Response by MOS Faishal Ibrahim at the Fourteenth Parliament of Singapore to Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi's Motion for Adjournment on "Social Cohesion Through Common Spaces in Residential Estates"
Jan 9, 2024
Introduction – Defining Social Cohesion
1. Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi for sharing his views and putting forth suggestions on how we can foster stronger social cohesion through purposeful design and management of common spaces in our residential estates.
2. I fully agree with the Member on the importance of social cohesion. Given our multi-racial and multi-religious context, building a harmonious and cohesive society in Singapore is critical. This is something we must never take for granted.
3. Social cohesion does not come about by chance. It requires a deliberate and concerted effort from all of us – to build bonds and mutual understanding amongst Singaporeans, whether it is across races, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, or age groups.
Integrated Planning to Facilitate Social Cohesion
4. Government pays close attention to the upstream planning and design of the built environment, to facilitate social cohesion amongst Singaporeans from all walks of life.
5. In order to create opportunities for Singaporeans to interact with one another on a regular basis, we deliberately inject a range of common spaces when planning for residential estates, parklands, and commercial and mixed-use areas.
6. We also actively encourage the integration of community and sports uses within commercial and mixed-use developments, to provide highly accessible spaces for the community.
Promoting Social Cohesion in Residential Estates
7. With almost 80% of Singapore’s resident population living in HDB flats, HDB plays a pivotal role in providing a liveable environment for Singaporeans to live, work and play together.
8. I shall now touch on some of the efforts by various agencies including HDB, to foster a cohesive community in our heartlands through both design as well as active programming.
Building Hardware
9. HDB carefully designs our estates and towns to incorporate a range of common spaces that maximise social interaction and facilitate community building while meeting diverse needs.
a. HDB’s Designing for Life roadmap guides the planning and leveraging of common spaces, to help Singaporeans ‘Live Well’, ‘Live Green’, and ‘Live Connected’ to each other.
b. Within residential blocks in new HDB developments, Community Living Rooms provide a laid-back gathering point for neighbours to hang out and host simple, small-group activities at the community deck.
c. We have also introduced facilities like community pavilions, fitness corners, and 3-Gen playgrounds to facilitate inter-generational interaction. Older estates are retrofitted with new or enhanced facilities through upgrading programmes like the HDB’s Neighbourhood Renewal Programme and MND’s Estate Upgrading Programme.
i. It is at such facilities where residents have the chance to meet and mingle, while exercising, playing, or going about their daily activities.
d. At the town-level, HDB has planned and built larger spaces like neighbourhood parks and town plazas to host big-group activities and heartland events.
Building Heartware
10. The “hardware” constitutes only one part of the equation. Activities and programming that bring residents together and encourage spontaneous interactions, are just as, if not more important. They shape and activate our common spaces and encourage community-driven participation to foster social cohesion.
a. Each year, HDB hosts some 600 activities and events with an outreach of 220,000 residents at town plazas, in collaboration with agencies such as SportSG, National Arts Council, and Health Promotion Board, as well as schools and Grassroots Organisations.
b. For homeowners-to-be, HDB and the People’s Association organise MyNiceHome Roadshows to bring future neighbours together to build relationships early. Getting to know one another and the support available in the community enables better assimilation and good neighbourliness among new residents.
c. Across all residential estates island-wide, the People’s Association and Grassroots Organisations actively organise and support a range of ground-up community initiatives that bring people together across race, religion, socioeconomic backgrounds, and age groups.
i. Examples include Ramadan Porridge Distribution, donation drives, as well as free tuition and peer coaching for students.
ii. We can easily spot these efforts in our common spaces – in our community decks, neighbourhood parks, Residents’ Committee and Network centres, as well as community centres and clubs.
11. As a Grassroots Adviser for more than 15 years, I have seen how government and social service agencies and residents work together to promote social cohesion in our community.
a. Such efforts take time, but make a big difference in building a strong and vibrant community.
Marrying Hardware and Heartware
12. I have also seen agencies going beyond to innovate and take a concerted, holistic approach to marry hardware and heartware.
a. As of end-2023, we have disbursed and committed more than $1.1 million under the Lively Places Programme, supporting 229 projects that enliven common spaces and strengthen community identity.
i. These include the establishment of pets parks, community cafes, allotment gardens, community libraries, and workshop spaces at community decks.
b. In the upgrading of estates and towns, we engage residents to co-create solutions, enabling residents to collectively express and decide on what they would like to have in their neighbourhood.
i. Under the third run of the Remaking Our Heartland programme, HDB worked with close to 6,000 residents and community stakeholders for the design of 6 community nodes, 10 neighbourhood parks and 4 Build-A-Playground projects in Toa Payoh, Woodlands, and Pasir Ris.
ii. Agencies also engage residents to develop upgrading proposals for their estates under the Estate Upgrading Programme, which has benefitted about 54,000 households in 74 estates to date.
Openness and Inclusiveness of Common Spaces
13. A key guiding principle in managing our common spaces is that they should be kept open and inclusive.
a. In line with this philosophy, HDB estates are not gated, and remain accessible not just to residents of the estates but members of the public.
b. The openness and inclusiveness of our common spaces allow for spontaneous exchanges and citizen-led initiatives to happen. These contribute towards a common lived experience, which is a key enabler in fostering deeper understanding and empathy within the community.
14. In using our common spaces, we must remain mindful of the diverse needs and interests across different groups.
a. On occasion, there are conflicts and disamenities which we have to manage, as we balance the interests of different groups within our community.
b. Today, our Town Councils manage and maintain the common spaces in public housing estates. Residents who wish to use the common spaces are required to apply to the Town Councils for permission. This allows the Town Councils to ensure safe and appropriate use, and manage any disamenities to residents.
15. We note the Member’s concerns that such arrangements may not be ideal to some residents. However, given Singapore’s land constraints, we need to ensure fairness and efficient use of space in our housing estates, while creating a conducive and harmonious living environment.
a. Some interventions may seem harsh. But they are necessary to balance the interests of all residents.
b. I would like to reassure the Member that such interventions are not taken lightly. Behind the scenes, Town Councils and relevant agencies have expended significant effort to communicate with affected parties and develop win-win solutions.
c. At times, despite the work done to bring parties together to resolve issues amicably, there are sometimes parties who may be unwilling to compromise. In such cases, Town Councils and relevant agencies may have no choice but to intervene directly, to ensure a conducive living environment for all.
d. We will continue to engage residents, and in the spirit of give-and-take, explore solutions that address the concerns of affected residents.
16. Cultivating mutual respect and good neighbourliness is now more important than ever before, as more people spend more time at home with the rise of remote work post pandemic. Good neighbourly behaviour and habits are essential in building a harmonious living environment and strengthening community resilience.
Conclusion
17. In conclusion, I thank Dr Syed Harun again for the opportunity to respond to his ideas and to set out our approach towards this topic of social cohesion in common spaces.
18. Common spaces are created to serve individual and community needs. Activating our common spaces and building a cohesive society is our collective responsibility. We will continue to design, build, and maintain conducive common spaces, and work with the community to provide meaningful programming for the community that enables social cohesion and integration.
19. I hope that as a community, we can be considerate and kind to one another in the use of these spaces, and embody gracious, inclusive, and harmonious living.