Singapore solved clean and safe public housing

Singapore got independence from Britain in 1959 and was poor. Now it is among the top richest countries on per capita GDP basis.

They also had a lot of poor slums. In 1960 they set up a Housing Board which made clean and safe apartments. They built 51,000 homes from 1960-1965 and housed 400,000 (25% of the population).

Singapore had a GDP per capita of $516 in 1965 and the US had a GDP per capita of $3828 in 1965.

Now Singapore and US GDP per capita are about equal.

Singaporeans are required to contribute to the Central Provident Fund for pensions and for housing expenses.

Houses are made by the government for 20-30% less than private housing. People are required to live in them for 5 years before selling them.

9% lived in public housing in 1960 and 82% live in public housing in 2016.

Singapore under British control 1819–1826
Straits Settlements 1826–1942
Japanese occupation of Singapore 1942–1945
British Military Administration 1945–1946
Colony of Singapore 1946–1963
Singapore in Malaysia 1963–1965 also known as Malaya
Republic of Singapore 1965–present

91% of Singapore’s population owns there own home.

Singapore only has an average of about 180 homeless people. Singapore has a population of 5.8 million.

According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report, as of 2017 there were around 554,000 homeless people in the United States or 0.17% of the population. Singapore has 50 times less homeless people than the US.

100 thoughts on “Singapore solved clean and safe public housing”

  1. Public” as in built by the government. They are still bought and privately owned. Just built them quickly and made them more affordable. The video explains it in more detail.

  2. 82% live in public housing in 2016.” “91% of Singapore’s population owns there[sic] own home.” Now I’m well into my first beer for the evening, but I’m having trouble making the math work on these two statements.

  3. How Singapore solved the housing problem: 1. Lower taxes to get multinationals to avoid tax and pay you instead. 2. Make it difficult for poor people to move to your country 3. Build a few buildings with your enormous profits from point 1

  4. Public”” as in built by the government. They are still bought and privately owned. Just built them quickly and made them more affordable. The video explains it in more detail.”””

  5. 82{22800fc54956079738b58e74e4dcd846757aa319aad70fcf90c97a58f3119a12} live in public housing in 2016.””””””91{22800fc54956079738b58e74e4dcd846757aa319aad70fcf90c97a58f3119a12} of Singapore’s population owns there[sic] own home.””””Now I’m well into my first beer for the evening”””” but I’m having trouble making the math work on these two statements.”””””””

  6. How Singapore solved the housing problem:1. Lower taxes to get multinationals to avoid tax and pay you instead.2. Make it difficult for poor people to move to your country3. Build a few buildings with your enormous profits from point 1

  7. ‘public’ is short for ‘publicly built’. I don’t think that there are any Cabrini Greens in Singapore. bit.ly/1LesYWE

  8. Move some residents from Detroit into those houses and see how ‘clean’ they end up being after 5 years. Culture matters.

  9. ‘public’ is short for ‘publicly built’. I don’t think that there are any Cabrini Greens in Singapore. bit.ly/1LesYWE

  10. Move some residents from Detroit into those houses and see how ‘clean’ they end up being after 5 years.Culture matters.

  11. Think rules enforcement in Singapore is bad? I certainly wouldn’t want to be subject to it, or have anyone I love subject to it. On the other hand, the US has a lot of people in jail (in point of fact it may lead the world in incarceration rates). The reason for this seems to be, in large part, because we have a lot of politicians too concerned about their image (i.e. personal aggrandizement). But that’s kind of off-topic. Something I’ve said for some time: The truest measure of a country’s wealth is the ability, and willingness, of its people to adapt to change.” That won’t make a country wealthy by itself, though. For that you also need a government where the leaders aren’t focused primarily on their own aggrandizement or promotion of some secular or otherwise untenable belief system. Since most politicians and dictators are, that means you have to tie the public’s weal to their own. Then they might become vested in improving things, even if it involves change. Unfortunately, this is difficult as change is exactly the kind of thing that could cost them their positions and they seem to instinctively know this. Singapore just happened to have single strongman who didn’t seem to care at all about personal aggrandizement; he just wanted to get the job done. Love him or hate him, he did. Be interesting to see if they relax things now that he’s dead and what effect that will have on progress, or even maintaining what they’ve done.

