In 1960, Singapore's firstPrimeMinisterLeeKuanYewandhisgovernmentsetuptheHousingandDevelopmentBoard, orHDB, a publichousingagencywith a missiontobuildrentalunitsforthepoor.
Citizenswithincertainincomeceilingscanbuyvarioustypesofproperty, frombasictwo-roomapartmentstoup-marketunitsincondominiumswith a swimmingpooland a gym.
Thepercentageofpeoplelivinginpublichousinghasgrownfrom 9% in 1960 to 82% in 2016, andthehomeownershipratehasalsoincreasedrapidlywiththeriseofSingapore's economy.
Forinstance, quotasensure a mixofChinese, IndiansandMalaysineachHDBblock, aimingtocarefullyintegrateethnicgroupsandpreventtheformationof a volatileracialenclave.