The new town

New town

A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...

 planning concept was introduced into Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 with the building of the first New Town, Queenstown

Queenstown, Singapore

Queenstown1 is one of the early housing estates in Singapore, built before Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio, and was a test bed for much of Singapore's public housing...

, from July 1952 to 1973 by the country's public housing authority, the Housing and Development Board. Today, the vast majority of the approximately 11,000 public housing buildings are organised into 22 new towns across the country.

Each new town is designed to be completely self-sustainable. Helmed by a hierarchy of commercial developments, ranging from a town centre to precinct-level outlets, there is no need to venture out of town to meet the most common needs of residences. Employment can be found in industrial estates located within several towns. Educational, health care, and recreational needs are also taken care of with the provision of schools, hospitals, parks, sports complexes, and so on.

Singapore's expertise in successful new town design was internationally recognised when the Building and Social Housing Foundation

Building and Social Housing Foundation

The Building and Social Housing Foundation is an independent housing research charity, with work that covers a broad range of issues around housing. It was established in 1976 and is based in Coalville in Leicestershire in the United Kingdom, but does work internationally...

 (BSHF) of the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 awarded the World Habitat Award

World Habitat Awards

The World Habitat Awards were established in 1985 by the Building and Social Housing Foundation as part of its contribution to the United Nations' International Year of Shelter for the Homeless in 1987....

 to Tampines

Tampines

Tampines is the largest residential area in the city-state of Singapore and is located in the East Region of the main island. The town is so named because in the 1900s a large forest of Tampines trees were there....

 New Town, which was selected as a representative of Singapore's new towns, on 5 October 1992.

