Introduction:
Public housing policy is Singapore has been a remarkable success in providing housing for the majority of Singapore citizens and by making them stakeholders in nation building. House is universally considered as a basic necessity and an asset for lifetime for every citizen. While most countries put “housing for all” as one of the agenda point; many of them, including developed countries are still struggling to ensure affordable, equitable and sustainable housing solution.
In Singapore, Housing Development Board (HDB) was set up in the year 1960 to address the housing crisis then, by building low cost public housing. In its remarkable success, HDB could solve the housing shortage within 10 years of its existence. The public housing programme in Singapore has evolved over the last 4 decades to not only provide housing but also a comprehensive, self sufficient township and vibrant community in an urban setting. The resident population living in public housing has increased from mere 9% in 1960s to about 82% now, with vast majority (about 95%) of them under home ownership. Thus the larger objective of providing public housing and maintenance is being successfully delivered by HDB.
Evolution and Features:
The first generation political leadership in Singapore emphasized on socio- economic growth for the country since its formation. In 1959, dwellings in Singapore used to be crowded slums, squatters with dilapidated structures and unhygienic surroundings. In addition to poor infrastructure and rising population in the limited land mass, there was acute shortage of good public housing. The country needed at least 15000 new houses every year. To address the shortage and affordability issues, HDB initially built simple...
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...ed economy, income disparity is growing wider and faster. Employment and long term savings are uncertain. In such scenario, the primary objectives of social security measures need a relook.
Ageing, rising healthcare costs, chronic diseases, post retirement unemployment are some of the factors, which could seriously undermine the social engineering measures that overly stress upon housing as a social security solution.
The rising house prices are making many young potential home buyers nervous, which in some ways is impacting the social fabric by prolonging marriage and raise family. This also impacts the work ethic balance by promoting capital gains, rental income and other avenues over hard earned wages.
Therefore “affordable housing for all” notion needs a fresh look. Change in policies, objectives and priorities must keep pace with the changing context.
Downs has sought to dispel myths surrounding housing policy. The first myth he debunks is the myth that all government-sponsored urban policies have failed. Downs believes that although they had resulted in greater hardships for poorer neighborhoods, the policies have given great benefits to a majority of urban American families. While he does not consider these policies to be a complete success, he refuses to call them failures due to the fact that they did indeed improve the standard of living for most of urban America. Downs also calls to our attention the effect of housing policies on the number of housing units. Starting in 1950, housing policies were aimed at ending the housing shortage until focus was shifted to low income households in the midst of the Vietnam War. To Downs, ending the shortage was important because it was affecting the American way of life. Couples were delaying marriage, extended families were living in one home, and overcrowded housing led to overcrowded local facilities, such as schools. Downs also argues that this overcrowding led to an inescapable cycle of “substandard”
The Housing Act of 1937 laid the foundation for public housing (Mitchell, 1985). This act was enacted by the Roosevelt administration,” in an effort to boost construction in the real estate industry” (Blau, 2014). It is the program we know today as Public Housing. The Public Housing program was designed to bring the country out economic distress as well as provide shelter to the poor after the Great Depression (Erickson, 2009).
The housing affordability crisis has been slowly developing over decades. This implies that young households – in particular young families who want to get their feet on the owner-occupied housing ladder, are hardest hit by the crisis. (Housing Supply Working Group) It is clear, historically, that even with significant private sector rental development, there will always be a need for some government role in assisting low-income households with housing affordability and other income problems. The impact of lack in rental supply and the consequent upward the pressure on rents is pressuring on all levels of government for assistance to low income households so that they can afford suitable and adequate housing. And the household formation will be delayed as young people are unable to find affordable rental accommodation if the shortfall units of rental housings keep remaining. (Housing Supply Working
According to John Vogel’s article “Thinking Outside the Housing Bubble” published in the US News, the housing area aids in job development and increases the opportunity for employment that will assist the United States in solving the recessi...
Today, the future of Social Security is in the news again. The reason Social Security is of such concern is that the extremely large group of citizens born in the post-World War II period—the much-discussed baby-boom generation—is retiring. The generation that will take its place in the workforce is far smaller in proportion to the number of retirees, raising fears about the sustainability of Social Security. In the past, proposed solutions to the various problems facing Social Security aroused great debate. Each time, however, the arguments were stilled, repairs were made, and the system continued to fulfill its mandate. That uncertainty about the future has resulted in suggestions for change that range from minor adjustments to complete privatization of the ...