  12. Think rules enforcement in Singapore is bad? I certainly wouldn’t want to be subject to it or have anyone I love subject to it. On the other hand the US has a lot of people in jail (in point of fact it may lead the world in incarceration rates). The reason for this seems to be in large part because we have a lot of politicians too concerned about their image (i.e. personal aggrandizement). But that’s kind of off-topic.Something I’ve said for some time: The truest measure of a country’s wealth is the ability and willingness of its people to adapt to change.That won’t make a country wealthy by itself” though. For that you also need a government where the leaders aren’t focused primarily on their own aggrandizement or promotion of some secular or otherwise untenable belief system. Since most politicians and dictators are that means you have to tie the public’s weal to their own. Then they might become vested in improving things even if it involves change. Unfortunately this is difficult as change is exactly the kind of thing that could cost them their positions and they seem to instinctively know this.Singapore just happened to have single strongman who didn’t seem to care at all about personal aggrandizement; he just wanted to get the job done. Love him or hate him he did. Be interesting to see if they relax things now that he’s dead and what effect that will have on progress” or even maintaining what they’ve done.”

  13. You don’t need to actually cane people. A mere few days in the stocks with people throwing rotten fruit at them would suffice.

  14. I think that 5 years of having Singapore government accepting zero bullcrap from them, caning them when they step out of line, and having neighbours who work for a living might actually whip a lot of them into shape. Some people are beyond all help* though. *OK, all help that could be feasibly provided by 2018 level governments.

  15. You don’t need to actually cane people. A mere few days in the stocks with people throwing rotten fruit at them would suffice.

  16. I think that 5 years of having Singapore government accepting zero bullcrap from them caning them when they step out of line and having neighbours who work for a living might actually whip a lot of them into shape.Some people are beyond all help* though.*OK all help that could be feasibly provided by 2018 level governments.

  17. Singapore has 50 times less homeless people than the US? Yes, and by 2021, every Chinese will have a home, a job, plenty of food, education, safe streets, health and old age care. On that day there will be more homeless, poor, hungry and imprisoned people in America than in China. Not relatively or per capita, but in absolute numbers. 450,000,000 urban Chinese will be worth more and have higher disposable incomes than the average American, their mothers and infants will be less likely to die in childbirth, their children will graduate from high school three years ahead of ours–and outlive ours.

  18. What are you talking about? Between 1990 and 2010, a net of 1.2 million people moved to Singapore. 40% of Singapore’s population is foreign born, and while many of these are temporary workers and students there are also a sizable number who are permanent residents. Migration is a large part of the reason why city-states like Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Luxembourg, Leichenstein etc are so dynamic and prosperous (in addition to free-trade). Singapore’s housing solution was to ensure people have a ownership in their homes so they care for and preserve them, instead of treating them like renters. It’s also another kind of forced savings account, building up savings for these people in the form of home equity. They basically turned a bunch of poor slum renters into middle-class homeowners with vertical suburbs.

  19. Singapore has 50 times less homeless people than the US? Yes and by 2021 every Chinese will have a home a job plenty of food education safe streets health and old age care. On that day there will be more homeless poor hungry and imprisoned people in America than in China. Not relatively or per capita but in absolute numbers. 450000000 urban Chinese will be worth more and have higher disposable incomes than the average American their mothers and infants will be less likely to die in childbirth their children will graduate from high school three years ahead of ours–and outlive ours.”