New Towns

Name	Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Area (Total)	Area (Residential)	Residential units	Residential units (Projected)	Population	Image	Remarks
Ang Mo Kio	宏茂桥	hóngmàoqiáo	638	283	48,068	58,000	151,700
Bedok	勿洛	wùluò	937	408	59,201	74,000	201,300
Bishan	碧山	bìshān	690	172	19,367	32,000	67,400
Bukit Batok Bukit Batok New Town Bukit Batok New Town is a new town located in western Singapore and within the boundaries of the Bukit Batok Planning Area. It is bounded by Bukit Batok Road, the Pan Island Expressway, along the western edge of Toh Tuck private estate, Bukit Batok East Avenue 6, Old Jurong Road, Bukit Timah Road,...	武吉巴督	wǔjíbādū	785	291	31,731	47,000	112,100
Bukit Merah Bukit Merah Bukit Merah is a hill in Singapore. Previously, it was a much larger hill that was situated at the present site of Henderson housing estate, which lies opposite the Delta Sports Complex. There was a Chinese cemetery on the reverse side of the hill. The present Bukit Merah Secondary School and...	武吉巴督	wǔjíbādū	858	312	50,247	68,000	147,000
Bukit Panjang Bukit Panjang New Town Bukit Panjang New Town is new town located in the west of Singapore bounded by Bukit Timah Road, Dairy Farm Road, the Bukit Timah Expressway, and the Kranji Expressway...	武吉班让	wǔjíbānràng	489	228	29,498	43,000	113,000
Choa Chu Kang	蔡厝港	càicuògǎng	583	307	39,511	62,000	155,800
Clementi	金文泰	jīnwéntài	408	198	23,871	35,000	74,500
Geylang Geylang Geylang is a neighbourhood in the city-state of Singapore east of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district. It is located to the east of the Singapore River, an area that locals have associated, from the days of Sir Stamford Raffles, as a Malay kampong opposite facing two islands...	金文泰	jīnwéntài	678	214	30,510	49,000	96,900
Hougang	后港	hòugǎng	1,276	354	47,819	68,000	173,500		Largest new town in terms of total land area.
Jurong East	裕廊东	yùlángdōng	384	165	22,299	29,000	81,000
Jurong West	裕廊西	yùlángxī	987	480	68,760	92,000	251,200		Largest new town in terms of existing residential units.
Kallang Kallang Kallang is an urban planning area and a subdivision located in the southeastern part of Singapore.It is probably best known for being the location of the Singapore Indoor Stadium & the old National Stadium, as well as the new Singapore Sports Hub... /Whampoa Whampoa Whampoa is the old English transliteration of Huangpu District, Guangzhou, in China.From there, it derives its other meanings, and can also refer to:* Relating to the Whampoa district:...	加冷/黄浦	jialeng/huangpu	799	200	34,288	54,000	104,900
Pasir Ris Pasir Ris New Town Pasir Ris New Town is a new town in the Eastern part of Singapore. Built by the Housing and Development Board, it is bounded by the Pasir Ris Drive 12, the Tampines Expressway, Old Tampines Road, east edge of Loyang Valley, south of Loyang Industrial Estate, a canal leading to Serangoon Harbour,...	巴西立	bāxīlì	601	318	27,514	44,000	109,700
Punggol Punggol New Town Punggol New Town is a Housing and Development Board new town in Punggol, within the North-East Region of Singapore.-Etymology:Punggol Point or Tanjong Punggol appears as Tanjong Rangon on Franklin and Jackson's 1828 map of Singapore. Punggol, also spelt as Ponggol, means "hurling sticks at the...	榜鵝	bǎng'é	957	422	17,980	96,000	59,200
Queenstown Queenstown, Singapore Queenstown1 is one of the early housing estates in Singapore, built before Toa Payoh and Ang Mo Kio, and was a test bed for much of Singapore's public housing...	女皇镇	nǚhuángzhèn	687	210	29,812	60,000	85,000		First new town in Singapore.
Sembawang	三巴旺	sānbāwàng	708	317	18,421	60,000	67,400
Sengkang Sengkang New Town Sengkang New Town is a relatively young satellite residential town in the city-state of Singapore. Originally a fishing village, the area is presently undergoing rapid development under the ambition of the Housing and Development Board to transform it into a "21st century township". The town now...	盛港	shènggǎng	1,055	397	43,848	90,000	156,200
Serangoon Serangoon New Town Serangoon New Town is a new town in north-eastern Singapore and bounded by Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5, the Central Expressway, Bradell Road, Bartley Road, Upper Paya Lebar Road, Upper Serangoon Road, and Yio Chu Kang Road back to Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5...	实龙岗	shílónggāng	737	156	21,292	29,000	75,800
Tampines	淡滨尼	dànbīnní	1,200	500	62,369	83,000	235,800
Toa Payoh Toa Payoh New Town Toa Payoh New Town is the second oldest new town in Singapore, developed since 1962. It is home to the HDB Hub and hosts one of the country's three air-conditioned bus interchanges, the other two being the one in Sengkang and Ang Mo Kio...	大巴窑	dàbāyáo	463	210	35,418	48,000	105,400		Second new town in Singapore.
Woodlands	兀兰	wùlán	1,198	525	58,525	88,000	229,500
Yishun Yishun New Town Yishun New Town is a housing estate in the north of Singapore. The Lower Seletar Reservoir is found there.Shopping centres in Yishun include Northpoint Shopping Centre, which is situated next to Yishun MRT Station and Yishun Bus Interchange....	义顺	yìshùn	810	439	46,965	84,000	173,300
Other Estates (Bukit Timah Bukit Timah Bukit Timah is an area in Singapore and a hill in that area. Bukit Timah is located near the centre of the Singapore main island. The hill stands at an altitude of 163.63 metres and is the highest point in the city-state of Singapore... , Central Area Central Area In Singapore, the Central Area or Central Business District contains the core financial and commercial districts, including eleven urban planning areas, namely Downtown Core, Marina East, Marina South, Museum, Newton, Orchard, Outram, River Valley, Rochor, Singapore River and Straits View as... , Marine Parade Marine Parade Marine Parade is a town and an urban planning area in Singapore directly to the east of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.-Location:... )				126	22,898	25,000	66,500
Total					890,212	1,418,000	3,094,100