A better way to measure the financial trouble facing Social Security is to compare the promised total future benefits to the program 's total future taxes on a present value basis. Unless policymakers cut Social Security and other programs, the fiscal and economic outlook for the nation looks grim. The large baby boomer generation is beginning to retire in droves and average life spans in the nation are continuing to rise. Those changing demographics are driving Social Security 's financial imbalances. When Social Security was created in 1935, the life expectancy for
It is often easy to castigate large cities or third world countries as failures in the field of affordable housing, yet the crisis, like an invisible cancer, manifests itself in many forms, plaguing both urban and suburban areas. Reformers have wrestled passionately with the issue for centuries, revealing the severity of the situation in an attempt for change, while politicians have only responded with band aid solutions. Unfortunately, the housing crisis easily fades from our memory, replaced by visions of homeless vets, or starving children. Metropolis magazine explains that “…though billions of dollars are spent each year on housing and development programs worldwide, ? At least 1 billion people lack adequate housing; some 100 million have none at all.? In an attempt to correct this worldwide dilemma, a United Nations conference, Habitat II, was held in Istanbul, Turkey in June of 1996. This conference was open not only to government leaders, but also to community organizers, non governmental organizations, architects and planners. “By the year 2000, half the world’s people will live in cities. By the year 2025, two thirds of the world population will be urban dwellers ? Globally, one million people move from the countryside to the city each week.? Martin Johnson, a community organizer and Princeton professor who attended Habitat II, definitively put into words the focus of the deliberations. Cities, which are currently plagued with several of the severe problems of dis-investment ?crime, violence, lack of jobs and inequality ?and more importantly, a lack of affordable and decent housing, quickly appeared in the forefront of the agenda.
Social security, since instituted in 1935, has kept many elderly people from running below the poverty line (Hosansky). In 2015, the Social Security Administration predicted that the funds would be depleted by 2034 (Max). This poses a serious threat to the living situation of future generations when they retire. Our elderly, by today’s standards, enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. They are able to retire and still make over one thousand dollars a month. Some people also have private pensions which allow them to live even more comfortably. But with social security funds running out, we must ask the inevitable question. Is it worth having social security anymore? Social security should be kept. One must never fully rely on social security. In addition
Although senior level governments have started to invest in affordable housing in the City, however, their role has been limited and unpredictable (Mah, 2009). It is also well-known that most of the financial burden for housing production have been transferred on to the local governments (Mah, 2009; Evans 2009). Also, local governments are facing many different challenges, from social and cultural issues to environmental and transportation issues (Evans,
Public housing is a program, introduced at the federal level in 1937, which provides for low-cost housing through public financing by means of publicly owned and managed multi-family developments. Several cities began providing publicly funded housing prior to the introduction of the 1937 Housing Act through local programs of their own. Additionally, it was these kinds of local programs that helped mold the model for the federal program. Although there are multiple themes and topics related to public housing this paper will solely focus on 6 themes that are critical in understanding the history and development of public housing. These themes are in regards to the population it was aimed for, financing, federal public housing authority, local public housing authorities, design, and urban renewal.
Lastly, many people depend on social security after retirement. Moreover, a lot of people who have retired depend on social security for more than half of their income. With that being said, reforms definitely need to be made in order to protect and better social security. In fact, in his article, “Why We Need Social Security” by Paul Starr, an award-winning writer, and professor, he states, “The elderly used to be an age group with an especially high rate of poverty. One of the signal achievements of Social Security, hardly noticed today, is that poverty has fallen dramatically among Americans over age 65 to just 10 percent, lower than the 12-percent rate for the population as a whole” (Starr). Social security plays a vital role in lowering the poverty rate and as Starr mentions, the poverty rate has dramatically decreased with social security. Therefore, keeping in mind the benefits of social security, the country should spend more time and money that will ultimately be used from taxes in bettering the system for future and current
Affordable and stable housing has been linked with improving health, education and economic outcomes for families and children. Many studies show that stable housing is both a foundation for well-being as well as a platform for connecting people to services and resources that include quality health care centers and schools and other facilities. When housing is stable and affordable, families can spend more time and resources on medical care, nutritious food and the like. Homeownership increases housing security to families: it gives more control to owners over their physical surroundings, lowers real monthly payments over time, protects against unanticipated changes in rental costs, and helps build wealth. Homeownership also provides a ready mechanism for families to borrow money and get credit to improve their home, make purchases or invest in education or the financial markets. It is also argued that these benefits are available to all homeowners regardless of economic status.
...s for generations to come, which in essence, needs to start now. Using a conservative economic projection should be one of the steps taken for the growth of future social security. We all know there are no free rides in life; someone is always taking the bill, much less in social security. Any of the changes discussed in this report would impose a real alteration in the level of benefits, taxation and risks. Ultimately, we need to look forward with complete understanding and full acceptance of changes, while keeping faith in a system, which has served us so well.
Compare and contrast the ways in which housing inequalities are discussed from the perspectives of social policy and criminology, and economics (TMA 02)
In many ways, this housing shortage has been a consequence of strict housing policies enacted in the 1960s that limited the heights of new buildings and allowed neighbours to block developments. Because of this, in recent history the Bay Area has only issued building permits for about 50% of the buildings for the growing population. This combination of high demand and low supply for local housing has allowed housing costs to skyrocket, to the point where the area is no longer affordable for many residents (Russel). This has created a large population of residents who experience homelessness and housing insecurity. Of the 7,500 residents of San Francisco that are currently unhoused, 71 percent were housed in the city before becoming homeless (Connery et al, see Figure 1). Further, 49 percent of residents experiencing homelessness who once had a permanent residence in the city had maintained it for at least ten years. This indicates that San Francisco residents cannot continuously afford to live in the housing currently available in the