  20. What are you talking about? Between 1990 and 2010 a net of 1.2 million people moved to Singapore. 40{22800fc54956079738b58e74e4dcd846757aa319aad70fcf90c97a58f3119a12} of Singapore’s population is foreign born and while many of these are temporary workers and students there are also a sizable number who are permanent residents. Migration is a large part of the reason why city-states like Singapore Hong Kong Dubai Abu Dhabi Luxembourg Leichenstein etc are so dynamic and prosperous (in addition to free-trade). Singapore’s housing solution was to ensure people have a ownership in their homes so they care for and preserve them instead of treating them like renters. It’s also another kind of forced savings account building up savings for these people in the form of home equity. They basically turned a bunch of poor slum renters into middle-class homeowners with vertical suburbs.

  21. I wouldn’t. Sometimes I chew tobacco and I expect to be able to spit on the ground; I don’t live in a concrete jungle, so this is generally acceptable. If I gotta spit in public, I spit in a cup or soda bottle. The caning thing is just so strange to me because over here in the USA the typical state ‘Child Protective Services’ organization will take your child away and put them in foster care if you discipline with corporal punishment. It’s a police state – no doubt about it.

  22. I wouldn’t. Sometimes I chew tobacco and I expect to be able to spit on the ground; I don’t live in a concrete jungle so this is generally acceptable. If I gotta spit in public I spit in a cup or soda bottle.The caning thing is just so strange to me because over here in the USA the typical state ‘Child Protective Services’ organization will take your child away and put them in foster care if you discipline with corporal punishment. It’s a police state – no doubt about it.

  23. Hahahaha….no way. They try to can some gangbangers, and they’d get gunned down. And that is just the ones that wouldn’t wig out all crazy on them.

  24. by 2021, every Chinese will have a home, a job, plenty of food, education, safe streets, health and old age care. ” Hahahahahahahah!

  25. Hahahaha….no way.They try to can some gangbangers and they’d get gunned down. And that is just the ones that wouldn’t wig out all crazy on them.

  26. by 2021 every Chinese will have a home a job plenty of food education safe streets” health and old age care. “”Hahahahahahahah!”””

  27. I think we should give it a shot, what we have isn’t working well. The federal government set up an 8 billion fund for the construction of low income housing. The fund was bilked by construction companies and banks causing the average cost per unit to exceed 325k per unit. The GAO is investigating and it should be interesting to read their findings.

  28. I think we should give it a shot what we have isn’t working well. The federal government set up an 8 billion fund for the construction of low income housing. The fund was bilked by construction companies and banks causing the average cost per unit to exceed 325k per unit. The GAO is investigating and it should be interesting to read their findings.

  29. Singapore has not managed to get its people, especially the high IQ types, to breed. It is a population sink and an IQ shredder, reliant on importing smart people to make up for its abysmal birthrates. When they solve that, that will be a gamechanger.

  30. Singapore has not managed to get its people especially the high IQ types to breed. It is a population sink and an IQ shredder reliant on importing smart people to make up for its abysmal birthrates. When they solve that that will be a gamechanger.

  31. Singapore has not managed to get its people, especially the high IQ types, to breed. It is a population sink and an IQ shredder, reliant on importing smart people to make up for its abysmal birthrates. When they solve that, that will be a gamechanger.

  32. Singapore has not managed to get its people especially the high IQ types to breed. It is a population sink and an IQ shredder reliant on importing smart people to make up for its abysmal birthrates. When they solve that that will be a gamechanger.

  33. Singapore has not managed to get its people, especially the high IQ types, to breed. It is a population sink and an IQ shredder, reliant on importing smart people to make up for its abysmal birthrates. When they solve that, that will be a gamechanger.

  34. I think we should give it a shot, what we have isn’t working well. The federal government set up an 8 billion fund for the construction of low income housing. The fund was bilked by construction companies and banks causing the average cost per unit to exceed 325k per unit. The GAO is investigating and it should be interesting to read their findings.

  35. I think we should give it a shot what we have isn’t working well. The federal government set up an 8 billion fund for the construction of low income housing. The fund was bilked by construction companies and banks causing the average cost per unit to exceed 325k per unit. The GAO is investigating and it should be interesting to read their findings.

  36. I think we should give it a shot, what we have isn’t working well. The federal government set up an 8 billion fund for the construction of low income housing. The fund was bilked by construction companies and banks causing the average cost per unit to exceed 325k per unit. The GAO is investigating and it should be interesting to read their findings.

