wet market and a hawkers’ center can support

4,000-6,000 housing units with 15,000 to 30,000 people The shops providing

Even though the model of “New town – Neighborhood – Precinct” achieved much

success, there are new challenges facing in the 21st century For instance, the residents

have more rising aspirations on the city environment, transportation system,

commercial and culture and so on The development of technology brings both

opportunities and challenges also More importantly, the scarcity of land limits the

future development Therefore, Singapore government planned to implement a new

model which resembles the model of Transit Oriented Development (TOD)1 Punggol

new town is an example of the 21st century new towns in Singapore based on this

model This model have a more mix of private houses, executive condominiums, and

HDB flats group into smaller, distinctly designed estates Each estate would contain

between 1,200 and 2,800 units, with a common neighborhood green Every housing

unit would be located within 300 meters of the nearest LRT station Schools,

Libraries, community clubs and shopping centers would be clustered for convenience

(Femandez, 1996) Meanwhile, the new town model relate to the allocation of land

uses and physical planning standards

Table 2-2 illustrated the land use distribution of new town model leading to new town

development in the early period Table 2-3 shows the land use distribution of a new

1 A transit-oriented development (TOD) is a mixed-use residential and commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport, and often incorporates features to encourage transit ridership A TOD neighborhood typically has a center with a transit station or stop, surrounded by relatively high-density development with progressively lower-density development spreading outward from the center TODs generally are located within a radius

of one-quarter to one half-mile from a transit stop as this is considered to be an appropriate scale for pedestrians, thus solving the last mile problem

model adopted in 21 century by Punggol new town Even though Table 2-3 is

sourced from URA, it is also showing the attitude towards the development of new

town in Singapore

Table 2-2 Land Use Distribution of New Town Model (update in 1982)

Source: HDB, Housing a Nation - 25 Years of Public Housing in Singapore

Table 2-3 Land Use Distribution of Punggol New Town

Source: URA, Punggol Planning Area – Planning Report 1998

According to Table 2-2 and Table 2-3, it is can be seen that, the new town has set

nearly 20% land aside for industry in the early period, while it has not been a

component of new towns since 21st century In addition, another change is the decline

of commercial land area that is driven by diverse factors, mostly as a desire to

increase the density and mix-use ability of land in order to maximise the land use

Above all, although Singapore new towns are modelled upon the New Town concept

stems from Howard’s Garden City, there is a number of deviations Due to the high

mainly 9-13 floor slabs with an occasional four to six floor slabs or 25 floor point

blocks to add variety to the building forms (Teo S , 1986) Nowadays, new blocks

tend to be around 40 storey high As of 2010, the latest HDB housing project, the

Pinnacle @ Duxton has been built up to 50-storey as the Singapore highest HDB flat

In addition, limited by the paucity of land, Singapore new towns are not bounded by a

green belt for agriculture, but instead by expressways or some strong physical

constraint (Teo S , 1986) For example, Jurong East new town is bounded by Pan

Island Expressway in the north that separates it from Bukit Batok new town, a canal

to separate it from Jurong West new town and Pandan River from Clementi new

town

2.1.4 Quality of Life

Definition The term Quality of Life (QOL) refers to the general well-being of

individuals and societies The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the

fields of international development, healthcare, and politics and so on When

associated with the environment of community within the city, the QOL means not

only the physical characteristics of the place where people live, but also the social

attributes of that environment - the sense of community and neighborhood For cities

to regain their attraction as places to live in, both of these characteristics need to be

considered (Young & Grayson, 1994)

As explained by Cooper, the housing needs for a person are hierarchical, extending

from lower or basic needs to higher or more specialized needs The hierarchy of

needs implies that at the basic level there are needs for shelter and security and, when

these are satisfied, people will tend to seek comfort and convenience Next, they look

for space for socializing and self-expression meaning the quality of life is the ultimate

pursuit of residents (Cooper L A., 1975)

Dimensions In addition, many scholars are also studying on the dimensions of QOL

Table 2-2 shows the result of a survey of 1 200 people conducted by a QOL Group in

