This paper presents visual documentation from six years (2015–2021) of dwelling as a foreign resident in Singapore’s Housing Development Board (HDB) apartments, examining the concept of interiorization through phenomenological observation and autoethnographic reflection. Rather than analytical investigation, this visual inquiry reflects speculative engagement with culturally unfamiliar domestic practices through sustained daily observation. It focuses on the value of creating conditions for transformation in how we perceive and relate to domestic environments as a process of interiorization. My documentation illustrates how standardized architectural environments become spaces of authentic dwelling through inhabitants’ daily practices of rhythmic embodiment, intimate traces and cultural negotiation. The visuals document various moments ranging from corridor laundry practices to street shrine installations, reflecting traces of my own becoming attuned to unfamiliar modes of domestic culture. Through personal observations and their perceptual affordances, this paper presents interiorization as a relational domain between people, daily practices and environments, suggesting that authentic domesticity emerges through continuous processes of becoming rather than fixed states of being.

This paper examines the paradoxes of applying modernist architectural principles, rooted in secular, functional ideals, to mosque design during the initial phase of Singapore’s Mosque Building Fund (MBF) from 1977 to 1983. Drawing on archival plans, photographs, and newspaper articles, it explores how national objectives shaped mosque construction, resulting in what this paper terms “paradoxical” Modernism: architectural outcomes that adapt modernist ideals to meet the Malay/Muslim community’s spiritual, symbolic, and communal needs. Rather than signalling deficiency, the term highlights the negotiated tensions between state planning and religious expression in a postcolonial context. It examines the collaboration among the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), architects from the Housing Development Board (HDB), and the Mosque Building Committee (Jawatankuasa Pembinaan Masjid, JPM), focusing on how these partnerships balanced planning objectives with community feedback. The resulting mosque designs attempted to reconcile modernist forms with Malay/Muslim perceptions of appropriate mosque aesthetics and functions. The study analyses how modernist idioms, the International Style and Brutalism, were used to reinterpret Indo-Saracenic elements such as domes, minarets, and arches into simplified, geometric forms across seven MBF mosques: Muhajirin (1977), Mujahidin (1977), Assyakirin (1978), An-Nur (1980), Al-Ansar (1981), Al-Muttaqin (1980), and En-Naeem (1983). The analysis is structured around three key areas: first, a discussion of mosque designs influenced by modernist idioms; second, how Indo-Saracenic forms were adapted to fit these idioms; and third, the integration of elements such as open courtyards and balconies. Finally, the paper addresses how redevelopment pressures have led to modifications or demolition of these buildings. These changes reveal the “paradoxes” not as flaws, but as signs of how architecture responded to evolving community needs and planning priorities. Instead, these mosques should be recognised as culturally significant reflections of their time’s socio-political conditions, raising broader questions about conserving modernist religious architecture in Singapore.

Food security is a growing global challenge, intensified by urbanization and industrialization that encroach upon valuable agricultural land. In Singapore, a city-state with limited land and heavy reliance on food imports, ensuring nutritional self-sufficiency for its 5.9 million residents is an in-creasingly critical concern. This study investigates community attitudes toward the implementation of urban farming structures in residential areas and explores the feasibility of integrating space-saving farming solutions, such as urban, rooftop, and vertical farming, into Singapore’s urban land-scape. A survey conducted among local residents revealed a 73.4% positive outlook toward the concept of community urban farms, with respondents expressing strong support for the idea of localized food production. However, the survey also highlighted a significant gap in opportunities for residents to engage actively in the operation and maintenance of urban farms. Community in-volvement is a critical factor that influences the long-term sustainability and scalability of urban farming projects. These findings underscore the importance of developing strategies that foster and incentivize resident participation in these initiatives to enhance their success and viability. Based on the positive survey feedback, a modular urban farming unit was conceptualized and pro-totyped. With a focus on adaptable design and speed of installation, the designs focus on the inte-gration of agricultural spaces with minimal to zero modifications required for existing architectures. In particular, Housing Development Board (HDB) rooftops in Singapore, often have uneven terrain. To optimize environmental conditions for crop growth, advanced design tools such as Revit BIM for architectural modeling, IESVE for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to optimize air-flow, and BIM HVAC for assessing lighting conditions were utilized to study the environmental con-ditions critical to crop growth. Following the successful digital prototyping phase, a physical proto-type was constructed at SIT@Dover campus, in Singapore. Between March and August 2023, Kailan and Bok Choy were cultivated, averaging an annual yield of 25.6 kg/m². A second prototype, optimized for maximum yield per floor area, was installed at the Oasis Living Lab between Septem-ber 2023 and February 2024, achieving a yield of 130.2 kg/m² per year. These results demon-strate the feasibility and adaptability of modular urban farming systems in high-density environ-ments. With supportive policies and collaboration among stakeholders, the widespread adoption of such systems can be realized in the near future.

