HDB Annual Report 2020/2021

Partnering Residents to Create Lively Neighbourhood Spaces Beyond the home, myriad communal spaces are built in HDB towns for all to enjoy. For many years, HDB has been actively collaborating with residents to boost the vibrancy of these spaces. In this FY, HDB partnered the People’s Association (PA) to pilot the White Spaces Initiative at Tampines GreenVerge and SkyResidence @ Dawson, where residents contributed ideas to shape their neighbourhoods. The first series of engagement for Tampines GreenVerge was held from December 2020 to January 2021, with close to 300 home owners-to-be sharing their ideas via an e-survey on how selected spaces in the development could be transformed into vibrant community nodes. HDB also supports community-led projects through the Lively Places Programme (LPP), a joint initiative with Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to support ground-up e orts that enliven Singapore’s public spaces. Under this LPP, residents can organise community activities or create installations in their neighbourhood with funding from the Lively Places Fund (LPF). Since its induction in 2016, HDB has seen a strong take-up of the fund to support an increasing number of ground-up initiatives. To-date, more than $800,000 in funding has been disbursed/ committed to support 178 community projects. The completed projects involved over 6,000 volunteers, benefitting close to 85,000 residents. In FY2020, HDB continued to see strong community participation for LPP, with close to $241,000 in funding disbursed/ committed for 47 projects. In addition, the Lively Places Challenge 2020 attracted some 650 participants who went on to initiate 60 community projects that have contributed to creating friendly and lively neighbourhoods across Singapore. As the development of Tengah – the youngest of HDB towns – gains pace, HDB invited future residents of the town to take part in a series of sensing surveys, to help us better understand their aspirations. The first round of surveys, which concluded in July 2020, will help guide the development of community programmes to facilitate bonding and interaction among the residents, when they eventually move into their new flats. 30 HDB ANNUAL REPORT 2020/21 (Photo by Ong Yi Chao) HDB encourages social interaction and bonding among residents by providing lively neighbourhood spaces