New Singapore public housing unveiled with emphasis on community farming

[Mista]

SINGAPORE - Avid gardeners looking to settle down in the west may find themselves at home in the first housing district in the new "forest town" of Tengah, when HDB flats are launched there later this year.

The first of five housing districts, Plantation, will contain about 10,000 new flats when completed. Occupying 90ha, about the size of Bidadari, it sits in the southernmost part of Tengah bounded by the Pan-Island Expressway and Bukit Batok Road.

The district will boast a 700m long, 40m wide farmway which weaves through the housing precincts and connects residents to recreational facilities nearby, the Housing Board said in a statement on Tuesday (Sep 4).

Paying homage to the villages, fruit tree plantations and farms in Tengah in the 1950s, the farmway has about 2,000 sq m set aside for community gardens. This is in addition to the community gardens within individual public housing projects.

"Residents can enjoy farm-to-table dining by growing their own produce, and share the fruits of their harvest by selling their produce at farmers' markets along the way," said HDB. Among other things, this would help "bring back the kampung spirit".

The gardens will feature trees with edible fruits such as chiku, guava and jambu, to serve as a natural conversation starter about the area's heritage, as well as an outdoor classroom about nature.

The farmway will also have large "community quadrangles" with towering trees to relax under. Shops, eateries and other amenities will flank the quadrangles. Thematic playgrounds inspired by fruits and vegetables will underscore the town's links to nature.

Even when away from the main spine of the district, residents will feel a close connection to nature.

For example, surrounding the edges of the district will be a 15m- to 20m-wide "forest fringe" to envelop nearby blocks in greenery, and community living rooms - or void decks - will be orientated to maximise these views.

Much planning has gone into making Tengah a car-lite town.

While close to major roads and expressways, Plantation will be served by two MRT stations along the upcoming Jurong Regional Line.

Bus stops will be within 300m of most homes, while all roads in the district will feature 2m wide dedicated cycling paths alongside 1.5m wide pedestrian paths. The parks will have 4m wide shared paths for walking and cycling. Self-driving cars will be piloted in the district later.

Tengah, which was previously used as a military training ground, is Singapore's first new town in more than 20 years since Punggol.

It is also the first HDB town to be planned with smart technologies town-wide from the onset. This includes an urban water harvesting system, which collects rainwater for irrigation and to wash common areas, saving not only water but energy as well. Additional power points and data points will also be provided in residents' homes to enable the adoption of smart home devices.

The Housing Board said the first tranche of flats in Plantation will comprise over 1,500 flats that will be launched in November. On Tuesday, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong toured the exhibit for the district. The exhibition is at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...n-unveiled-with-emphasis-on-community-farming

 

[Mista]

Flythrough:

Applying smart technologies in urban planning concepts:
http://www20.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10349p.nsf/tengah/introduction/video1.html

Prices:
https://www.srx.com.sg/hdb/bto/tengah-2872

 

[Dubious]

SINGAPORE - Avid gardeners looking to settle down in the west may find themselves at home in the first housing district in the new "forest town" of Tengah, when HDB flats are launched there later this year.

The first of five housing districts, Plantation, will contain about 10,000 new flats when completed. Occupying 90ha, about the size of Bidadari, it sits in the southernmost part of Tengah bounded by the Pan-Island Expressway and Bukit Batok Road.

The district will boast a 700m long, 40m wide farmway which weaves through the housing precincts and connects residents to recreational facilities nearby, the Housing Board said in a statement on Tuesday (Sep 4).

Paying homage to the villages, fruit tree plantations and farms in Tengah in the 1950s, the farmway has about 2,000 sq m set aside for community gardens. This is in addition to the community gardens within individual public housing projects.

"Residents can enjoy farm-to-table dining by growing their own produce, and share the fruits of their harvest by selling their produce at farmers' markets along the way," said HDB. Among other things, this would help "bring back the kampung spirit".

The gardens will feature trees with edible fruits such as chiku, guava and jambu, to serve as a natural conversation starter about the area's heritage, as well as an outdoor classroom about nature.

The farmway will also have large "community quadrangles" with towering trees to relax under. Shops, eateries and other amenities will flank the quadrangles. Thematic playgrounds inspired by fruits and vegetables will underscore the town's links to nature.

Even when away from the main spine of the district, residents will feel a close connection to nature.

For example, surrounding the edges of the district will be a 15m- to 20m-wide "forest fringe" to envelop nearby blocks in greenery, and community living rooms - or void decks - will be orientated to maximise these views.