In the context of globalization and rapid economic development, housing issues have become an important factor affecting people's quality of life and social stability. Urbanization and industrialization have driven city population concentration, leading to rising land prices, soaring housing prices, and housing shortages. Housing issues are not only related to economic development but also to social harmony and stability. Governments of various countries have formulated diverse housing policies to ensure the housing needs of different income groups. In this context, this study primarily focuses on Singapore's Housing Development Board (HDB) system. By exploring the origins, development trajectory, and achievements of HDB policies, this study analyzes how the multi-tiered housing supply system meets the housing needs of different income groups and summarizes its successful experiences. The study will focus on key elements in the government's planning and design of public housing and its allocation mechanism to provide a reference for future housing policy formulation. Finally, the study will look ahead to the development direction of the HDB system and offer suggestions for improvement.

This study aims to identify the inherent problems of the Public Housing Savings program (Tapera) and seeks solutions through law reforms to improve the effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of the program. This normative legal research employs comparative approach by analyzing the similar programs in Singapore. The Housing Development Board (HDB) in Singapore is selected as benchmark to evaluate the performance and regulation of Tapera in Indonesia. The study also applies a functional approach to explore the function and purpose of legal frameworks of Tapera and their impact in the implementation of the program. The results show that despite changes made through Government Regulation No. 21 of 2024 to improve Tapera's performance, there are still significant problems, including low public participation, transparency and accountability issues, and controversies related to mandatory contribution payments. This research emphasizes the importance of comprehensive and inclusive law reforms that take into account social and economic aspects to ensure that Tapera can be more effective in helping people own their own homes, as well as fulfilling the state's constitutional obligation to provide adequate housing for all citizens.

The increase in population has an impact on the proliferation of illegal settlements. This study determines and analyzes housing policies and administrative law enforcement about illegal settlements. The study uses normative legal research, which compares legal issues in two countries, Singapore and Australia. This research is descriptive, using both statute and conceptual approaches. The concept of administrative law enforcement and protecting citizens' fundamental rights are used as the basis for our analysis, combining it with legal system theory and administrative law enforcement. The research results show that, in substance, Singapore has a housing policy through Housing Development Board, which is carried out on a massive scale and is quite successful in dealing with illegal settlements in urban areas about the size of the country's territory. Structurally, government institutions carry out administrative law enforcement through warnings and demolitions. Meanwhile, Australia has not been entirely successful, even though collaboration has been carried out between governments through Australia for Affordable Housing, the private sector, and housing communities. Australia enforces the law by issuing orders to stop using unauthorized buildings and imposing financial sanctions. Affordable and fair housing policies that the enforcement of administrative law can accompany are more effective in reducing illegal settlements than relying solely on the enforcement of administrative law alone or even criminal law. According to a culture of legal awareness, settlers who face various economic and social pressures are more difficult to discipline.

Abstract. Urban morphology profoundly influences city planning and experiences significant transformations as cities evolve. This paper investigates paradigm shifts in block-level planning through a case study of Singapore, a city celebrated for its precision in urban planning and swift transformation. Integrating urban morphology theories with empirical data, we explore Singapore’s block-level urban form across various stages of development. Utilising a Spacematrix approach alongside a clustering analysis of urban blocks, we categorise Singapore’s towns into four distinct clusters: Suburban, Balanced Mix, Dense Urban, and Vertical Growth, each reflecting unique density patterns and building forms. This clustering reveals how Singapore’s planning ideologies have transitioned from maximising space utilisation to prioritising sustainability and quality of living. This signifies a paradigm shift towards a comprehensive and inclusive urban design ethos. The paper contributes to the urban planning discourse by underscoring the technological advancements, especially with merging spatial data and GIS, in shaping modern urban analytics and planning. The insights from the clustering analysis enhance our understanding of Singapore’s exceptional urban path and offer valuable perspectives for other metropolises navigating the complexities of urban expansion and sustainability.

