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Tampines ( ) (or Tampines New Town

) is the largest residential area in the city-state of Singapore

and is located in the East Region of the main island. The town is so named because in the 1900s a large forest of Tampines trees were located at the present site.

Like other districts in Singapore, it is a densely populated district and home to a rather diverse group of different races. The population density is comparatively higher when compared to other housing districts. Tampines New Town is a regional centre that lies to the east of Singapore's city centre, much alike to the centrally located Orchard Road

History

Like much of Singapore, Tampines was once covered by forest, plantations and villages. Ironwood trees, or tempinis, grew abundantly here and gave the area its name. Tampines was a sand quarrying area, an activity which left significant tracts of land pitted and barren. The transformation of Tampines into a regional town began in the late 1970s, although it was not until the 1990s that the new town was fully established.

New construction methods expedited the development of the town's infrastructure. Using prefabricated parts, a block of high-rise flats could be built in a month. More attractive designs, colours and finishings were also incorporated into Tampines, compared to earlier public housing which consisted of uniform slabs of concrete laid out row after row with more thought given to function than form. The Housing and Development Board (HDB) managed the construction of the town until 1991, when it handed the reins over to the Tampines Town Council. The Town Council is run by grassroot leaders and the residents themselves.

The Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) of the United Nations awarded the World Habitat Award to Tampines, which was selected as a representative of Singapore's new towns, on 5 October 1992. The award was given in recognition of an outstanding contribution towards human settlement and development.

Amenities

Apartment blocks in Tampines New Town.

The NTUC Income building, one of several office buildings in Tampines Central.

Tampines New Town is now home to over 200,000 people living in 52,000 HDB flats spread out over 4.24 square kilometres. It is divided into 5 districts:

Tampines North
Tampines East
Tampines West
Tampines Changkat
Tampines Central

All the districts have a Community Centre located within them.

Tampines Regional Centre

The urban planning policy of Singapore is to create partially self-sufficient towns, in terms of commercial needs, in order to relieve strain on traffic drawn into the city centre. Thus, an extensive array of facilities are provided primarily for residents in the new towns. Tampines is one of Singapore's three regional centres (along with Woodlands and Jurong East

), under the plan of the Urban Redevelopment Authority. As a result, the Tampine Regional Centre not only serve the Tampines residents but also the entire East Region.

Commercial services

Retail shopping in the Tampines Regional Centre is facilitated by three main shopping malls: Tampines Mall

, Century Square

and Tampines 1. Commercial tenants of the shopping centres include restaurants, supermarkets, department stores, cinemas, bookstores and jewelry shops.

On November 30, 2006, IKEA opened its second outlet in Singapore among much fanfare at Tampines, together with adjacent Courts and Giant.

Community services

The Tampines Regional Library

is located near the Tampines town centre, and regularly organises events for children and adults to promote reading and learning.

Transportation

An efficient network of expressways, the Pan-Island Expressway and Tampines Expressway, and arterial roads allows easy movement within the town and link it to other parts of the island. Public transportation is well served by the Mass Rapid Transit at Tampines MRT Station

and a Tampines Bus Interchange

.

Intra-town feeder/townlink bus services bring residents from the Town Centre (where the MRT station and bus interchange is located) to their doorsteps.

Education

The 14 primary schools, 10 secondary schools and 3 different tertiary institutions (1 Junior College, 1 Polytechnic and 1 Institute of Technical Education) provide diversified education options for Tampines residents, as well as those living in the region.