SSR Seminar Series: Understanding Attitudes And Managing Disruption: Involuntary Relocation of Rental Flat Residents In Singapore

In cities grappling with rising housing costs, urban redevelopment is often seen as necessary, inevitable, or both. Urban redevelopment can be disruptive if it displaces residents from well-established neighborhoods, and in doing so generate negative effects on residents’ health, social ties and economic status. 

Singapore’s public housing flats also face the pressures of urban redevelopment. While scholars have examined the impact of involuntary relocation of public housing residents living in owned flats, the experiences of low-income public rental flat residents, a socially vulnerable group, remains under-studied. This presentation will provide an overview of an on-going research project examining the experiences of public rental flat residents who experienced involuntary relocation in recent years. We will share our preliminary findings drawn from resident interviews in two broad areas: First, the attitudes of residents towards relocation, focusing on ideas of place attachment and access; and second, how disruption can be limited during the relocation process, focusing on the role of social services and state resources, as well as individual strategies. In doing so, we hope to shed light on ways to improve the relocation experiences of affected rental flat residents.