Monotony of Public Housing

by GOH Seow Chuang Theodore

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The Housing Development Board’s success as a public housing corporation is widely admired throughout the world. It has eliminated many socio-economic woes of the country. Home ownership in Singapore would have reach 80% by the 1980s. The home is often viewed as a sacred place. One where an individual would find peace and would feel safe.

 

The film 4.30 by Royston Tan, however brings to light an experience that HBD dwellers might be feeling even with the success of public housing in Singapore. The monotony of the landscape paired with rigid urban planning, leads to loneliness and the feeling of being trapped within. This essay takes on a completely different approach to the success of public housing in Singapore, highlighting the dire need for creativity, privacy and the abject monotony of daily life in a flat.

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