Policy Innovations for Affordable Housing In Singapore: From Colony to Global City

Sock-Yong Phang

Springer, Apr 23, 2018 - Business & Economics - 215 pages

Global cities today are facing fundamental challenges in relation to unaffordable housing and growing economic inequality. Singapore’s success in making homeownership possible for 90% of its population has attracted much attention internationally. This book represents a culmination of research by the author on key housing policy innovations for affordable housing.

Housing policy changes were effected in the 1960s through reforms of colonial legislation and institutions dealing with state land acquisition, public housing, and provident fund savings. The comprehensive housing framework that was established enabled the massive resettlement of households from shophouses, slums and villages to high-rise government-built flats. In the 1980s and 1990s, housing market and land use regulations were amended in response to the changing needs of a growing economy.

Housing policies have also been utilised to curb housing speculation, build racially inclusive communities, and reduce wealth inequality. More recently, an ageing population of homeowners has necessitated focus on policies for housing equity extraction. This landmark title is of relevance to all developing economies exploring alternative systems of affordable housing.

Contents

• Introduction: 1
• Land Acquisition for Any Public Purpose: 13
• Public Housing for Sale: 27
• Provident Fund Savings for Housing Finance: 51
• Facilitating Higher Housing Densities Through Land Use Planning: 66
• MarketResponsive Housing Regulations: 93
• Building Diverse Neighbourhoods Through Integration Policies: 110
• Redistribution and Housing Wealth Formation: 125
• Home Equity Extraction for Retirement Financing: 149
• Transferability of Singapores Housing Policy Innovations: 186
• Singapores Consumer Price Index Exchange Rate SUS and Interest Rate for Housing Loans 19882017: 201
• Index: 203

About the author

Sock-Yong Phang is Celia Moh Chair Professor of Economics at the Singapore Management University, Singapore. She is the author of Housing Finance Systems: Market Failures and Government Failures (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), as well as numerous publications on housing, urban transportation and public-private partnerships in scholarly journals.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Policy Innovations for Affordable Housing In Singapore: From Colony to Global City; Palgrave Advances in Regional and Urban Economics
• Author: Sock-Yong Phang
• Publisher: Springer, 2018
• ISBN: 3319753495, 9783319753492
• Length: 215 pages
• Subjects: Business & Economics / Development / Economic Development; Business & Economics / Economics / Comparative; Business & Economics / Economics / General; Business & Economics / Industrial Management; Business & Economics / Industries / General; Business & Economics / International / General; Business & Economics / Public Finance; Business & Economics / Urban & Regional