Public housing is often considered low in quality and high in crime. But it's a totally different story in Singapore.
一般認為公共住宅的品質低劣、犯罪率高。但在新加坡卻完全不是這麼回事。
Government-built apartments in Singapore are clean, safe, and well-maintained. And about 80 percent of Singaporean households live in them. Singapore is also one of the few countries in the world to achieve almost full homeownership status. Over 90 percent of the city's households own their own homes.
新加坡政府建造的公共住宅（組屋）非常乾淨、安全，且維護良好。約有八成家庭居住其中。新加坡也是世界上極少數住宅自有率接近 100% 的國家。城市有超過九成家庭擁有自家住宅。
But it wasn't always this way. Here's how Singapore fixed its housing problem.
但在過去並非如此。新加坡是這麼解決住宅問題的。
In 1959, when Singapore obtained self-governance from the British, the city was having a severe housing crisis, struggling to accommodate its growing population.
1959 年，新加坡脫離英國自治，當時城市住宅問題嚴重，政府想方設法要容納更多人口。
In 1960, Singapore's first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, and his government set up the Housing and Development Board, or HDB, a public housing agency with a mission to build rental units for the poor.
1960 年，新加坡首位總理李光耀和他的政府設立建屋發展局，簡稱 HDB，這個公共住宅機構的任務是為窮人興建出租房屋。
At the time, many immigrants including those from Malaysia were living in unhygienic slums. Amid increasing racial tension between Chinese and Malays, the HDB had a hard time convincing them to leave their informal settlements for new high-rises.
當時許多移民，包含馬來西亞移民在內，都居住在衛生條件相當差的貧民區。華人與馬來西亞人之間的種族關係漸趨緊張，導致當局要說服移民放棄原本的非正規住區、搬入國家新建的高樓時困難重重。
Then came the still unexplained fire which broke out in the squatter settlement of Bukit Ho Swee on the 25th of May, 1961. An area of 400,000 square meters was razed. Four people were killed and around 16,000 left homeless.
之後河水山違章建築區又突然發生一場至今找原因不明的大火，發生在 1961 年 5 月 25 日。延燒面積達四十萬平方公尺。造成四人喪生、一萬六千人無家可歸。
The government successfully rehoused all of the fire victims within a year and built new housing on the site of the disaster in the next five years. Its speedy reaction won over the people and paved the way for future public housing projects.
政府成功在一年內將這些受災戶重新安置，並在接下來的五年原址重建新住宅。政府的迅速反應贏得人民信任，也替未來的公共住宅計畫鋪平道路。
Singapore must be one of the few places in the world where a statutory board satisfactorily completed everything it set out to do in its first five-year plan.
新加坡絕對是世上少數幾個國家能如期完成第一次五年計畫的所有計畫事項，且結果令人滿意。
By 1965, the HDB managed to build over 51,000 apartments, rehousing 400,000 people, a quarter of the then population, solving the housing shortage.
1965 年，建屋發展局已經興建超過五萬一千戶公共住宅，重新安置四十萬居民，約當時四分之一人口，成功解決住宅短缺問題。
Apart from renting out apartments, HDB also started to sell them in 1964. Singaporeans are required to save part of their salaries in a state-managed plan called Central Provident Fund.
除了作為租賃使用，建屋發展局也在 1964 年開始出售這些公共住宅。新加坡人被強制要求將部分薪水存入公積金，這個儲蓄計畫叫「新加坡公積金制度」。
At first, the fund only provided for retirement. Then, in 1968, the government allowed the use of the fund for housing expenses, helping more people become homeowners.
積金原先只用作退休基金。後來，在 1968 年，政府允許將積金用在住宅花費上，以幫助更多人取得自有住宅。
Unlike many other countries, Singapore's public housing is not only for the poor. Instead, it caters to the masses. Citizens within certain income ceilings can buy various types of property, from basic two-room apartments to upmarket units in condominiums with a swimming pool and a gym.
與許多其他國家不同的是，新加坡的公共住宅不只提供給窮人。而是針對社會大眾。新加坡公民在一定收入範圍內，可以購買不同類型的住宅，從基本的兩房組屋，到附設游泳池和健身房的公寓高級住屋。
Their prices are usually 20 to 30 percent cheaper than those in the private market. But you've got to apply and order the apartment first, then wait several years for it to be built. Also, you can't sell it until you finish the five-year minimum occupation period.
公共住宅的價格大多比私人市場要便宜 20% 到 30%。但你必須事先申購預售屋，然後等待幾年時間興建。此外，在屆滿五年最低居住年限之前房屋不得轉賣。
Today HDB has planned, designed, and built over one million apartments spreading over the city-state. The percentage of people living in public housing has grown from nine percent in 1960 to 82 percent in 2016, and the homeownership rate has also increased rapidly with the rise of Singapore's economy.
時至今日，建屋發展局已在新加坡規劃、設計，並興建超過一百萬戶公共住宅。居住在其中的人口已從 1960 年的 9% 成長到 2016 年的 82 %，而隨著新加坡經濟成長，住宅自有率也迅速攀升。
Singapore's public housing is considered as one of the world's best, but some see it as a way of social control. For instance, quotas ensure a mix of Chinese, Indians, and Malays in each HDB block, aiming to carefully integrate ethnic groups and prevent the formation of a volatile racial enclave.
新加坡的公共住宅被認為是世界之最，但有些人認為這是一種社會控制手段。例如，配額確保每區公共住宅均有華人、印度人、馬來西亞人混居，藉此小心翼翼地促進族群融合、避免形成動盪不安的族群聚居區。
But still, a mighty agency with effective policies and strong political will has fixed Singapore's housing crisis and improved the living conditions of millions.
不過，這個強大機構結合了有效政策及堅定的政治決心已經成功解決新加坡的住宅危機，並改善數百萬人的生活條件。
