Types of housing 

Types of housing and their characteristics

• Formal housing

- Built by government or private developers

- Legal right to occupy land

- Access to basic services

- High-quality building materials

Look at this interactive on how the HDB estates were built to foster the communities  https://www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/graphics/2023/12/hdb-flat-design-evolution/index.html?shell

An annotated photograph by a student of his neighbourhood in formal  housing in Singapore

This interactive map is tons of fun! It calculates population around any point. There are 405,152 people a 3km radius in the Punggol-Sengkang, which shows how densely populated the area is.

Look at the transport amenities - 239 bus stops and 28 metro and train stops (MRT and LRT stations).

How does this show economic sustainability of an urban neighbourhood?

Locate another point on the interactive map e.g. an area in central Africa. 

Why would the population size be lower and fewer transport amenities avai6?

 Click here to explore the interactive map: https://www.tomforth.co.uk/circlepopulations/ 

• Informal housing

- Self-built squatter settlements

- No legal right to occupy land

- Lack of access to basic services

Annotated sketch of informal housing - Poor housing in slum/squatters

• • Lack of safe shelter and insufficient basic services.

  • The housing not safe because it is flimsy and made of flammable materials. 

  • The hut also does not have sufficient basic services. Since it is so small, there is likely to be no toilet or a kitchen. There is no evidence of piped water and electricity. The lack of basic services such as clean water and proper sanitation makes people vulnerable to diseases. Slum residents with no access to safe drinking water use water from sources such as polluted rivers and contaminated wells. The water may have bacteria that cause diseases such as cholera and dysentery.  

  • Piles of rubbish are seen littered all around as the lack of waste management facilities in slums results in the improper disposal of rubbish. 

  • Stagnant waters in blocked drains and sewers provide breeding grounds for mosquitoes and cause the spread of malaria and dengue fever. 

• • Overcrowding in slums and squatter settlements also helps diseases to spread among the residents.

The distribution of housing locations within cities

• Location of formal housing in cities

• Found on desirable land (e.g., away from pollution, away from heavy industries)

• Location of informal housing in cities

• Found on locally unwanted land-use (LULU) (e.g., near landfills, near sewage treatment plants)