  37. Hahahaha….no way. They try to can some gangbangers, and they’d get gunned down. And that is just the ones that wouldn’t wig out all crazy on them.

  38. Hahahaha….no way.They try to can some gangbangers and they’d get gunned down. And that is just the ones that wouldn’t wig out all crazy on them.

  39. by 2021, every Chinese will have a home, a job, plenty of food, education, safe streets, health and old age care. ” Hahahahahahahah!

  40. by 2021 every Chinese will have a home a job plenty of food education safe streets” health and old age care. “”Hahahahahahahah!”””

  41. I wouldn’t. Sometimes I chew tobacco and I expect to be able to spit on the ground; I don’t live in a concrete jungle, so this is generally acceptable. If I gotta spit in public, I spit in a cup or soda bottle. The caning thing is just so strange to me because over here in the USA the typical state ‘Child Protective Services’ organization will take your child away and put them in foster care if you discipline with corporal punishment. It’s a police state – no doubt about it.

  42. I wouldn’t. Sometimes I chew tobacco and I expect to be able to spit on the ground; I don’t live in a concrete jungle so this is generally acceptable. If I gotta spit in public I spit in a cup or soda bottle.The caning thing is just so strange to me because over here in the USA the typical state ‘Child Protective Services’ organization will take your child away and put them in foster care if you discipline with corporal punishment. It’s a police state – no doubt about it.

  43. Singapore has 50 times less homeless people than the US? Yes, and by 2021, every Chinese will have a home, a job, plenty of food, education, safe streets, health and old age care. On that day there will be more homeless, poor, hungry and imprisoned people in America than in China. Not relatively or per capita, but in absolute numbers. 450,000,000 urban Chinese will be worth more and have higher disposable incomes than the average American, their mothers and infants will be less likely to die in childbirth, their children will graduate from high school three years ahead of ours–and outlive ours.

  44. Singapore has 50 times less homeless people than the US? Yes and by 2021 every Chinese will have a home a job plenty of food education safe streets health and old age care. On that day there will be more homeless poor hungry and imprisoned people in America than in China. Not relatively or per capita but in absolute numbers. 450000000 urban Chinese will be worth more and have higher disposable incomes than the average American their mothers and infants will be less likely to die in childbirth their children will graduate from high school three years ahead of ours–and outlive ours.”

  45. What are you talking about? Between 1990 and 2010, a net of 1.2 million people moved to Singapore. 40% of Singapore’s population is foreign born, and while many of these are temporary workers and students there are also a sizable number who are permanent residents. Migration is a large part of the reason why city-states like Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Luxembourg, Leichenstein etc are so dynamic and prosperous (in addition to free-trade). Singapore’s housing solution was to ensure people have a ownership in their homes so they care for and preserve them, instead of treating them like renters. It’s also another kind of forced savings account, building up savings for these people in the form of home equity. They basically turned a bunch of poor slum renters into middle-class homeowners with vertical suburbs.

  46. What are you talking about? Between 1990 and 2010 a net of 1.2 million people moved to Singapore. 40{22800fc54956079738b58e74e4dcd846757aa319aad70fcf90c97a58f3119a12} of Singapore’s population is foreign born and while many of these are temporary workers and students there are also a sizable number who are permanent residents. Migration is a large part of the reason why city-states like Singapore Hong Kong Dubai Abu Dhabi Luxembourg Leichenstein etc are so dynamic and prosperous (in addition to free-trade). Singapore’s housing solution was to ensure people have a ownership in their homes so they care for and preserve them instead of treating them like renters. It’s also another kind of forced savings account building up savings for these people in the form of home equity. They basically turned a bunch of poor slum renters into middle-class homeowners with vertical suburbs.

  47. I wouldn’t. Sometimes I chew tobacco and I expect to be able to spit on the ground; I don’t live in a concrete jungle, so this is generally acceptable. If I gotta spit in public, I spit in a cup or soda bottle.

