2.1 HOUSING

Chapter 8: Housing and its Spatial Distribution

What is housing?

Housing refers to structures or buildings developed to shelter people from the elements.

As you hover over the buttons on the world map and read more about different types of houses around the world, you will realise that climate is one of the key factors determining the choice of material and design for housing.

What do you think are other factors affecting the choice of material and design when people build houses?

Formal VS Informal Housing

Formal housing is legally built by the government or private developers with legal rights to occupy the land.
Informal housing is built by individuals who are unable to access formal housing.

Consider the following question as you watch the videos below:

What are some differences between formal and informal housing? Consider:
- - Arrangement/organisation of houses
  - Quality of houses
  - Living conditions of residents

The urban contrast - Rio De Janeiro, BrazilOn the left of this image, we have informal housing, while on the right, just over the fence, we see formal housing.

Example of Formal Housing: HDB Flats, Singapore

Example of Informal Housing: Favelas, Brazil

Skill: Labelling & Annotating a Field sketch

A field sketch is essentially a pictorial form of note-taking of a landscape. You need not worry about your ability to draw! A good field sketch should show how well you understand a landscape, rather than how artistic you are.

Steps to draw a good field sketch:

Identify the focus and purpose of your sketch.
Create a title for your sketch.
Draw a clear outline box.
Use a sketching frame to guide you (same as for taking photographs) by dividing the frame into 9 equal sections.
Draw the features or objects that you see in each section – if you are sketching a large landscape, sketch the features furthest away (i.e. background) first and work towards the foreground. Include only what is necessary depending on the purpose of your investigation.
Label the key features in your sketch and provide descriptions of them by adding annotations to your sketch.
Include other information such as the date, time and location for future reference.

Landscape

Example of a labelled field sketch

Tutorial video: Drawing a field sketch

Difference between labels and annotations?

A label comprises one or two words that help to identify something in photographs, diagrams or maps.
An annotation is a fairly detailed explanation or comment added to photographs, diagrams or maps to explain, elaborate or emphasise particular features.

Example of a labelled field sketch

(Credits: Mrs Lily Lee)

Example of an annotated field sketch

(Credits: Mrs Lily Lee)

Chapter 9: Sustainable Management of Housing

Impacts of housing on the environment

Housing developments in cities impacts the environment in various ways:

The use of natural resources, leading to:
- Depletion of forests
- Over-extraction of water resources

Use the interactive slider tool in the article below to see the before after pictures of how deforestation has changed Singapore!

Interactive Slider: Deforestation in SG

- Pollution, such as:
  - Air pollution
  - Water pollution

Gases emitted from factories pollutes the air.

Cities also face air pollution due to carbon emissions from high volumes of vehicular traffic.

When it rains, surface runoff transports waste/litter found in urban environments into the waterways, polluting them.

Sustainable management of housing

Housing developments needs to be sustainably managed as more and more of the global population dwells in cities. Strategies to ensure adequate quality housing include:

Integrated land-use planning
Provision of inclusive public housing
Environmental features in buildings
Improvements to the conditions of slums

Case Study: Tengah, Singapore

First HDB town in Singapore that is planned with smart technologies town-wide.
Design of the district focuses on green, sustainable features and community-centric spaces.

Case Study: Favela Bairro

Brazil's slum upgrading programme (1994)
Aims to provide basic infrastructure such as sewerage and lighting, as well as social services such as childcare.