In common areas, fitness and community amenities are also set to be installed so that residents can socialise and stay active.
“We are piloting a social and wellness hub, which houses an active ageing centre. And we are piloting the very first ActiveSG gym within housing development, in collaboration with SportSG,” said Dr Chong Fook Loong, HDB’s group director of research and planning.
“Along the way, we want to test every intervention – on what works, what doesn’t work, and what we need to improve further, as part and parcel of this journey to create a healthy town.”
SELECTING INTERVENTIONS
Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) source for, test, develop and evaluate such interventions for households in Queenstown.
Professor Dean Ho, head of the biomedical engineering department at the NUS College of Design and Engineering, said that over 200 technologies were rigorously tested and evaluated before being narrowed down to the essentials.
“We want to make sure we help understand what the residents are going through and deploy the best interventions that can help them,” he said.
“We have to ensure that it’s the right technology, it’s cutting edge, it’s accessible and it’s validated. And ultimately, it can be truly adopted at scale.”
One such tool, for example, helps a user to unscrew a bottle using one hand. It is designed to help those who have lost muscle strength, such as stroke survivors.
Physiotherapy through gaming is another ongoing project, including a button-pressing console that tests a user’s reaction. It aims to provide light exercise for those with stiff shoulders.
