Sense of Community and Belonging at Singapore Pioneer HDB Town 在新加坡组屋底层忆共同点滴 - Toa Payoh Housing Estate 大巴窑乐龄下棋聚集场所

The younger generation in the present time are unable to forge a sense of community in the place they live in, therefore having no autobiographical attachment to the place, as it is simply a place in their lives that they lived in and not something that is memorable to them, not remembering their neighbours or not to say about the facilities and landmarks in their estate.

There is a sense of community and belonging among the more elderly people or the people who have lived in Toa Payoh for a long period of time, whereas the young people and people who stayed there for a shorter period of time do not really feel the same sense of community or belonging. Undoubtedly, there is a greater sense of identity among the older people than the younger people in Singapore Toa Payoh Estate.

组屋底层是我国各族群的公共地方, 在不同年代曾经有过不同的使命, 也凝聚了许多人的共同记忆. 对早期从乡村搬迁到组屋区的居民来说, 组屋底层就像是甘榜的聚会地点, 让他们和邻居在那里联络感情, 慢慢适应住在高楼的生活.

大巴窑邻里有一个很多乐龄人士出现的地方, 方便让乐龄人士有个聚集的场所, 结识新朋友, 下棋, 闲话家常. 每逢周末, 我一定会看到一群乐龄人士聚集在大巴窑图书馆附近的一座组屋区大牌 190 底层下棋, 联络感情也消磨时间, 下一次棋至少有三四个小时. 这样的乐龄角落给乐龄人士一种 "家" 的感觉, 是温馨, 快乐的, 而不是一般 "组屋楼下", 闷上加闷的感觉. 邻里建设更多设备齐全的乐龄角落相信能够为乐龄人士的黄金年华增添不少色彩, 乐趣与活力. 你常到大巴窑去吗? 你是否也曾在图书馆附近的组屋区楼下看过他们下棋?

高楼大厦带来了隔阂和距离, 乐龄屋的出现却为老年人的休闲养老提供了一个最好的去处.

I went through Toa Payoh Mall towards the Toa Payoh Library. There, i found old uncles playing chess together with a large group of spectators. Some of them were also sitting together, catching up on each others' lives and chatting. 

I interviewed some of the old uncles chatting because i felt it may have been ruder to interrupt during chess game. When i spoke to them, i realised they were very old neighbours, having lived there for about 50 years. Despite their age, they still find time to meet up together to get to know how they are doing in their own lives. 

下象棋, 是老年人非常喜爱的一种娱乐活动. 它可以松弛身心, 锻练思维.

The uncles had showed that they belonged in the community when they were playing chess and did not chase away the spectators as well as chatted with each other for long periods of time.

Toa Payoh certainly lives up to being an iconic representation of Singapore’s heartland. With an eventful site history and many preserved old structures, coupled with a strong sense of community spirit and neighbourliness amongst residents living in Toa Payoh, it undoubtedly has a strong sense of identity - it is, even until now, still holding on to the main identity of housing estate-based area with high levels of activity of senior citizens. 

Such housing neighbouring estates' activities allow people to become more cohesive in creating both a sense of community and belonging. It matters more about the Singaporeans whether they are willing to get to know the people living around them better or to simply let neighbours be simply a person living near them and the place being somewhere that i have stayed before, an insignificant thing in their lives, whether they can be bothered to create a sense of identity in Singapore and not simply through technology nowadays.

现在组屋底层还可以看到鸟笼吊放处, 乐龄人士角落, 杂货店, 迷你市场, 咖啡店, 居委会办公室, 邻里警岗和邻里消防站等. 许多马来婚礼和华族丧礼也在组屋底层举行. 现在的人都待在家里, 很少在组屋底层逗留. 其实组屋底层有那么大的地方, 可以帮助一些居民, 甚至一些新移民更快融入邻里, 就在新加坡做了这样一次耐人寻味的交集.