HDB’s mission is to provide quality and affordable housing for Singaporeans across different stages of their lives. Despite the unprecedented challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, HDB remained steadfast in delivering its mission, working tirelessly to design resilient and liveable homes that are relevant now and in the future.
Refreshed Roadmap for the Future
During the Financial Year (FY), HDB launched a new ‘Designing for Life’ roadmap that will guide us in the way we plan, design and maintain our HDB towns and estates over the next 10 to 15 years.
Supported by 3 pillars – Live Well, Live Smart, and Live Connected – the new roadmap focuses on meeting our residents’ physical, mental and social needs at every stage of their lives. The shift in focus to holistic well-being is timely, as Singapore confronts key trends that will impact the future of HDB living such as climate change, an ageing population, and Singaporeans’ evolving social aspirations.
Under this roadmap, we will promote residents’ well-being by enhancing safety features within homes and neighbourhoods, improving the design of neighbourhood facilities and spaces to support active living and community interactions, and implementing biophilic strategies that harness the intrinsic benefits of nature.
By 2030, we aim to make every HDB town more sustainable and liveable, by further reducing energy consumption and making our towns cooler through HDB’s Green Towns Programme. Our future homes will also be smart-enabled, like those in Punggol Northshore and Tengah, so that residents can adopt smart applications that will bring about greater comfort and convenience.
Even as we provide myriad spaces for community interaction, we will also involve our residents more in the shaping of these public spaces – not just so that the spaces can better meet residents’ needs, but also to foster a stronger sense of belonging and ownership for their neighbourhood.
The Roadmap will be applied to our new housing projects, as well as to existing towns progressively through various upgrading and rejuvenation programmes such as the Remaking Our Heartland programme. When completed, residents in all our towns and estates can continue to enjoy a quality living environment regardless of where they live.
Supporting Housing Needs
As we design our homes to be ready for the future, making home ownership accessible and affordable to Singaporeans remains a key priority. This FY, we continued to support the diverse housing needs of home buyers through new housing options and measures. For example, the Community Care Apartments, a new public housing typology that integrates senior-friendly design with care services to help seniors age independently within a community setting, were offered for the first time. We have also made it easier for flat buyers and sellers to gather information on their housing and financing options through the new HDB Flat Portal.
With the lives and livelihoods of many Singaporeans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, HDB also extended assistance measures such as rental waivers for our commercial tenants, and introduced relief measures such as suspending late payment charges and waiving mortgage interest, to help those in financial hardship during this challenging period.
Remaining Connected
As we navigate these tough times together and emerge from the pandemic, a strong social fabric is now more important than ever. HDB continued to provide opportunities for residents to remain connected, even as the pandemic kept them physically apart.
We moved new and existing events online as well as piloted safe hybrid experiences such as the HDB Community Art Project, where over 3,000 residents painted their vision, hopes and dreams of HDB living, both digitally and physically. As more people stayed home, we also intensified efforts in rallying residents to be considerate to neighbours, and solicited ideas on how we can all be more gracious and look out for one another during this pandemic. Good neighbours are key in creating a strong social fabric, and HDB will continue to encourage social interaction and bonding among residents in our towns.
Staying the Course
The local construction industry is one of the hardest-hit sectors in the ongoing pandemic. In addition to manpower shortages and disruptions to supply chains worldwide, HDB has had to implement difficult but necessary safe management measures at our work sites to keep everyone safe. This has, however, led to delays in many of our BTO projects. We are working closely with our industry partners to keep projects on track, while ensuring that quality and safety are not compromised.
I would like to thank home buyers for their patience and understanding during this trying period, as HDB continues to take active steps to mitigate delays to our public housing programme and support those in need of temporary housing. At the same time, as a forward-looking organisation, HDB will continue to stay the course in its transformation, even amidst the disruptions wrought by COVID-19, to deliver affordable, quality, and well-designed homes for Singaporeans. I would also like to thank the HDB Board Members and Management for providing a steady hand in these challenging times, and to all our staff for their unwavering sense of purpose and duty to our nation.
My heartfelt appreciation also goes to Dr Cheong Koon Hean, who retired from her role as Chief Executive Officer in December 2020 after a decade of service in HDB. Under her leadership, HDB has built deep reserves of resilience to take on future challenges. I am confident that HDB will continue to build on the strong foundation that Dr Cheong has laid, and her successor, Mr Tan Meng Dui, will steer the organisation boldly through a changed world and to even greater heights.
Mr Bobby Chin Yoke Choong
Chairman