Much planning has gone into making Tengah a car-lite town.

While close to major roads and expressways, Plantation will be served by two MRT stations along the upcoming Jurong Regional Line.

Bus stops will be within 300m of most homes, while all roads in the district will feature 2m wide dedicated cycling paths alongside 1.5m wide pedestrian paths. The parks will have 4m wide shared paths for walking and cycling. Self-driving cars will be piloted in the district later.

Tengah, which was previously used as a military training ground, is Singapore's first new town in more than 20 years since Punggol.

It is also the first HDB town to be planned with smart technologies town-wide from the onset. This includes an urban water harvesting system, which collects rainwater for irrigation and to wash common areas, saving not only water but energy as well. Additional power points and data points will also be provided in residents' homes to enable the adoption of smart home devices.

The Housing Board said the first tranche of flats in Plantation will comprise over 1,500 flats that will be launched in November. On Tuesday, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong toured the exhibit for the district. The exhibition is at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...n-unveiled-with-emphasis-on-community-farming

Brilliant idea...I know few countries that have / had started this at school (not nation wide just specific schools that practice a similar model)...not community farming but just small scale growing food for school...

 

[Menthol]

I just never thought that SE Asia region is one of the most advanced place in the world.

 

[Nan Yang]

Singapore urbanisation has always been a model for the world. East Asian urbanisation often succeed where western urbanisation often fail leading to urban decay, crime infested zones, no go zones and slums.

I remember back in the 70s when Singapore started its urbanisation and building rows and rows of flats, officials in UK were laughing saying that these flats will end up as crime infested urban decay zones....just like what happen to UK's own flats.

 

[Mista]

Applying smart technologies in urban planning concepts:
http://www20.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10349p.nsf/tengah/introduction/video1.html

Tengah – First HDB Town with Smart Technologies Applied Town-Wide

In line with Singapore’s Smart Nation vision, HDB strives to leverage smart technologies to continually improve the planning, development and management of its towns. The opening of Tengah town presents an opportunity for HDB to leverage and expand on these smart technologies to bring about an even better quality living environment for residents. Tengah will be the first HDB town planned with smart technologies town-wide from the onset, making it HDB’s largest smart and sustainable development to date.

Smart and Sustainable Tengah

As with all new public housing developments, Tengah will be developed to create a sustainable living environment. This will be achieved through the application of design strategies and construction methods that promote the efficient use of water, energy, and other resources, as well as the provision of greenery and eco-friendly features.

For example, public housing in Tengah will be designed with a suite of eco-features to enable residents to lead greener lifestyles. This includes:

• Energy and water saving/conservation features both within and outside the home (i.e. smart lighting in common areas, regenerative lifts in the block, eco-pedestals in the flat)
  
• Waste reduction and management features (i.e. centralised chute for recyclables, use of sustainable and recyclable products during construction), and
  
• Provision of Dual Bicycle Rack System to encourage green commuting, among others.

In addition to these features, Tengah will also be installed with a smart Pneumatic Waste Conveyance System (PWCS) to promote a more hygienic and efficient method of waste collection and management. The PWCS is an automated and enclosed waste collection system which uses high speed air suction to transport household waste via an underground pipe network to the Centralised Bin Centre. The automated system eliminates the need for manual waste collection, hence minimising waste scattering and pest issues.

Sensors installed in the PWCS will monitor the performance and operational status of the system, as well as residents’ waste disposal patterns and volume. Such information can help agencies optimise the deployment of resources for waste collection by varying the frequency of waste collection based on the volume of waste disposed. In addition, maintenance of the system can also be arranged through automated alerts.

Smart Planning for Tengah through Microclimatic Simulations

One example of a smart technology which will be applied is the use of the Urban Microclimate Multi-physics Integrated Simulation (UM-MIST) software in the planning of Tengah. This integrated software platform uses 3D city models to simulate the interaction of urban microclimatic conditions such as wind flow, temperature fluctuations, and solar irradiance with each other, as well as their combined effects on the surrounding urban landscape (i.e. buildings, water bodies, vegetation etc). Previously tested out on a smaller scale in some areas in Punggol, this smart planning software will now be employed on a town-level in Tengah for the first time.

Using UM-MIST, HDB’s planners, architects and engineers will be able to analyse key wind channels, and the solar heat gained by different urban features (e.g. concrete, vegetation, water bodies) within Tengah. This will help them to design open spaces, as well as optimise the building layouts and orientation to enhance the intensity of wind flow and promote natural ventilation within the town. More greenery can also be introduced in areas that receive more heat from the sun to mitigate heat gain and lower the ambient temperatures, bringing maximum thermal comfort and creating a more pleasant living environment for residents.