India, recognizing housing as a fundamental necessity, has grappled with deteriorating urban housing conditions driven by factors like rural-to-urban migration and rising construction costs. To address this challenge, the government initiated social housing programs during its third five-year plan, establishing housing boards and city development agencies at central and state levels. These entities aim to provide affordable housing solutions, slum rehabilitation, and urban renewal. Central and state housing boards collaborate to make housing accessible to those with limited resources. The paper presents case studies from states like West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, and Gujarat, highlighting diverse strategies, including public-private partnerships, to address housing needs for various income groups. These partnerships aim to bridge the housing gap and promote urban development. However, challenges persist, particularly in achieving affordability and efficient delivery of housing. Singapore's Housing Development Board (HDB) model offers insights into the transformative potential of public housing in shaping the real estate landscape. Foreign investment and proactive improvements are crucial for India to replicate Singapore's success and ensure quality housing for all citizens. Key Words: Housing boards, affordable housing, Public- private partnerships, Urbanization

Twitter sentiment has been used as a predictor to predict price values or trends in both the stock market and housing market. The pioneering works in this stream of research drew upon works in behavioural economics to show that sentiment or emotions impact economic decisions. Latest works in this stream focus on the algorithm used as opposed to the data used. A literature review of works in this stream through the lens of data used shows that there is a paucity of work that considers the impact of sentiments caused due to an external factor on either the stock or the housing market. This is despite an abundance of works in behavioural economics that show that sentiment or emotions caused due to an external factor impact economic decisions. To address this gap, this research studies the impact of Twitter sentiment pertaining to the Covid-19 pandemic on resale Housing Development Board (HDB) apartment prices in Singapore. It leverages SNSCRAPE to collect tweets pertaining to Covid-19 for sentiment analysis, lexicon-based tool, VADER, is used for sentiment analysis, Granger Causality is used to examine the relationship between Covid-19 cases and the sentiment score, and neural networks are leveraged as prediction models. Twitter sentiment pertaining to Covid-19 as a predictor of HDB price in Singapore is studied in comparison with the traditional predictors of housing prices i.e., the structural and neighbourhood characteristics. The results indicate that using Twitter sentiment pertaining to Covid-19 leads to better prediction than using only the traditional predictors and performs better as a predictor compared to two of the traditional predictors. Hence, Twitter sentiment pertaining to an external factor should be considered as important as traditional predictors. In a micro sense, this paper demonstrates the use of sentiment analysis of Twitter data in urban economics. In a macro sense, the paper demonstrates the extent to which social media is able to capture the behavioral economic cues of a population.

Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is a current trend worldwide, offering many environmental benefits. With the flagship SolarNova Programme in Singapore, solar PV has gained its momentum. However, it remains important to explore new avenues to introduce solar PV in the urban settings. The housing development board (HDB) green towns promote sustainable living. Therefore, introducing solar PV is essential. This research study aims to propose and conduct an economic evaluation on solar PV for the HDB’s covered linkways. HDB covered linkways connect buildings within the green towns. Hence, installing solar PV systems in covered linkways facilitates to self-produce required energy and export extra electricity to the grid. This research study used PVWatts calculator to calculate the power generation. A thin film solar PV is used for the study with fixed array type and azimuth is 180°. Four solar PV systems, namely (1) 4 kW, (2) 5 kW, (3)10 kW, and (4) 20 kW, were evaluated in this research study. The initial cost ranges from S$7000 to S$38,000 for the four types. For 4 kW and 5 kW systems, the payback period is 6.22 years. The highest payback period is for a 20-kW system, which is 7.4 years. The 10-kW system generates a significant portion of the electricity requirements, and the payback period is 6.04 years. This research contributes to the solar PV domain by proposing a novel grid-connected solar PV system for covered linkways while identifying the most cost-effective solution.

Architectural quality of the productive façades integrating photovoltaic and vertical farming systems: Survey among experts in Singapore

Abstract Using a novel, large data set of consumer transactions in Singapore, we study how conspicuous consumption affects household indebtedness. The coexistence of private housing (condominiums) and subsidized public housing (Housing Development Board [HDB]) allows us to identify conspicuous consumers. Conditional on income and other socioeconomic characteristics, those who choose to reside in condominiums—considered a status good in Singapore—are likely to be more conspicuous than their counterparts living in HDB units. We find that condominium residents spend considerably more (by 25%) on conspicuous goods but not differently on inconspicuous goods. Compared with their matched HDB counterparts, these consumers with higher conspicuous motivation carry 7% more credit card debt and 108% more delinquent credit card debt. Our results suggest that status‐seeking‐induced conspicuous consumption is an important determinant of household indebtedness.

