May 28, 2019

Is the Kampong Spirit still alive?

The Housing Development Board (HDB) is responsible for the provision of public housing in Singapore, which serves over 80% of the population. In an effort to encourage bonding and friendliness among neighbours, HDB has organized initiatives such as HDB Community Week, which was held this year on 25 and 26 May.

In ‘The neighbourhood roots of social cohesion: Notes on an exceptional case of Singapore’ (Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 2017), Associate Professor Ho Kong Chong and Associate Professor Vincent Chua (NUS Sociology) sought to find out more about neighbourly ties in Singapore.

They collected data from a variety of respondents living in both public and private housing and measured their levels of neighbourhood sentiment and national sentiment. Neighbourhood sentiment was measured using Yes/No binary questions such as ‘I feel a sense of belonging in my neighbourhood’. Likewise, respondents were asked to specify their level of agreement with statements such as ‘I am proud to be a Singaporean’ to indicate their levels of national sentiment.

They found that neighbourly activities more often constituted of superficial but respectful activities like greeting and chatting. Neighbours were more likely to engage in these activities than to go out together or visit each other’s homes. They also found that public housing respondents were more likely to partake in neighbourly activities than private housing residents. The authors attributed this to the open plan concept of public housing, with neighbourhood amenities such as schools, parks, markets, and convenience stores that increase the likelihood for routine encounters. These are further augmented with community organizations like the resident committees and events such as the HDB Community Week which further promote neighbourly interaction amongst public housing residents. The article highlights that in addition to these, the government’s social mixing policy that requires ethnic-mixing in public housing enables more opportunities for social interaction amongst public housing residents which also contributes to positive national sentiment.

Read it here.