Tengah town modelled using UM-MIST: Placing greenery in areas with large amount of heat gained from sun exposure (left image) can help mitigate high temperatures for a cooler environment (right image) for the comfort of residents

https://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/press-releases/corporate-pr-09092016-tengah-

//

Previous example of geometric placement of buildings and smart technologies at a precinct level to enhance quality of life:

 

[Mista]

First BTO flats for Tengah's new district

After a delay brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, Singapore's newest town Tengah will see another 1,044 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats offered for sale this month in a new district to be built in a lush setting.

The Parc Residences @ Tengah project is the first BTO housing parcel to be launched in the new Park district, which will hold an estimated 7,200 new flats when fully completed, the Housing Board (HDB) announced yesterday.

Park is the third of five districts in Tengah where HDB flats are being offered for sale.

The HDB said Tengah, which is about the size of Bishan and billed as Singapore's "forest town", will dedicate about 20 per cent of its 700ha to green spaces.

Located next to Tengah's Central Park green lung, the Park district will occupy 104ha and feature a number of green ways, such as a 1.5km-long rainforest walk.

Tengah is the first HDB town to be developed since Punggol more than two decades ago.

The Tengah masterplan was first revealed in 2016, and since 2018, over 7,000 new flats have been offered. When fully developed, the town will have about 42,000 new homes, with the first residents expected to start moving in from 2022.

A key feature of Tengah is the car-free town centre. Roads will run beneath it to free up the ground level and to allow for a bicycle-friendly environment.

The town centre will house an array of commercial and retail spaces and eateries, as well as a sports centre. It will be directly connected to a future MRT station, one of four on the upcoming Jurong Region Line network that will serve Tengah residents. The MRT line will progressively open from 2026.

Singapore's first "car-free" town centre will be integrated with the nearby Central Park. PHOTO: HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD

The homes in Parc Residences @ Tengah comprise two-room flexi as well as three-, four-and five-room flats in 12 residential blocks, with staggered heights ranging from seven to 14 storeys.

The flats will be oriented to maximise green views, said the HDB. Some blocks will be connected via the Sky Galleria, an elevated landscaped linkway on the eighth floor.

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The flats will come with an additional data point and power point, as well as smart sockets and a smart distribution board so that residents can adopt smart home devices with ease.

The homes are part of a "new generation of public housing taking shape in HDB towns", said the HDB. "Incorporating nature and elements that promote health and wellness, they will further enhance the total quality of life for residents."

Ms Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, said Tengah may appeal to nature lovers who do not mind going car-lite. "As the pandemic evolves and changes the way we work in future, perhaps the idea of working from home, sitting on your balcony and facing the greenery in Tengah may be quite attractive to some," she said.

Parc Residences @ Tengah was originally slated to launch in May, but the extension of the circuit breaker period forced a deferment.

Besides Tengah, the HDB will later this month offer about 7,800 BTO flats in Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Choa Chu Kang, Geylang, Pasir Ris, Tampines and Woodlands.

A further 5,700 flats in Bishan, Sembawang, Tampines, Tengah and Toa Payoh will be launched in November.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

My only issue is convenience. My garden is only seconds away. I can pop in and out to it with no hassle. If I had to bounce between an elevator and running across a playground to get to it I may not upkeep it as much.

 

[Viet]

SINGAPORE - Avid gardeners looking to settle down in the west may find themselves at home in the first housing district in the new "forest town" of Tengah, when HDB flats are launched there later this year.

The first of five housing districts, Plantation, will contain about 10,000 new flats when completed. Occupying 90ha, about the size of Bidadari, it sits in the southernmost part of Tengah bounded by the Pan-Island Expressway and Bukit Batok Road.

The district will boast a 700m long, 40m wide farmway which weaves through the housing precincts and connects residents to recreational facilities nearby, the Housing Board said in a statement on Tuesday (Sep 4).

Paying homage to the villages, fruit tree plantations and farms in Tengah in the 1950s, the farmway has about 2,000 sq m set aside for community gardens. This is in addition to the community gardens within individual public housing projects.

"Residents can enjoy farm-to-table dining by growing their own produce, and share the fruits of their harvest by selling their produce at farmers' markets along the way," said HDB. Among other things, this would help "bring back the kampung spirit".

