High-Quality, Multi-Generational Coexistence... 'O Sehun-Style Public Housing' Found in Singapore in the Urban Area

Oh, Focused All-Day Visit to Singapore's 'Public Housing Complex'
Visited Housing Exhibition Hall, Interested in PLH Model... "Determined to Supply High-Quality Rental Housing in Urban and Transit Areas"
Oh, Kampung Admiralty, a Model for Parents and Children Living Nearby
Also Visited Smart Eco-Complex 'Punggol Eco Town' in Succession

On the morning of the 30th (local time), Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, who is visiting Singapore, is receiving an explanation about the current status of HDB from Tan Meng Dui, Chief Executive of the Singapore Housing Development Board, at the HDB Housing Exhibition Center. (Photo by Seoul City Joint Press Corps)

[Singapore = Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] On the 30th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who visited Singapore, spent the entire day focusing on public housing sites as his first schedule.

Starting with the Housing Development Board (HDB) public housing exhibition hall under Singapore's Ministry of National Development in the morning, he subsequently visited the 'intergenerational integrated residential complex' Kampung Admiralty and the 'smart eco-district' Punggol Eco-Town. Seoul City has previously announced Seoul-style high-quality rental housing as part of its 'walking with the vulnerable' policy. Mayor Oh has long shown deep interest in Singapore's housing policies and revealed various types of 'Oh Se-hoon-style public housing' supply plans on this day.

Interest in high-quality public housing supply model in urban areas... "We will boldly supply in urban and station areas in Seoul as well"

At 10 a.m. local time, Mayor Oh first visited the housing exhibition hall operated by HDB. This place offers a comprehensive view of Singapore's public housing policy history, the latest residential trends, major materials, and miniatures of each complex. Residents can check floor plans or interiors here before moving in, and if desired, they can also request changes to finishing materials.

Mayor Oh showed particular interest in the PHL (Prime Location Housing) model, which supplies high-quality public housing in urban areas. This policy, which HDB officially launched last year, is a project to provide high-quality, job-proximate public housing at affordable prices accessible to middle- and low-income workers in locations with good accessibility such as urban centers.

Although most of Singapore's public housing was concentrated on the outskirts of the city, after announcing the PHL policy in November last year, it began promoting the public housing 'River Peaks' in the Rochor area near the central business district, with supply scheduled for 2028. Mayor Oh said, "The purpose of the PLH model, which boldly supplies public housing among expensive apartments for low-income urban workers, aligns with Seoul City's policy direction," adding, "Seoul-style high-quality rental housing will also be supplied in urban and station areas so that newlyweds, youth, and early-career workers with limited assets can live there."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is inspecting the elder and child care center, a convenience facility for the elderly and childcare facility, within Kampung Admiralty on the afternoon of the 30th (local time).
(Photo by Seoul City Joint Press Corps)

Silver town where parents live near public housing for their children... Benchmarking 'Kampung Admiralty'

At 12:30 p.m. local time, Mayor Oh visited 'Kampung Admiralty,' a silver town located in northern Singapore.

Unlike existing silver towns built in quiet outskirts, 'Kampung Admiralty' is characterized as an intergenerational integrated residential complex. A silver town was established in the middle of about ten public housing complexes where many couples raising children live, creating an environment where three generations?elderly parents and their married children?can live close to each other and live both separately and together.

The government focused on senior housing by arranging comprehensive facilities such as a general hospital, parks, community facilities, shopping centers, and banks in layers so that elderly people, who find it difficult to expand their activity radius, can use necessary services in a one-stop manner. Especially, a vertical garden style was created with extensive greenery inside to provide spaces for walking and socializing with neighbors within the building.

In this area, it is common for children living in nearby public housing complexes to leave their children at their parents' home or at a daycare center located in the mid-levels of the building and then go to work. Nearby is the Admiralty MRT station, a trunk urban railway connecting northern Singapore to Marina Bay at the southern end, making commuting to the city convenient.

A Seoul City official said, "This is a public housing model that can simultaneously solve the social isolation of the elderly and child-rearing issues," adding, "Singapore encourages three generations living together as a national policy by supplying intergenerational housing that facilitates easy interaction between children and parents or by providing 'proximity housing subsidies' when purchasing housing near parents."

Seoul City also plans to supply 'intergenerational coexistence housing' as an alternative to serve as a buffer zone for social problems such as rapid aging and childcare difficulties, where three generations?parents, children, and grandchildren?can live and interact within one community. The types being considered by the city are similar to Kampung Admiralty visited on this day, including the senior welfare housing 'Gold Village' (tentative name) and three-generation residential housing.

Gold Village is a public housing type equipped with residential, medical, and convenience facilities, with pilot complexes being considered on the Innovation Park site in Eunpyeong-gu and the municipal nursing home in Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu.

The 'three-generation residential housing' is characterized by the development of housing floor plans. Although it is one house, it is designed to allow parents and children to maintain independent lives through generational separation while living together. It also applies horizontal and vertical combination floor plans and variable walls to allow flexible spatial separation according to housing type and life cycle. The city plans to pilot this type in the Hagye 5 Complex, which is scheduled for reconstruction.

A Seoul City official said, "We are also considering incentives for parents living in Gold Village and children moving to nearby housing or moving into three-generation residential housing," adding, "Various measures such as support for rental deposit interest, child-rearing-friendly deposit support, and establishing a special subscription system for three-generation residence are being considered."

On the afternoon of the 30th (local time), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited Punggol Digital District and listened to a briefing on the '3D Urban Planning,' which integrates physical space, data, and communication infrastructure through blockchain pilot experiments. (Photo by Seoul City Joint Press Corps)

From polluted fishing village to Singapore's first eco-friendly smart city... Exploring application plans at 'Punggol Eco-Town'

Mayor Oh then visited 'Punggol Eco-Town' at 2:30 p.m. local time.

This area is a new town developed as part of the 'Virtual Singapore' project to address the issues of limited land and population growth. It was a polluted fishing village but is being developed as Singapore's first eco-friendly smart city. The government introduced advanced technologies such as big data, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain from the planning stage of the apartment complex to reduce energy and water consumption and waste emissions. Singapore aims to develop the Punggol area into an Asian smart district where smart administration, advanced energy use, urban economic revitalization, and carbon neutrality are realized by utilizing digital technology.

Mayor Oh visited the 'Punggol Digital District' and listened to the '3D urban planning' that integrates physical space, data, and communication infrastructure through blockchain demonstration experiments.

Mayor Oh also met with Cheong Koon Hean, a housing policy expert and professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design, to discuss housing supply policies. Later, at 7:30 p.m. local time, he inspected 'South Beach,' a nature-friendly smart building mixing office and residential facilities located in Marina Bay, and 'Apple Marina Bay Sands,' a dome-structured building floating on water creating a unique urban landscape.

Mayor Oh said, "Future rental housing will be completely transformed in both hardware and software, considering the actual lives of citizens. Especially, intergenerational coexistence housing will be promoted as a housing model that serves as a buffer zone for the difficulties and social problems we face," adding, "In addition, we will implement various high-quality rental housing by integrating cutting-edge technologies to reduce energy consumption."