Urban planner Louisa-May Khoo says she got a sense of deja-vu when British Columbia Premier David Eby announced the BC Builds housing program earlier this year.

Khoo, a University of British Columbia public scholar, was a veteran of Singapore害羞草研究所檚 planning and development sector starting in 1996 before arriving in Vancouver in 2018.

When Eby unveiled BC Builds in February, Khoo said many Singaporean philosophies were instantly recognizable in the provincial program, right down to the exact percentage points in one instance.

害羞草研究所淏C Builds has pegged their rental rates at 30 per cent of the household income, for instance, and that害羞草研究所檚 something the (Singapore Housing and Development Board) has always stuck by,害羞草研究所� Khoo said.

害羞草研究所淭he StrongerBC economic plan is also pushing for things like a lot more upstream planning, which Singapore has always done for a long time,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淪ome of the regulations and proposals that I害羞草研究所檝e seen in terms of the housing plan is very much inspired (by Singapore).害羞草研究所�

Singapore害羞草研究所檚 housing model, where the government plays a dominating role in land ownership, property development, financing and other related aspects of society, has been held up numerous times by others such as Eby as a path to affordability here in Canada.

But the idea isn害羞草研究所檛 without its critics, especially when much of the policy may not be applicable in the Canadian social environment.

The BC Builds program aims to use 害羞草研究所済overnment, community and non-profit owned害羞草研究所� land and $2 billion in low-cost financing to deliver middle-income homes.

Eby has said that more Singapore inspirations are coming for B.C.害羞草研究所檚 program.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e starting with rental housing,害羞草研究所� Eby said during a February announcement for BC Builds. 害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e going to move into housing for purchases as well. This is a model that has been used in Singapore, in Vienna 害羞草研究所� we know that it works, and we are taking that model and we害羞草研究所檙e expanding it dramatically.

害羞草研究所淭his is how we change the direction of housing.害羞草研究所�

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To make the change by adopting the full Singaporean model, however, will be difficult, said Sock Yong Phang, a Singapore Management University economics professor.

The Singapore-based researcher, who co-authored a 2016 Asian Development Bank Institute report on the country害羞草研究所檚 housing policies, said much of the country害羞草研究所檚 unique take on housing came out of necessity.

Full adaptation in a different environment, therefore, will prove challenging, she said.

Singapore faces an acute problem of land scarcity, Phang said. 害羞草研究所�(So) it is a holistic framework of land-use planning and allocation, housing supply delivery, housing finance and regulation of housing demand to ensure affordable home ownership.

害羞草研究所淭he framework in its entirety will be difficult to replicate in another setting.害羞草研究所�

Singapore, often described as a city-state, houses most of its 5.9 million residents on one main island totalling 730 square kilometres. That area is smaller than every top-15 most-populated census metropolitan areas in Canada, with the closest being Oshawa, Ont., at 903 square kilometres.

The lack of land was compounded by an equal lack in adequate housing when Singapore gained self-governance from Great Britain in 1959.

Phang wrote in the report that less than nine per cent of the population was living in public housing at the time 害羞草研究所渨ith the majority living in overcrowded prewar, rent-controlled apartments, lacking access to water and modern sanitation,害羞草研究所� while 害羞草研究所渙thers faced housing conditions comparable to today害羞草研究所檚 slums.害羞草研究所�

It led to the creation of the Housing and Development Board to build and sell public housing, as well as laws that gave government broad powers to acquire land for redistribution for 害羞草研究所渁ny public purpose.害羞草研究所�

As a result, Phang said about 90 per cent of Singapore害羞草研究所檚 land is now state-owned, about 70 per cent of all housing units there are built by the government through the development board, and citizens are required to save money for retirement through a central fund that can be used to buy public housing.

The 害羞草研究所渢ightly integrated land-housing supply and financing system害羞草研究所� as described by Phang in the report resulted in Singapore having a 90-per-cent home-ownership rate since 1990.

害羞草研究所淲hat we need to keep in mind when we think about Singapore is that it害羞草研究所檚 a city-state, so the entire population is clustered in one larger urban expanse,害羞草研究所� said Kai Ostwald, director at the University of British Columbia害羞草研究所檚 Institute of Asian Research, who previously lived in Singapore.

