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Bringing back kampung spirit

Even as he and his wife love the landscaping at Treelodge@Punggol, their new home, Mr Lum C H misses the roomy lift-landing areas and common corridors in his old Punggol Central flat, where the neighbours used to hold potluck sessions on festivals such as Chinese New Year and Christmas.

Even as he and his wife love the landscaping at Treelodge@Punggol, their new home, Mr Lum C H misses the roomy lift-landing areas and common corridors in his old Punggol Central flat, where the neighbours used to hold potluck sessions on festivals such as Chinese New Year and Christmas.

“We would even do it during children’s birthdays, if everyone was around. It was possible back then with the much bigger lift landing and corridors — but now, the corridor is too small,” he said.

It represents one of the trade-offs of residents’ competing needs in HDB living. It was residents’ increasing desire for privacy that, over time, led to the change in design from building flats with long corridors, to point-block type flats, according to the Housing Board.

But community-centred living — evoking the “kampung spirit” — still is, in a big way, a core tenet of HDB town planning.

And this is expressed in the range of communal facilities, from community centres to rooftop gardens, as well as other new types of facilities.

In Punggol and Bedok town centres, for instance, the HDB is introducing the Town Plaza, a new kind of gathering space. Newer precincts will also have a “community living room” at void decks, new precinct pavilions and 3-Generation playgrounds — gathering spots for children and their adult minders, according to MND.

Beyond the hardware, the HDB has also started organising welcome parties for new residents and promoting neighbourly “heartware” with the Good Neighbour Award.

When the HDB launched its inaugural Community Week last May, then-Minister of State for National Development Tan Chuan-Jin said: “Homes are really about the community. It is about family, it is about the cohesion, the friendship, the relationships that exist between neighbours ... And that is something that the HDB is interested in. It is not just about the brick and mortar.”

Some suggest the “kampung spirit” could be revived by bringing back some layouts from older estates. A fair number of TODAY’s poll respondents wished for cosier town centres, as opposed to big town hubs with a mall.

Auxiliary police officer Robin How recalls how, in his old Bedok South neighbourhood, picking up groceries was more than just shopping — it was also about catching up with the owners of the mom-and-pop shops.

“Last time you could talk and make friends with the bosses. There were relationships,” said the 62-year-old who moved to Anchorvale, with its modern but staid convenience stores, 11 years ago.

Bedok resident Suhaimi Yusof pointed to how, in the older estates, playgrounds were built paces away from eateries.

“Kids can play and the housewives or grandparents can drink coffee or eat with their friends and neighbours at the coffee shop nearby. It’s more cosy,” said the 39-year-old technician.

But veteran town planner Jeffrey Ho believes there are other community-bonding avenues that can be created.

“Because of the way people live now, many people stay at home. We need to create more opportunities to bring people out again to interact and feel that community spirit,” he said. “Maybe set up Intranet for a block or cluster of blocks, since people prefer to go online at home than to come out?”

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