The gardens will feature trees with edible fruits such as chiku, guava and jambu, to serve as a natural conversation starter about the area's heritage, as well as an outdoor classroom about nature.

The farmway will also have large "community quadrangles" with towering trees to relax under. Shops, eateries and other amenities will flank the quadrangles. Thematic playgrounds inspired by fruits and vegetables will underscore the town's links to nature.

Even when away from the main spine of the district, residents will feel a close connection to nature.

For example, surrounding the edges of the district will be a 15m- to 20m-wide "forest fringe" to envelop nearby blocks in greenery, and community living rooms - or void decks - will be orientated to maximise these views.

Much planning has gone into making Tengah a car-lite town.

While close to major roads and expressways, Plantation will be served by two MRT stations along the upcoming Jurong Regional Line.

Bus stops will be within 300m of most homes, while all roads in the district will feature 2m wide dedicated cycling paths alongside 1.5m wide pedestrian paths. The parks will have 4m wide shared paths for walking and cycling. Self-driving cars will be piloted in the district later.

Tengah, which was previously used as a military training ground, is Singapore's first new town in more than 20 years since Punggol.

It is also the first HDB town to be planned with smart technologies town-wide from the onset. This includes an urban water harvesting system, which collects rainwater for irrigation and to wash common areas, saving not only water but energy as well. Additional power points and data points will also be provided in residents' homes to enable the adoption of smart home devices.

The Housing Board said the first tranche of flats in Plantation will comprise over 1,500 flats that will be launched in November. On Tuesday, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong toured the exhibit for the district. The exhibition is at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...n-unveiled-with-emphasis-on-community-farming

Very good initiative
I like it.
However it is public housing right?
Non residents can’t buy.

 

[letsrock]

My only issue is convenience. My garden is only seconds away. I can pop in and out to it with no hassle. If I had to bounce between an elevator and running across a playground to get to it I may not upkeep it as much.

in densely populated countries like UK - it is quiet common for people to own or rent a patch for gardening close to city limits. They go there in weekend - relax and do the gardening work.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

in densely populated countries like UK - it is quiet common for people to own or rent a patch for gardening close to city limits. They go there in weekend - relax and do the gardening work.

Well that's the problem. Maintaining a good garden is almost an every day thing for some stretches. If you only take care of it on weekends it will fall apart. In sunny weather plants can grow pretty quick in 5 days. You have to keep on top of tying them up and stuff.

One day a plant is only a few inches tall and then you look at it again 2 weeks later and it's like 6 feet.

 

[Paul2]

Believe me or not, I spent my first 3 months in Singapore in 2007 in a landed prop.

However it was not anything most Singaporeans would think off. The landlord was renting his house to 20+ labourers. I was sharing the room with 3 Indian guys. Lines for the loo in the morning were something.

 

[Song Hong]

This is how Covid10 spread like wildfire in Singapore. In terms of governance, Singapore is much worse than so call 3rd world countries, for example Vietnam and China.

There is a brazen use of Indians as menial laborers while GoS condemned Singaporeans as lazy and stupid. Meanwhile comparable economies such as HK are employing their own people.

The leaders of Singapore is clearly corrupt to the core, while maintaining a clean image. They are only good in distributing lies, all while enriching themselves by using wage arbitration.

This COVID19 is God sent to punish Singapore.

If GoS insists of continuing doing evil, then Singapore will get more disasters.

Believe me or not, I spent my first 3 months in Singapore in 2007 in a landed prop.

However it was not anything most Singaporeans would think off. The landlord was renting his house to 20+ labourers. I was sharing the room with 3 Indian guys. Lines for the loo in the morning were something.

 

[Mista]

My only issue is convenience. My garden is only seconds away. I can pop in and out to it with no hassle. If I had to bounce between an elevator and running across a playground to get to it I may not upkeep it as much.

Well that's the problem. Maintaining a good garden is almost an every day thing for some stretches. If you only take care of it on weekends it will fall apart. In sunny weather plants can grow pretty quick in 5 days. You have to keep on top of tying them up and stuff.

You and your gardens lol.

 

[letsrock]

Well that's the problem. Maintaining a good garden is almost an every day thing for some stretches. If you only take care of it on weekends it will fall apart. In sunny weather plants can grow pretty quick in 5 days. You have to keep on top of tying them up and stuff.

One day a plant is only a few inches tall and then you look at it again 2 weeks later and it's like 6 feet.

YOu grow corn in your "garden" ? looks more like a farm to me.