Britain A total of 20 dimensions were rated by random sampling In this survey, the

respondents were asked to assign a weight from a scale of 0 (unimportant) to 5 (very

important) The survey aimed to provide useful information and reference standards

for researchers to assess, then to improve on the quality of life The results suggest

that the dimensions of QOL considered most important are the ones involving crime -

violent and nonviolent This means that for these respondents, physical and

psychological safety and security were top considerations affecting their quality of

life Shopping facilities were also weighted significantly by the respondents even

higher than that for education provision, employment prospects and so on

Table 2-4 Dimensions of Quality of Life: Average Weightings from a National Opinion Survey

Dimension

Average weighting Percent of total score

Cost of Private-rented Housing 1.916 3.3

Source: Environment and Planning A, Dec 1988 21(12) P.1659

In addition, the organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

contribute much on pursuit in quality of life OECD have done lots of research work

on some significant factors of quality of life world widely which are Housing, Income,

Jobs, Community, Education, Environment, Civic Engagement, Health, Life Satisfaction, and Safety Many countries are involved into its research study, some of

which are developed counties with the results shown in Figure 2-7 It can be found

that these developed counties have high ranks on these factors especially community

and safety which are almost the highest for all countries except Germany, following

by community

Figure 2 - 7 Top QOL factor ranks for Japan, Australia, United Kingdom,

Canada and Germany

Source: OECD Better Life Index – Country Reports, 2011

Safety and Security Safety would be the most fundamental factor Jane Jacobs noted

it as long ago as 1961 in her book Death and Life of American cities She stated that

safety is the basic element to make a neighborhood a community and gave cities

livability In her opinion, safety comes from “eyes on the street” There must be eyes

upon the street, eyes belonging to those we might call the natural proprietors of the

safety of the street (Jacobs J , 1961) On the contrary, if people feel unsafe, they

would refuse to reach or even pass over the space Besides crime or accident, the

public space also should have the quality of being able to protect the people from the

fear of crime or accident (Chapman & Larkham, 1994) That is the psychological

security It is partly a matter of familiarity with the urban form - the ability to

recognize where and how to navigate through the town - but, more frequently, it is the

sense of freedom to use the place on an equal basis with all other users Places which

engender a feeling of security and which welcome people, both residents and visitors,

may create a sense of belonging in their users Such a sense of belonging, or being

part of, is one of the key qualities of a really good place (Chapman & Larkham,

1994)

2.1.5 Public Space

Definition A public space should be one whereby people are able to come to

experience, take part in cultural activities, or simply be part of the environment to

enjoy the ambience at one’s will, to see and to been seen (Lin, 2012)

Importance of public space The significant contribution of public space can be

expressed by one book Life between Buildings - Using Public Space written by Jan

Gehl outlined his theoretical argument that public space of a city’s residential area

would provide opportunities for meetings and daily activities which is helpful to

enable one to be among, to see and to hear others and promote more complex

interactions (Gehl, 1996) Moreover, he also presents evidence for the relationship

between the public space quality and the amount and type of social activities that

occur He emphasized the “life” in a public space that exists in and between

buildings In his opinion, social activities depend on the environment of public space

and the presence of others in public space For instance, the activities like taking a

walk, standing or sitting around and sunbathing happen because the place and

environment invite people to stop, sit, eat, and play and so on Social activities take

place when two people are together in the same place, to see and hear each other, to

meet; itself is a form of contact Some other observations and investigations also

concur that the impact of place and environment on our activities and for creating

such opportunities are immense (Chapman & Larkham, 1994)

Finally, good-quality public spaces are said to engender findings of safety, a sense of

community and mutual trust among users and residents as well as an adherence to

shared norms and values “where ethnically and culturally diverse groups can co-exist

peacefully” (Dempsey, 2009)

How to improve the quality of public space Besides the physical construction and

environment of the public space, the coexistence of different activities happening at

the same time in one space leads to the making of successful public space (Lin, 2012)

Furthermore, in a public space, the people and human activities became the greatest

object of attention and interest Even simple eye contact or merely seeing and hearing

and being near to others is apparently more rewarding and more in demand than the

majority of other attractions offered in the public spaces of cities and residential areas