An Exploratory Study on the Perceptions of Neighborhood Safety among Low-income Singaporean Families in Public Rental Housing and Purchased Public Housing

Singapore is known as one of the safest countries in the world, where there are low physical crime rates. However, past studies suggest that low-income families – especially those living in public rental housing (i.e., social housing) tend to experience more community violence, which is associated with poorer developmental outcomes. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, this study investigated the factors affecting the perceptions of neighborhood safety of 25 parents and their adolescent children (aged 12 to 17 years) from low-income families. The study also aimed to explore if there were differences in perceptions of neighborhood safety between participants residing in purchased public housing and participants residing in public rental housing. Findings revealed that participants residing in public rental housing perceived their neighborhood as more dangerous than participants residing in purchased housing, which contributed to their isolation from the community. In contrast, participants from purchased housing mentioned that social cohesion and a sense of trust with their neighbors contributed to their sense of safety. Our findings suggest that close bonds and greater social cohesion among neighbors could be a possible factor to target in improving the safety perceptions of families residing in public rental housing.