Forging Strong Communities
Close community collaboration and digital technology were key drivers this Financial Year (FY) in building active, vibrant HDB communities and a sense of belonging in the heartlands.
Building Endearing Homes with Residents
For multi-cultural Singapore where the majority live in HDB flats, building strong heartland communities is key to bridging diversity and fostering a more cohesive society. HDB designs communal areas within our estates where residents can mingle, and in increasing the vibrancy of these shared spaces, we actively drive programmes that would enable residents to co-create endearing HDB heartlands with us.
In this FY, under the Remaking Our Heartland 3 plans to comprehensively renew Toa Payoh, Pasir Ris and Woodlands towns, we reached out to more than 5,000 residents across these towns to co-design social nodes, neighbourhood parks and playgrounds. The second round of virtual Focus Group Discussions for the Remaking Our Heartland 4 towns - Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Choa Chu Kang and Queenstown - were also held from December 2021 to January 2022 to obtain residents’ feedback on the preliminary proposals.
Separately, as we embark on the development of a new Kallang-Whampoa Park, we engaged over 700 participants, including residents and local interest groups, for ideas on the design concept.
In some new housing developments, we have reserved common areas known as ‘White Spaces’ for residents to shape social spaces and facilities that they can call their own. Under the White Spaces initiative piloted by HDB and People’s Association, we brought together over 470 residents from Tampines GreenVerge and SkyResidence @ Dawson to draw up plans for the reserved areas in their estates and facilitated the implementation of the finalised ideas under the Lively Places Fund (LPF), which was launched in 2016 to enliven HDB heartlands.
In a separate initiative called the Lively Places Challenge (LPC) 2020, we partnered residents in 8 towns to kickstart some 60 community projects funded by the LPF. Projects which have been completed include a park catering to pets for HDB residents in Bukit Panjang, and a community art gallery in Toa Payoh where residents with green fingers can grow their vegetables.
Since the launch of LPF in 2016, we have received a total of 210 eligible fund applications, and as of March 2022, disbursed or committed close to $0.8 million to support over 180 community projects in HDB spaces. Of these, 35 projects were completed in FY2021. An additional $1.5 million has been set aside from July 2021 to support more ground-up projects to strengthen community ties.
Reaching Wider Communities through Partnerships
To foster a strong culture of neighbourliness, mutual care and support amongst residents, HDB continued our partnership with various community networks such as the Singapore Kindness Movement to spread messages on gracious and harmonious living. These include reminders to residents to avoid causing noise disturbance to their neighbours, as more worked from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Creative and engaging content on good neighbourly behaviour was made available online for the public to conveniently access at any time.
Educational institutes were another key partner for HDB in FY2021. For younger students, the digital Outreach to Young and Youth! (OHYAY!) sessions inspired values of neighbourliness through e-modules, such as quizzes and stories. HDB also partnered with Institutes of Higher Learning to mobilise students in outreach activities and community projects to promote neighbourliness.
Over the years, HDB has also steadily expanded our pool of volunteers, tapping them as partners to promote gracious and harmonious living in the heartlands. This volunteer network, called ‘Friends of Our Heartlands (FOH)’, continued to grow with 2,249 new sign-ups in FY2021. Since the network was launched in 2017, it has drawn close to 13,500 passionate volunteers who have given their time and efforts to build active and cohesive communities in HDB towns. To support these volunteers in their outreach activities, we have provided them with training on communication, project management and facilitation.
The first virtual FOH Volunteer Engagement Day was held in July 2021, in conjunction with the inaugural virtual HDB Community Week 2021. At the event, over 700 volunteers and organisations received the Certificate of Appreciation and FOH Awards for their contributions to the community.
Fostering Bonds through Technology
While social gatherings were restricted due to COVID-19, technology proved to be the enabler for HDB Community Week 2021, which was held virtually for the first time from 24 July to 1 August 2021. It aimed to recognise the communities’ efforts in enhancing the living environment and promoting gracious living in the heartlands. Through a digital exhibition, virtual workshops and talks, HDB engaged residents on topics such as neighbourliness and quality heartland living. A digital art installation, curated from over 3,000 artworks submitted for a community art project, was also unveiled at Community Week. The artistic and creative expressions conveyed participants’ hopes and aspirations for the future of HDB living.
Another outreach effort, conducted in a fully digital format in FY2021, is the MyNiceHome Roadshow. These roadshows offer useful home design tips and help to familiarise home owners-to-be with their new living environment. Enhanced digital features, such as webinars, as well as virtual polls and quizzes, were introduced into the roadshows in FY2021, to further enrich our engagement with residents.