Tampines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other meanings of Tampines, such as the MRT station, see Tampines (disambiguation)
 Tampines highlighted in red |
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| English | Tampines |
| Chinese | 淡滨尼 |
| (Pinyin | Dànbīnní) |
| Malay | Tampines |
| Tamil | தெம்பினிஸ் |
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 new towns and neighbourhoods in Singapore, it is a densely populated district and is home to a rather diverse group of different races. It tends to be even more dense than other housing districts. Tampines New Town is a regional centre that lies to the east of Singapore's city centre.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] Amenities
Tampines New Town is now home to over 200,000 people living in 52,000 HDB flats spread out over 4.24 square kilometres.
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, Tampines' facilities not only serve the Tampines residents but also the entire East Region.
[edit] Commercial services
Retail shopping in central Tampines is facilitated by two main shopping malls: Tampines Mall and Century Square, which underwent a facelift in 2005. 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.[1]
[edit] 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. Tampines is also home to the Tampines North, East, West, Changkat and Central Community Centres.
[edit] 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 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.
[edit] Education
Within Tampines, the following government primary and secondary schools are present:
- Chongzheng Primary School
- East Spring Primary & Secondary Schools
- East View Primary & Secondary Schools
- Dunman Secondary School
- Gongshang Primary School
- Griffiths Primary School
- Junyuan Primary & Secondary Schools
- Ngee Ann Secondary School
- Pasir Ris Secondary School
- Poi Ching School (Primary School)
- Qiaonan Primary School
- Springfiled Secondary School
- St. Hilda's Primary & Secondary Schools
- Tampines Primary & Secondary Schools
- Tampines North Primary School
- Yumin Primary School
Tertiary learning institutes in Tampines include:
- Tampines Junior College
- ITE College Central (Tampines Campus)
- Temasek Polytechnic.
[edit] Reference
- National Heritage Board (2002), Singapore's 100 Historic Places, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3
