On a typical afternoon, young families stroll along a 4.2-kilometer waterway, where joggers and cyclists share paths with toddlers on balance bikes. This is neither a resort nor an exclusive private community. It is a public housing estate, Singapore's first eco-town. It looks nothing like the dreary high-rise blocks once synonymous with "public housing" in other countries.
For more than six decades, Singapore's Housing & Development Board (HDB) has pulled off a feat few governments can match: nearly 80% of residents live in government-built flats, and most are homeowners.
A public housing project in Punggol, Singapore's first eco-town
This well-known success story is now evolving in less conspicuous ways—from smart eco-towns for young families to assisted-living flats for the elderly.
The bigger takeaway is clear: Singapore has built a housing system that ages with its people, just as the country becomes one of the fastest-graying societies on earth.
Punggol: From fishing village to ecotown
Punggol was once a fishing village. The 1996 "Punggol 21" blueprint planned a waterfront town for the 21st century. Still, the 1997 Asian financial crisis halted construction, leaving the project on hold for nearly a decade.
Relaunched in 2007 as "Punggol 21+", the project involved damming two rivers to create reservoirs and excavating a 4.2-kilometer waterway across the estate. Its vision was clear: public housing can be beautiful, sustainable, and inspiring.
Today, Punggol is home to about 200,000 residents, occupying around 60,000 HDB flats. At Punggol Northshore, environmental modeling is used to optimize wind flow, reduce heat build-up, and improve comfort in shared spaces. Featuring smart waste systems, green buildings, and a car-lite design, the town is widely regarded as one of the most successfully implemented new towns in the world.
A waterfront unfolds from a Punggol HDB observation deck
Next is the Punggol Digital District—Singapore's first smart business district. Master planned and developed by JTC Corporation, it covers around 50 hectares and focuses on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and smart city solutions.
It should be noted that, it is fully integrated with the new campus of the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), forming a seamless link between education, research, and industry. Students and faculty work with tech firms in shared labs and innovation hubs. The arrangement is intentionally designed to enable residents to live, learn, and work locally without lengthy commutes.
HDB not only builds residential flats; it builds complete living ecosystems. However, the system, which has long served young families so well, now faces challenges brought by a major demographic shift.
CCA: A home that cares
According to official data, Singapore's population aged 65 and older rose from 11.7% in 2013 to 19.1% in 2023, and is forecast to reach 24.1% by 2030. By then, roughly one in four Singaporeans will be 65 or older. The number of elderly people living alone is expected to hit about 83,000. The old-age support ratio—the number of working-age adults available to support each elderly person—has nearly halved since 2010.
Many elderly people wish to age in place, but those with medical care needs and are frail may require nursing homes which provide long-term residential care. At the same time, there are elderly with low to moderate care needs—and they may also require some form of support and occasional assistance, within their own homes.
The government's solution is a new housing model: Community Care Apartments (CCAs). Launched in 2021 at Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok, the CCA is a joint initiative by the Ministry of National Development, the Ministry of Health, and HDB.
As Shifang Ang, a Senior Architect at HDB, puts it: "We wanted to provide another housing choice for seniors who need help—but not a nursing home."
Color-coded wall markings featuring a boat icon guide residents at Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok
The 169-unit project is not a nursing home. Each 32-square-meter apartment comes with senior-friendly fittings: grab bars, emergency call buttons, anti-slip flooring, and a wheelchair-accessible bathroom.
The design of the CCA also addresses cognitive challenges. In high-rise buildings, some seniors find it difficult to remember which floor they live on. In this regard, HDB introduced a simple but useful solution.
"We use different colors and different patterns on different floors," Ang said. "Maybe they don't remember they live on the third floor, but they remember the one with the boat." Door numbers are enlarged for those with failing eyesight. Benches at lift lobbies allow residents to rest while waiting. Even the laundry racks feature an easy-pull-up design, because, as Ang noted, many seniors still prefer to air-dry their clothes.
Communal spaces at Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok
Residents at Harmony Village pay a monthly service fee of around S$185 to S$195, which covers 24-hour emergency monitoring, basic health screenings, basic home maintenance, and on-site community managers who organize social activities. Residents may also subscribe to extra services, such as meal delivery or medical escort, when needed.
Lease terms range from 15 to 35 years, with pricing structured to let residents stay until at least age 95. Flat prices start at about S$40,000 for a 15 year lease and go up to about S$65,000 for a 35-year lease. Harmony Village also integrates a hawker center on the first floor and a senior activity center on the third floor, open to nearby residents.
Since 2021, HDB has launched 5 CCA projects across five estates across Singapore—Bukit Batok, Queenstown, Bedok, Geylang, and Sengkang.
What other countries can learn
What makes Singapore's approach distinctive is not any single policy, but a fully cohesive system. The government's efficient land acquisition framework lays a solid foundation, while the Central Provident Fund (CPF) allows homebuyers to pay their mortgage with zero or little cash outlay.
HDB acts as a master developer that coordinates housing with transportation, education, and commercial development—an integration level seldom found in other countries.
The most valuable lesson lies in adaptability. Many countries build housing for the young and assume that families will figure out the rest. On the contrary, Singapore understands that a 30-year-old home buyer and an 80-year-old senior aging in place represent two different stages of the same life's journey.
This life cycle calls for constant innovation—from eco-towns with waterfront walkways and digital jobs, to assisted-living flats with color-coded floors and on-site karaoke rooms.
Cities across the globe face rapid aging, yet most are unprepared for the challenges ahead. Singapore does not claim to have resolved all the issues related to aging. The gap between lifespan and healthspan remains, and elderly loneliness persists. Even so, the country has at least grasped the core of the issues. A home is not just a shelter; it shapes the course of a person's life. A fulfilling life must be designed for the long run.
Reporter: Guo Zedong
Photo: Guo Zedong