    The caning thing is just so strange to me because over here in the USA the typical state ‘Child Protective Services’ organization will take your child away and put them in foster care if you discipline with corporal punishment. It’s a police state – no doubt about it.

  48. You don’t need to actually cane people. A mere few days in the stocks with people throwing rotten fruit at them would suffice.

  49. You don’t need to actually cane people. A mere few days in the stocks with people throwing rotten fruit at them would suffice.

  50. I think that 5 years of having Singapore government accepting zero bullcrap from them, caning them when they step out of line, and having neighbours who work for a living might actually whip a lot of them into shape. Some people are beyond all help* though. *OK, all help that could be feasibly provided by 2018 level governments.

  51. I think that 5 years of having Singapore government accepting zero bullcrap from them caning them when they step out of line and having neighbours who work for a living might actually whip a lot of them into shape.Some people are beyond all help* though.*OK all help that could be feasibly provided by 2018 level governments.

  52. Think rules enforcement in Singapore is bad? I certainly wouldn’t want to be subject to it, or have anyone I love subject to it. On the other hand, the US has a lot of people in jail (in point of fact it may lead the world in incarceration rates). The reason for this seems to be, in large part, because we have a lot of politicians too concerned about their image (i.e. personal aggrandizement). But that’s kind of off-topic. Something I’ve said for some time: The truest measure of a country’s wealth is the ability, and willingness, of its people to adapt to change.” That won’t make a country wealthy by itself, though. For that you also need a government where the leaders aren’t focused primarily on their own aggrandizement or promotion of some secular or otherwise untenable belief system. Since most politicians and dictators are, that means you have to tie the public’s weal to their own. Then they might become vested in improving things, even if it involves change. Unfortunately, this is difficult as change is exactly the kind of thing that could cost them their positions and they seem to instinctively know this. Singapore just happened to have single strongman who didn’t seem to care at all about personal aggrandizement; he just wanted to get the job done. Love him or hate him, he did. Be interesting to see if they relax things now that he’s dead and what effect that will have on progress, or even maintaining what they’ve done.

  53. Think rules enforcement in Singapore is bad? I certainly wouldn’t want to be subject to it or have anyone I love subject to it. On the other hand the US has a lot of people in jail (in point of fact it may lead the world in incarceration rates). The reason for this seems to be in large part because we have a lot of politicians too concerned about their image (i.e. personal aggrandizement). But that’s kind of off-topic.Something I’ve said for some time: The truest measure of a country’s wealth is the ability and willingness of its people to adapt to change.That won’t make a country wealthy by itself” though. For that you also need a government where the leaders aren’t focused primarily on their own aggrandizement or promotion of some secular or otherwise untenable belief system. Since most politicians and dictators are that means you have to tie the public’s weal to their own. Then they might become vested in improving things even if it involves change. Unfortunately this is difficult as change is exactly the kind of thing that could cost them their positions and they seem to instinctively know this.Singapore just happened to have single strongman who didn’t seem to care at all about personal aggrandizement; he just wanted to get the job done. Love him or hate him he did. Be interesting to see if they relax things now that he’s dead and what effect that will have on progress” or even maintaining what they’ve done.”

  54. Singapore has 50 times less homeless people than the US? Yes, and by 2021, every Chinese will have a home, a job, plenty of food, education, safe streets, health and old age care.

    On that day there will be more homeless, poor, hungry and imprisoned people in America than in China. Not relatively or per capita, but in absolute numbers.

    450,000,000 urban Chinese will be worth more and have higher disposable incomes than the average American, their mothers and infants will be less likely to die in childbirth, their children will graduate from high school three years ahead of ours–and outlive ours.

  55. What are you talking about? Between 1990 and 2010, a net of 1.2 million people moved to Singapore. 40% of Singapore’s population is foreign born, and while many of these are temporary workers and students there are also a sizable number who are permanent residents. Migration is a large part of the reason why city-states like Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Luxembourg, Leichenstein etc are so dynamic and prosperous (in addition to free-trade).

