Public housing and the forging of future citizens: Experiencing convenience, delay and deferral through the lived realities of Singapore's Smart Nation

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

9-2026

Abstract

This paper considers how Singapore’s pursuit of the Smart Nation within its large-scale public housing programme influences Singaporeans’ imagination, contestation, and actualization of their futures. The Housing & Development Board (HDB) has integrated technology into the everyday environment of residents to fulfil the goals of Singapore’s Smart Nation agenda. Yet residents predominantly view these initiatives as novelties or a way of increasing convenience in their lives, rather than transformative efforts to spur new visions of urban futurity. Drawing on qualitative interviews with residents of HDB Smart Towns, this paper argues that through the discursive framing of the Smart Nation, visions of technomodernity and personal futures become intertwined in ways that offer new insights into the timescapes of smart cities and their impacts on residents.

Keywords

Timescapes, futurity, Singapore, public, housing, smart cities, smart homes

Discipline

Public Policy | Sociology | Urban Studies and Planning

Research Areas

Integrative Research Areas

Publication

Housing, Theory and Society

First Page

1

Last Page

17

ISSN

1403-6096

Identifier

10.1080/14036096.2026.2724882

Publisher

Taylor and Francis Group

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2026.2724882

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