Singapore’s Housing Policies Addressed at Seminar and Conference Hosted by NAI

The Next Age Institute (NAI) – a joint partnership between NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) to study, design and test social innovations – hosted a symposium and seminar at Brookings Institution and WUSTL, Washington D.C., in late 2015.

Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and two NUS scholars, Assoc Prof Chia Ngee Choon, (Department of Economics) co-director of NAI as well as Assoc Prof Wong Yunn Chii, Head of the Department of Architecture at the NUS School of Design and Environment, were present to offer insights on Singapore’s housing policies.

The “Housing, Inclusion and Social Equity: A Global Perspective” symposium was held on 30 November at Brookings Institution.

At the conference, Mr Tharman delivered a keynote address on Singapore’s housing policies. He highlighted that numerous complementary policies have been essential for maintaining Singapore’s harmony. Among these policies, the centrepiece lies in the country’s neighbourhoods. He said that their composition and the way the neighbourhoods are designed maximised interaction and gave Singapore the best chance of achieving an integrated society.

Experts and speakers from the United Kingdom, India and United States were also invited to offer comparisons and policy insights on housing and social equity. Among them was Assoc Prof Chia who spoke about those policies from Singapore’s perspective.

Assoc Prof Chia and Assoc Prof Wong also presented at the “Housing Policy and Community Stability” seminar held at WUSTL on 2 December.

Both speakers discussed the roles that housing policies played in the well-being of Singaporeans. Singapore’s inclusive policies provided opportunities for home ownership, community integration and stability and economic security. Prof Michael Sherraden served as a respondent while the Dean of Architecture at WUSTL, Bruce Lindsey, moderated the seminar.

A videocast of Mr Tharman’s keynote address and Assoc Prof Chia’s presentation is available here and here respectively.

To watch the videocast of the “Housing Policy and Community Stability” seminar, click here.

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