Editing Housing and Development Board (section)

==History==
===Background and formation===
By the 1940s and 1950s, Singapore experienced rapid population growth, with the population increasing to 1.7&nbsp;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 [[shophouse]]s.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Lim |first1=William Siew Wai |date=July–August 1984 |title=Public housing and community development in Singapore |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43621881 |journal=Ekistics |volume=51 |issue=307 |pages=319–327 |doi= |jstor=43621881 |access-date=26 May 2021 |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405033848/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43621881 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Housing Problem |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19580912-1.2.105.1 |work=[[The Straits Times]] |location=Singapore |date=12 September 1958 |access-date=26 May 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=8 |archive-date=26 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526030945/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19580912-1.2.105.1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Govt. acts: SIT's days numbered |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19560612-1.2.62 |work=[[The Straits Times]] |location=Singapore |date=12 June 1956 |access-date=26 May 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=4 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508033433/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19560612-1.2.62 |url-status=live }}</ref> These efforts culminated in the Housing and Development Bill, which was read to the [[Legislative Assembly of Singapore|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=2 new boards take over from the S.I.T |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19600201-1.2.82 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=1 February 1960 |access-date=26 May 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=7 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508033430/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19600201-1.2.82 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===The 1960s to 1980s=== 
[[File:Block 45 Stirling Road, Singapore.jpg|thumb|One of the [[45, 48 and 49 Stirling Road|original HDB flats]] constructed in 1960, in July 2021.]]
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,<ref>{{cite news |title=Govt. to spend $230 mil. on homes in next five years |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19600810-1.2.32 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=10 August 1960 |access-date=29 May 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=4 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212840/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19600810-1.2.32 |url-status=live }}</ref> and found ways to build flats as cheaply as possible so that the poor could afford to stay in them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Coming: A housing record |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19600706-1.2.78 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=6 July 1960 |access-date=19 May 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=7 |archive-date=6 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506190211/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19600706-1.2.78 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Loh |first=Kah Seng |editor2-last=Heng |editor2-first=Derek |editor1-last=Aljunied |editor1-first=Syed Muhd Khairudin |title=Reframing Singapore: Memory - Identity - Trans-Regionalism |publisher=[[Amsterdam University Press]] |date=2009 |pages=89–108 |chapter=5 The Politics of Fires in Post-1950s Singapore and the Making of the Modernist Nation-State |jstor=j.ctt45kf1j.9 |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt45kf1j.9 |isbn= |access-date=29 May 2021 |archive-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603042244/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt45kf1j.9 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The rehousing of kampong dwellers allowed the HDB to pursue its redevelopment plans for the Central Area,<ref name=":0"/> 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,<ref>{{cite news |title=The real beginning — 18 years ago |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19840415-1.2.136.1.5.2 |work=The Straits Times |location=Singapore |date=15 April 1984 |access-date=29 May 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=7 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212519/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19840415-1.2.136.1.5.2 |url-status=live }}</ref> so the [[Urban Redevelopment Authority]], a statutory board, replaced the department in 1974.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tan gets top urban renewal post |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/newnation19740209-1.2.14.8 |work=New Nation |location=Singapore |date=9 February 1974 |access-date=29 May 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=2 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213101/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/newnation19740209-1.2.14.8 |url-status=live }}</ref>

With the construction of the Bukit Ho Swee estate, the HDB also sought to change how estate residents behaved, and to give the state greater control over their lives.<ref name=":0"/> Moreover, with the new housing estates not segregated by race, the HDB facilitated the formation of multiracial communities in place of racially divided ones.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |last1=Goh |first1=Robbie B.H. |date=August 2001 |title=Ideologies of 'Upgrading' in Singapore Public Housing: Post-modern Style, Globalisation and Class Construction in the Built Environment |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43196729 |journal=[[Urban Studies (journal)|Urban Studies]] |volume=38 |issue=9 |pages=1589–1604 |doi=10.1080/00420980120076821 |access-date=29 May 2021 |jstor=43196729 |s2cid=143688718 |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405033848/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43196729 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Nevertheless, by the 1980s, racial divisions within HDB estates became increasingly pronounced, so to mitigate possible ethnic tensions, the Ethnic Integration Policy, which capped the racial proportions of residents in HDB estates, was introduced in 1989.<ref>{{cite report |author=Beatrice Weder Di Mauro |date=1 April 2018 |title=Building a Cohesive Society: The Case of Singapore's Housing Policies |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep17317 |publisher=[[Centre for International Governance Innovation]] |access-date=3 June 2021 |archive-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603135350/https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep17317 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The HDB began offering flats for purchase in 1964, but as many flat dwellers at the time could not afford to do so, it was initially not very successful. Applicants could use their [[Central Provident Fund]] (CPF) contributions to pay for their flats beginning in 1968. The take-up rate for flat purchases increased such that by the 1980s, most flat applicants were opting to purchase them.<ref name=":1"/> From the late 1960s onwards, the HDB designed flats and estates with improved amenities and fittings to improve the quality of life. To further these efforts, in the 1970s and 1980s, the HDB introduced residents committees in its housing estates to promote community cohesion, loosened regulations on flat modifications, and engaged in upgrading works. These works included the expansion of old one-room flats and the construction of new amenities in older estates.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |last1=Teo |first1=Siew Eng |last2=Kong |first2=Lily |date=March 1997 |title=Public Housing in Singapore: Interpreting 'Quality' in the 1990s |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43083375 |journal=Urban Studies |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=441–452 |doi=10.1080/0042098976069 |jstor=43083375 |bibcode=1997UrbSt..34..441S |s2cid=154318656 |access-date=29 May 2021 |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405034413/https://www.jstor.org/stable/43083375 |url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, the HDB started soliciting feedback from residents through the Sample Household Surveys (SHS) from 1975.<ref name=":4">{{cite journal |last1=Cho |first1=Im Sik |last2=Nasution |first2=Ivan |last3=Lee |first3=Jihye |last4=Mascherenhas |first4=Nina |date=Winter 2017 |title=Mechanisms for facilitating community participation in Singapore's neighbourhood-planning framework |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44987240 |journal=Journal of Architectural and Planning Research |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=320–335 |doi= |jstor=44987240 |access-date=12 June 2021 |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405034413/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44987240 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1982, control over the [[Housing and Urban Development Company flats|Housing and Urban Development Company]] (HUDC) was transferred to the HDB.<ref>{{cite news |last=Oei |first=Sin Geok |date=8 March 1984 |title=Dropped – The last HUDC project in exclusive area |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singmonitor19840308-1.2.5.4 |work=Singapore Monitor |location=Singapore |access-date=29 May 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=3 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212420/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singmonitor19840308-1.2.5.4 |url-status=live }}</ref> With the prices of HUDC flats approaching those of private housing, and the middle class being able to purchase HDB flats, the HDB stopped building HUDC flats in 1985.<ref name=":2"/>

