The upcoming first “Forest Town” in a garden city, Tengah, further raises the bar for public housing, with its fresh planning concepts, bold ideas and innovative designs.
Tengah will be integrated with greenery and biodiversity. One major attraction will be the 100-metre wide and 5km long forest corridor, a collaboration with National Parks Board which will form part of the larger network of greenery that connects the Western Water Catchment Area and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. This forest corridor will be planted with rainforest tree species to transform it into a rich forest habitat. Amenities such as hiking trails would be incorporated in the corridor for the community to get close to nature and enjoy the rainforest.
Tengah, the size of Bishan, features 5 projects - Park, Plantation, Garden, Breckland and Forest Hill. Each project would have her own identity, along with the development of 42,000 new homes comprises of 30,000 public housing and 12,000 private. With such a diverse mix of different communities and social classes, Tengah will promote social cohesion in a multifaceted nation.
In tandem with Singapore’s efforts in becoming a car-lite society, the new Tengah HDB town will feature a car-free town centre, a first for the country. Residents and visitors will be able to use walking and cycling paths on both sides of roads. To improve the walking and cycling experience, features such as elevated and underground crossings, shaded paths and rest-stops, will also be planned as part of the park network.
Residential developments will also be within walking distance of an MRT station with the rollout of the upcoming Jurong Region Line, set to be completed in about a decade, in 2025. Most bus stops would be located within 300m of residential blocks. This makes Tengah easily accessible to everyone. New-generation neighbourhood centres will be well connected to the transport network and other communal spaces, such as hawker and community centres.
Tengah will also boast eco-friendly features introduced in previous projects, from water-saving eco-pedestals in toilets, to a smart pneumatic waste collection system that transports household rubbish underground.