http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...built-20121126
'Neighbours' get together even before flats are built
Young couples set up online groups to share info and kindle kampung spirit
Published on Nov 26, 2012
By Melody Zaccheus
EVEN before the foundations of their new Housing Board flats have been laid, young Singaporean couples are flocking to Facebook to forge ties with others in the same neighbourhood.
Setting up informal online groups and communities, they share information about the units they have bought, upload snapshots of facilities in their future neighbourhoods, and exchange tips and advice on, for example, how to apply for home loans.
Most of the 40 Build-To-Order (BTO) projects released by HDB this year have had Facebook communities set up by the flats' new owners. One such Facebook page is called Punggol Waterway SunDew. The group's administrator, Mr Jonah Chew, 26, said most of the 400 members are around his age and not entirely clear about HDB procedures.
"We broadcast information to clarify procedures, such as what the loan assessment process is like," said the marketing and operations executive. "It helps too that there are more experienced ones buying their second flats."
Project manager Wilfred Tan, 37, has set up two online communities. One is linked to six BTO projects in Punggol, including his own, Waterway Ridges, which will be ready in 2015. It has 511 Facebook "likes".
The other group is for future residents of Waterway Ridges and Waterway Banks and has almost 600 members. He said he hopes to rekindle the kampung spirit, encourage the development of a close-knit community, and eventually have a "fun and happening place to live in".
National University of Singapore communications and new media lecturer Gui Kai Chong said the trend to build community relations online is a positive one.
The presence of these people on an online network, who are known by their real names and photos, is "significant because it increases the sense of familiarity among people who would otherwise be total strangers", he said.
He added that the prevalence and scale of these groups increases the likelihood of these online relationships being translated to offline ones.
Those who have joined the groups said it makes sense for them to start getting to know the couples whose children will one day play alongside theirs, and to foster neighbourly ties early.
Mr Chew said he expected the online community to evolve and include topics such as renovation works closer to the flats' completion date, and later, discussions on childcare centres and the primary school application process, as members grow older.
Mr Abel Chai, 27, a business development assistant manager who has bought a flat at Compassvale Boardwalk in Sengkang, said he joined his BTO's online community to break the ice and experience the good old kampung days his father always speaks of.
"We have become a little too indifferent as a society, so I thought it would be nice to get to know each other beforehand, as we are going to be neighbours for the next 10 or 20 years," he said.
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