===1990s to present===
In a bid to encourage younger people to continue living in older public housing estates, the HDB announced a large-scale upgrading scheme for those estates in 1989.<ref name=":2"/> Known as the [[Main Upgrading Programme]],<ref name=":3"/> it attempted to improve these estates by adding new facilities to these estates, improved fittings in flats and varying the looks of the housing blocks in different precincts. In addition, the HDB initiated a redevelopment programme, the [[Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme]] (SERS) in 1995, in which selected housing blocks were razed and their residents compensated. SERS carried out renewal schemes in town centres in several older estates in the late 1990s. There have been a total of 81 SERS sites as of 2018.<ref name=":2"/>

Along with the upgrading schemes, the HDB introduced several new housing schemes in the 1990s. These included the Design and Build and Design Plus schemes, with flats designed in collaboration with private architects and built to a higher standard than other flats, and executive condominiums, with amenities similar to private housing.<ref name=":2"/> Further schemes were introduced in the 2000s, such as Build-to-Order, in which construction of flats began only after applicants had applied for them,<ref>{{cite news |last=Chua |first=Chelsea |date=22 March 2001 |title=Get ready for the where-when-what flats |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20010322-1.2.6 |work=[[Today (Singapore newspaper)|Today]] |location=Singapore |access-date=12 June 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=1 |archive-date=12 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612035842/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20010322-1.2.6 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[Design, Build and Sell Scheme]], in which the flats were developed and sold by private developers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Generalova |first1=Elena |last2=Generalov |first2=Viktor |title=Social Issues: Designing High-Rise Housing: The Singapore Experience |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24192834 |journal=CTBUH Journal |date=2014 |issue=4 |pages=40–45 |doi= |jstor=24192834 |access-date=12 June 2021 |archive-date=12 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612035845/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24192834 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Nevertheless, the HDB was unable to adapt to the changes in Singapore's housing market fast enough in the early 2000s. To determine and redefine its position in the housing market, the HDB was reorganised, transferring the provision of flat loans to private banks,<ref>{{cite news |last=Ng |first=Boon Yian |date=28 January 2003 |title=HDB at crossroads |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20030128-1.2.2 |work=[[Today (Singapore newspaper)|Today]] |location=Singapore |access-date=18 June 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=1 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205722/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20030128-1.2.2 |url-status=live }}</ref> and corporatising its Building and Development Division to form a new subsidiary, HDB Corp.<ref>{{cite news |last=Paulo |first=Derrick A |date=1 July 2003 |title=HDB record payout |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20030701-1.2.11.1 |work=Today |location=Singapore |access-date=12 June 2021 |via=NewspaperSG |page=1 |archive-date=12 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612035842/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/today20030701-1.2.11.1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The HDB increased efforts to engage residents in its provision of public housing in the 2000s. These efforts included public consultation schemes and the [[Neighbourhood Renewal Programme]], in which facilities within multiple adjacent precincts were improved or upgraded, and residents were able to provide feedback on the planned improvements. Efforts to foster more extensive resident participation were made in 2013 with the Building Our Neighbourhood Dreams! project, in which residents could propose neighbourhood improvements instead of just providing feedback, but the initial projects were not well received.<ref name=":4"/>

The HDB began installation of [[solar panels]] on public housing blocks and in its properties in the 2010s. In 2014, together with the [[Economic Development Board]], it initiated the SolarNova programme to handle solar panel installation on government properties and buildings.<ref name=":6"/>