Tampines

SG neighbourhood
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englishname=Tampines
chinesename=淡滨尼
poj=
pengim=
pinyin=Dànbīnní
malayname=Tampines
tamilname=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.

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

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 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. A new shopping mall next to the MRT station named Tampines One is currently under construction

On November 30 2006, IKEA opened its second outlet in Singapore among much fanfare at Tampines, together with adjacent Courts and Giant. [cite news|url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/242723/1/.html|title=Festival light up in Tampines to help shops cope with competition|accessdate=2006-12-07|publisher=Channel NewsAsia]

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 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.

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.

Primary schools

* Changkat Primary School
* Chongzheng Primary School
* East Spring Primary School
* East View Primary School
* Gongshang Primary School
* Griffiths Primary School
* Junyuan Primary School
* Poi Ching School
* Qiaonan Primary School
* Saint Hilda's Primary School:Founded: 1934; type: government aided; school code: 5025; principal: Madam Kew Ming Yee (preceded by Mrs Foo Sook Fong)
* Tampines North Primary School
* [http://www.tampinespri.net Tampines Primary School] :Established in 1985, it operated as the Yumin Primary School at Tampines Street 21. It moved to its present location in January 1986, and was officially declared open on 30 March, 1988. When it started, the school had an initial teaching staff of 42 and a pupil enrolment of 1152 in 29 classes. Presently, it has a population of 1451 pupils in 41 classes with 59 teaching staff and 10 executive and administrative staff. The site is currently undergoing PRIME, which is expected to be completed in December 2009. Because of this, the school has temporary relocated to 860 New Upper Changi Road (former Bedok South Secondary School). [ [http://www.moe.gov.sg/press/2007/pr20070214.htm Eight More Schools to Benefit from Upgrading] ]
* Yumin Primary School

econdary schools

* Changkat Changi Secondary School
* Dunman Secondary School
* East Spring Secondary School
* East View Secondary School
* Junyuan Secondary School
* Ngee Ann Secondary School ("parts of it are still undergoing PRIME")
* Pasir Ris Secondary School
* Springfield Secondary School
* St. Hilda's Secondary School
* Tampines Secondary School ("undergo PRIME")

Tertiary institutions

* Tampines Junior College
* ITE College Central (Tampines Campus)
* Temasek Polytechnic

ports

Tampines Stadium,which is the home to Tampines Rovers FC.

References

*National Heritage Board (2002), "Singapore's 100 Historic Places", Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-4068-23-3

External links

* [http://www.tampinesmall.com.sg/ Tampines Mall Home Page]
* [http://www.tampines.com.sg/ Tampines Town Portal]