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The primary goal of Taipei's visit to Singapore is to examine Singapore’s public housing system because the Taipei City Mayor is pushing for building public apartments in Taipei.
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Translated by Bing-sheng Lee
From January 18 to 22, Taipei City Deputy Mayor Lin Chin-rong leads an investigation team to Singapore to observe its execution of public housing policy. The delegation hopes to unite Korea and Singapore to form an Asian Public Housing League.
Public housing in Singapore is constructed and managed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). The majority of Singaporeans lives in the HDB residences. In May 2015, the Singapore government opened smart homes built in Punggol to the public, which are equipped with several smart systems that manage car parking, home energy and waste disposal.
China Times reports, Taipei City Government has made it a goal to build 20,000 public housings in four years. It has scheduled the construction of 10,000 apartments for the end of 2016 and the start of 2017. The residences will be located in 13 to 16 bases scattered around the city. The government will hold two public hearings for the residents living within a radius of one kilometer around those bases. In addition, officials will try to convince the city council to give them permission to establish a housing department and housing management companies as the bodies for overseeing the construction and management of public housings.
UDN reports, Singapore initiated its public housing policy in 1965. Until now, 1.04 million households, which is approximately 82% of Singapore’s population, have bought and lived in public housings. Another 4% have rented the dwellings from the government. Lin says that the primary target of the visit is to examine Singapore’s public housing system because the Taipei City Mayor is pushing for building public apartments in Taipei.
The delegation will visit The Pinnacle@Duxton as a case example. It will also listen to HDB’s briefing on the policy, observe Singapore’s urban regeneration and go to its Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The group will learn how Singapore tackles issues like aging population and how the country drafts social welfare policies. Moreover, it will invite Singapore to participate in the Smart City Summit & Expo, which will be held in March in Taipei.
Liberty Times reports, Lin also says that the Taipei City Government has reached an agreement to collaborate with Seoul in Korea, and it hopes to increase interaction with Singapore with a view to establishing an Asian Public Housing League to create an international and cooperative platform.
Edited by Olivia Yang
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