害羞草研究所淲hat that means in practice is that the kind of policies and the kind of interventions that a government in Singapore can make are next to impossible to replicate one-to-one in other contexts. So, at best, I think what害羞草研究所檚 possible is that some elements of the approach that Singapore has taken to public housing can be adapted to different contexts.害羞草研究所�

For Khoo, one aspect of Singapore害羞草研究所檚 approach to housing that could be replicated in Canada is a more comprehensive approach to urban planning for decades ahead.

害羞草研究所淣ot only do we have the (long-range plan) to say, 害羞草研究所極K, in 40 years, where do we see the country going?害羞草研究所� We actually then break that plan down in development phasing called the master plan, so for every site, or every neighbourhood, the planning then becomes a lot more specific,害羞草研究所� Khoo said of Singapore害羞草研究所檚 model.

害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not just the housing, but it害羞草研究所檚 also the facilities that come with it,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淪o, the retail, the commercial 害羞草研究所� (the board) is actually responsible for the master planning of the town.害羞草研究所�

Ostwald said the units in Singapore are also designed to create interaction between the residents.

害羞草研究所淲hen you害羞草研究所檙e downstairs in the common areas, you害羞草研究所檙e also likely to encounter neighbours. That creates familiarity with the surroundings in a way that a lot of housing in Vancouver doesn害羞草研究所檛 allow for.害羞草研究所�

He said he害羞草研究所檚 lived in different public housing units in Singapore in the last 25 years, 害羞草研究所渁nd in almost every case, within a couple of weeks, I knew my neighbours fairly well. And that has to do with the way that units are laid out.害羞草研究所�

Singapore writer and activist Kirsten Han, who runs the We The Citizens newsletter analyzing the country害羞草研究所檚 human rights situation, said Singapore害羞草研究所檚 housing policy can be viewed as an extension of its broader vision for society, and planning extends into social engineering that may be hard for Canadians to accept.

For instance, Han said that besides eligibility rules limiting the purchase of public housing to citizens or permanent residents, the development board also has an ethnic integration policy and quotas that control the ethical mix in a community 害羞草研究所� down to the 害羞草研究所渂lock and neighbourhood levels.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淭he racial quota has been very widely praised abroad as, 害羞草研究所極h, this is how Singapore deals with racism and builds a multiracial society,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 Han said. 害羞草研究所淏ut if you talk to ethnic minorities in Singapore, they also talk about how it actually makes it harder for them to sell their flats.

害羞草研究所淎n Indian person can only sell to an Indian person if the quota is filled,害羞草研究所� she said.

Han added that there is also the issue of the labour that害羞草研究所檚 needed to construct the housing projects, which in Singapore害羞草研究所檚 case often comes from foreign migrant workers.

Han said while Singapore is heavily reliant on these workers to provide labour, they are often housed in dormitories separated from other communities creating a significant social issue that is another part of the country害羞草研究所檚 housing model.

害羞草研究所淢igrant workers are seen as just here to work and apart from that are dispensable and discardable,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淪o, it害羞草研究所檚 actually a very exploitative sort of relationship.害羞草研究所�

But she said the treatment of the workers doesn害羞草研究所檛 seem to provoke enough outrage for the government to make changes.

The International Labour Organization in 2020 said Singapore had more than 1.4 million migrant workers that are crucial for construction as well as domestic work, and that number comprises 38 per cent of the country害羞草研究所檚 workforce.

Khoo said she has heard the criticism against Singapore害羞草研究所檚 housing model, but it does not take away from the fact that policy has largely achieved what it set out to do: Provide citizens with a pathway to affordable home ownership.

害羞草研究所淚 do believe that Singapore has done housing well,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淚t is certainly a beacon that holds hope for other cities wishing to emulate.害羞草研究所�

Khoo also said critics cannot dismiss the complexity of Singapore害羞草研究所檚 approach, and that experts spend decades fine-tuning every aspect in society to align with the housing policy.

害羞草研究所淧eople have said to me, 害羞草研究所榊ou make it sound so easy.害羞草研究所� But it is not quite a snapping of fingers. There is actual dogged diligence and a never-say-die attitude to working through each and every problem, big and small, to find creative ways around it to achieve what we see today.

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Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press