Could Singapore, a city-state of 5.5 million people across the ocean in Asia, hold the key to B.C.’s (CANADA) housing future? Let’s take a deeper look at the Singapore model and how it has evolved over six decades.There are many impressive developments that look a lot like high-end condos in Vancouver and prices in the resale market also look a lot like Vancouver. Singapore shows how quickly progress can be made on affordability through a large public building program, but with a twist, as it has largely been providing affordable home ownership units.It’s housing market is also much more tightly regulated and managed than in B.C. (or anywhere else in North America) to the extents that it may be impossible politically to replicate. Singapore’s public flats have become a vehicle for private wealth accumulation, and alongside it speculative behaviour and a political imperative to protect people’s nest eggs.  The housing market is also much more tightly regulated and managed than in B.C. (or anywhere else in North America) to extents that may be impossible politically to replicate. Starting in 1960, the Housing and Development Board built 21,000 flats in its first three years, and 121,000 within a decade. By 1970, 35 percent of residents lived in public housing and 70 per cent by 1980, up from nine per cent in 1959. Construction of new units held steady over the decades, and from 2011 to 2020 almost 20,000 units per year were ranged from $95,000 to $234,000, and for a four-bedroom from $372,000 to $525,000. In addition, a housing grant of up to $80,000 is available to first-time home buyers earning less than $9,000 per month ($108,000 per year). Prices in the resale market can bemuch higher. Singapore has integrated the Housing and Development Board development with its excellent public transit system and the development of complete communities. The city is divided into 24 towns and three estates “designed to be self-sufficient, with easy access to shops, schools, and social and recreational facilities, and an abundance of greenery.”The Housing and Development Board development includes commercial properties, including over 13,000 shops, more than 1,000 restaurants and food stalls, and other community facilities, including more than 1,000 childcare centres and health and social services facilities. Some 10 to 15 per cent of land in a development is allocated to light industry to tap the pool of nearby workers. How the Singapore model works.....read on      https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2023/08/21/Singapore-Housing-Solution/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=210823

  Regenerative urban development as a prerequisite for the future of cities. A new urban agenda is needed to recognise the value of natural capital and to understand the cost of its loss if business and governments fail to take action now. Sustainable development has become the global orthodoxy in today's society. It seems straightforward that living today as if there is no tomorrow is irresponsible. But in fact, this is what we are doing. We are eating into the natural capital of the planet and eroding its resilience when we should be living off the income it regenerates. When we consider how degraded our ecosystems already are, there is far less to sustain today than there was 20 years ago. Cities and urban areas are major contributors to this trend. A new urban agenda is necessary in ensuring that cities not only become resource-efficient and low carbon-emitting, but go beyond that to positively enhance the ecosystems which provide them with goods and services. The solution lies in thinking beyond the vague and rather unambitious notion of sustainability and, instead, actively working towards regenerating soils, forests and watercourses. The aim is to improve rather than merely sustain their currently degraded condition. Urban economies that recognise the value of nature's services and the costs of their loss set the stage for a regenerative city. This requires investments in companies, organisations and funds that generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside financial return. A new compass is needed to guide bold policy directions, change incentive structures, reduce or phase out harmful subsidies and engage business leaders in a vision for an innovative, new economy. This new agenda transforms urban areas into regenerative cities that dramatically reduce their dependency on fossil fuels, boost the deployment of renewable energies, reintroduce water to the hydrology cycle and make sewage reprocessing and nutrient capture a central plank of urban waste management. Globally there are numerous examples for good policies and practices for regenerative urban development.....read on          https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/regenerative-urban-development-future-cities         

Regenerative urban development as a prerequisite for the future of cities, A new urban agenda is needed to recognise the value of natural capital and to understand the cost of its loss if business and governments fail to take action now. Sustainable development has become the global orthodoxy in today's society. It seems straightforward that living today as if there is no tomorrow is irresponsible. But in fact, this is what we are doing. We are eating into the natural capital of the planet and eroding its resilience when we should be living off the income it regenerates. When we consider how degraded our ecosystems already are, there is far less to sustain today than there was 20 years ago. Cities and urban areas are major contributors to this trend.A new urban agenda is necessary in ensuring that cities not only become resource-efficient and low carbon-emitting, but go beyond that to positively enhance the ecosystems which provide them with goods and services. The solution lies in thinking beyond the vague and rather unambitious notion of sustainability and, instead, actively working towards regenerating soils, forests and watercourses. The aim is to improve rather than merely sustain their currently degraded condition. Urban economies that recognise the value of nature's services and the costs of their loss set the stage for a regenerative city. This requires investments in companies, organisations and funds that generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside financial return. A new compass is needed to guide bold policy directions, change incentive structures, reduce or phase out harmful subsidies and engage business leaders in a vision for an innovative, new economy.This new agenda transforms urban areas into regenerative cities that dramatically reduce their dependency on fossil fuels, boost the deployment of renewable energies, reintroduce water to the hydrology cycle and make sewage reprocessing and nutrient capture a central plank of urban waste management. Globally there are numerous examples for good policies and practices for regenerative urban development.           https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/regenerative-urban-development-future-cities