    Singapore’s housing solution was to ensure people have a ownership in their homes so they care for and preserve them, instead of treating them like renters. It’s also another kind of forced savings account, building up savings for these people in the form of home equity. They basically turned a bunch of poor slum renters into middle-class homeowners with vertical suburbs.

  56. ‘public’ is short for ‘publicly built’. I don’t think that there are any Cabrini Greens in Singapore. bit.ly/1LesYWE

  57. ‘public’ is short for ‘publicly built’. I don’t think that there are any Cabrini Greens in Singapore. bit.ly/1LesYWE

  58. Move some residents from Detroit into those houses and see how ‘clean’ they end up being after 5 years. Culture matters.

  59. Move some residents from Detroit into those houses and see how ‘clean’ they end up being after 5 years.Culture matters.

  60. I think that 5 years of having Singapore government accepting zero bullcrap from them, caning them when they step out of line, and having neighbours who work for a living might actually whip a lot of them into shape.

    Some people are beyond all help* though.

    *OK, all help that could be feasibly provided by 2018 level governments.

  61. Public” as in built by the government. They are still bought and privately owned. Just built them quickly and made them more affordable. The video explains it in more detail.

  62. Public”” as in built by the government. They are still bought and privately owned. Just built them quickly and made them more affordable. The video explains it in more detail.”””

  63. 82% live in public housing in 2016.” “91% of Singapore’s population owns there[sic] own home.” Now I’m well into my first beer for the evening, but I’m having trouble making the math work on these two statements.

  64. 82{22800fc54956079738b58e74e4dcd846757aa319aad70fcf90c97a58f3119a12} live in public housing in 2016.””””””91{22800fc54956079738b58e74e4dcd846757aa319aad70fcf90c97a58f3119a12} of Singapore’s population owns there[sic] own home.””””Now I’m well into my first beer for the evening”””” but I’m having trouble making the math work on these two statements.”””””””

  65. How Singapore solved the housing problem: 1. Lower taxes to get multinationals to avoid tax and pay you instead. 2. Make it difficult for poor people to move to your country 3. Build a few buildings with your enormous profits from point 1

  66. How Singapore solved the housing problem:1. Lower taxes to get multinationals to avoid tax and pay you instead.2. Make it difficult for poor people to move to your country3. Build a few buildings with your enormous profits from point 1

  67. Think rules enforcement in Singapore is bad? I certainly wouldn’t want to be subject to it, or have anyone I love subject to it. On the other hand, the US has a lot of people in jail (in point of fact it may lead the world in incarceration rates). The reason for this seems to be, in large part, because we have a lot of politicians too concerned about their image (i.e. personal aggrandizement).

    But that’s kind of off-topic.

    Something I’ve said for some time: The truest measure of a country’s wealth is the ability, and willingness, of its people to adapt to change.”

    That won’t make a country wealthy by itself, though. For that you also need a government where the leaders aren’t focused primarily on their own aggrandizement or promotion of some secular or otherwise untenable belief system.

    Since most politicians and dictators are, that means you have to tie the public’s weal to their own. Then they might become vested in improving things, even if it involves change. Unfortunately, this is difficult as change is exactly the kind of thing that could cost them their positions and they seem to instinctively know this.

    Singapore just happened to have single strongman who didn’t seem to care at all about personal aggrandizement; he just wanted to get the job done. Love him or hate him, he did. Be interesting to see if they relax things now that he’s dead and what effect that will have on progress, or even maintaining what they’ve done.

  68. “Public” as in built by the government. They are still bought and privately owned. Just built them quickly and made them more affordable. The video explains it in more detail.

  69. “82% live in public housing in 2016.”

    “91% of Singapore’s population owns there[sic] own home.”

    Now I’m well into my first beer for the evening, but I’m having trouble making the math work on these two statements.

  70. How Singapore solved the housing problem:

    1. Lower taxes to get multinationals to avoid tax and pay you instead.
    2. Make it difficult for poor people to move to your country
    3. Build a few buildings with your enormous profits from point 1

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