Recommendation made for elderly-friendly estates

One of the key points of a focus group report on “Quality of Life”, which was submitted to the MND and URA is to design Singapore housing estates such that it will facilitate “ageing-in-place”, where active-ageing and growing old in a familiar environment are encouraged and provided for.

Another group also presented a report on “Sustainability and Identity” which consists of recommendations on how the country can be an endearing home, and at the same time, a sustainable city.

The reports will be considered when drafting the Concept Plan 2011, which will be announced to the public in Q2 next year.

The Concept Plan 2011 covers strategic land use to guide development projects in Singapore over the next 40 to 50 years.

In the “Quality of Life” report, the focus group examined ways to make Singapore an even more liveable and lively city, one which is inclusive, vibrant and inspiring, and which residents are proud to call home.

A major concern that emerged in the study is transforming the country into an elderly-friendly city to meet the needs of the growing ageing population.

The report lay down recommendations that would let “ageing-in-place”, or right housing options that would meet a person's needs throughout the ageing period. This includes more flexible use of space, offering flat owners with senior-friendly home fixtures to make their life more convenient and safer, or permitting households with more members to knock down walls to combine a few HDB units.

It is “important for the government to engage the public in the Concept Plan process and to hear the aspirations and ideas (of Singaporeans), as we plan the physical development of Singapore over the next 40 to 50 years,” said Minister of National Development Mr. Mah Bow Tan in his letter thanking the focus group.