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By excluding all non-heterosexual people and having racialized housing policies that will not fly anywhere less authoritarian https://twitter.com/citylab/status/1343105091142873091
Anyway, it took a giant fire to create HDB(a fire that my grandparents and parents were still traumatized by, when I was growing up) and there is a great book on it written by a friend of mine: https://pacificaffairs.ubc.ca/book-reviews/squatters-into-citizens-the-1961-bukit-ho-swee-fire-and-the-making-of-modern-singapore-by-loh-kah-seng/
It’s not perfect, and there is far more cruel social engineering involved in these buildings than the Western urbanist crowd is aware of. Sadly, there is still homelessness https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/1000-homeless-people-singapore-study-12076076
For both the housed and unhoused of Singapore, the state has a long arm in engineering social policies with broad strokes that leave out the marginalized; that places the burden of care on the nuclear, heterosexual family.
Housing policy is used as a blunt policy instrument in many ways. For example, it is challenging for divorced people, unwed parents, queer people, to own a HDB. It’s openly said that’s to discourage non-traditional families. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20181210-can-singapores-social-housing-keep-up-with-changing-times
Almost 40% of marriages in Singapore occur between a citizen and a non-citizen. In buying a home, if the non-citizen does not have PR (equivalent of a green card), they are treated as a single, unmarried person and subject to the same HDB restrictions https://twitter.com/awarenews/status/1339814444918923264
For a long time, HDB was also used as a cudgel at election time. ‘If you don’t vote for us, we won’t upgrade or maintain your building’ (page 220 of this paper https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/01361007.pdf)
As a citizen, my entire life has been dominated by that housing agency. I lived in one most of my life, my parents still do; this year I crossed my HDB milestone (I turned 35; I can now buy public housing as a gay person in my country!)
When I came out to my family they wanted to know how I would buy my HDB flat on my own, since I’m gay and won’t have another income that counts in the application. When I moved to the US, they wanted me to come back in 2 years to buy my flat
HDB surrounds the life of nearly every Singapore citizen, like me. Did I also mention there are racial quotas for each apartment building? https://dollarsandsense.sg/guide-understanding-hdb-ethnic-integration-policy-eip-singapore-permanent-resident-spr-quota/ as an ethnic Chinese person, I don’t have many (any?) restrictions other than my gayness.
It’s spoken of as an inevitability. And it is an inevitability. I don’t think anyone in my family will think I am truly grown up and a real adult until I own a HDB flat.
And of course, now that I’m in California it’s an interesting hypothetical scenario. My country does not allow dual citizenship. If I were to ever become American (not sure), I would lose my citizenship.. and my literal home.
I’m very glad that so many at home have the opportunity to own a home. And soon, I too, probably will. I hope one day our housing policies will be more compassionate and just. Let’s start with banning ‘no Indians no mainland Chinese’ from housing ads.