Design and construction of floating modular photovoltaic system for water reservoirs

Survey on the social acceptance of the productive façade concept integrating photovoltaic and farming systems in high-rise public housing blocks in Singapore

In this research, three hedonic pricing models, including an ordinary least squares (OLS) model, a Euclidean distance–based (ED-based) geographically weighted regression (GWR) model, and a travel time–based GWR model supported by a big data set of millions of smartcard transactions, have been developed to investigate the spatial variation of Housing Development Board (HDB) public housing resale prices in Singapore. The results help identify factors that could significantly affect public housing resale prices, including the age and the floor area of the housing units, the distance to the nearest park, the distance to the central business district (CBD), and the distance to the nearest Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station. The comparison of the three models also explicitly shows that the two GWR models perform much better than the traditional linear hedonic regression model, given the identical variables and data used in the calibration. Furthermore, the travel time–based GWR model has better model fit compared to the ED-based GWR model in the case study. This study demonstrates the potential value of the big data–based GWR model in housing research. It could also be applied to other research fields such as public health and criminal justice.

Accessible primary healthcare is important to national healthcare in general and for older persons in particular, in societies where the population is ageing rapidly, as in Singapore. However, although much policy and research efforts have been put into this area, we hardly find any spatial perspective to assess the accessibility of these primary healthcare services. This paper analyzes the geographical accessibility of one major healthcare service in Singapore, namely, General Practitioners (GPs) services under the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) for older persons. A Python script was developed to filter the website data of the Housing Development Board (HDB) of Singapore. The data derived was comprehensively analyzed by an Enhanced 2-Step Floating Catchment Area (E2SFCA) method based on a Gaussian distance-decay function and the GIS technique. This enabled the identification of areas with relatively weak geographical accessibility of CHAS-GPs. The findings are discussed along with suggestions for health practitioners, service planners and policy makers. Despite its initial nature, this study has demonstrated the value of innovative approaches in data collection and processing for the elderly-related studies, and contributed to the field of healthcare services optimization and possibly to other human services.

The critique of ocularcentrism is commonplace in feminist theory but still requires additional deconstruction outside of Western philosophy. This paper takes that critique to Singapore and the domain of its modern architecture. Through an explanation of ocularcentrism and its impact on Singaporean architecture it is argued that the values of colonialism are visibly present despite the city-state’s official post-colonial status. This paper connects the critique of ocularcentrism across three categories of architecture in Singapore – the Housing Development Board (HDB) public housing, the central business district (CBD) and the vernacular architecture of Kampong Glam. It concludes by examining the options for resistance and alternatives for space and architecture presented by Singaporean architects, theorists and critics.

Housing Policies in Singapore

The Singaporean Government has been attempting to control and stabilise hikes in prices among the private and public housing since 2009. This hike in prices is mainly due to high demand of housing properties in Singapore as a result of the influx of foreigners and economic growth. The increasing housing prices render a substantial negative effect on consumption expenditures of citizens which lead to a drop in average propensity to consume (APC). The purpose of this research paper is to identify the leverage points in the causal loop diagrams for housing affordability by the Housing Development Board (HDB) for Singaporeans. This research therefore uses systems thinking tools embedded in the first five steps of the evolutionary learning laboratory (ELLab) framework to identify the root causes and determine the components and interactions related to the problem of HDB affordability. The results of this research show that, land space availability, technology, disposable income and immigration policy are the keys to leverage affordability of housing prices. The research findings and recommendations can complement the current solutions provided by the HDB and the Singaporean Government.

Pure cement mortar and concrete possess disadvantages such as brittleness, low bonding or adhesion strength, low tensile strength, large drying shrinkage, low chemical resistance. In order to overcome these disadvantages, polymer concrete is used as a construction material in Singapore as the properties of polymer-modified (or polymer cement) mortar and concrete are superior to conventional cement mortar. In Singapore, new products or technologies can be found through distributers, agents, etc. Singapore is able to afford and try high quality products to maintain the quality of a building and structure. The importance of applying polymer to protect, repair, coat and strengthen concrete structures in Singapore have grown in the last two decades. To ensure and maintain the standards of construction and building quality, polymer concrete are used extensively in new developments in Singapore. In this paper, the mechanical properties and its corresponding testing methods for several types of polymer concrete used in Singapore are discussed. These products include mortar used to repair concrete spalling, acrylic polymer cementitious coating, waterproofing membrane, epoxy mortars and grouts, fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) and epoxy resin. In addition, the specifications for the above products used in Singapore’s Housing Development Board (HDB) are discussed in the paper as it’s a requirement for suppliers to test their products in accredited laboratories before it can be used.