Tampines

Tampines (tæmpəˈniːs) (orTampines New Town) is the largest and greatest ever residential area in the city-state of Singapore. It is the second largest commercial hub outside the Central Region of Singapore after the Jurong Lake District and will be a future logistics hub of Singapore. It is in the East Region of the main island. The town is so named because in the 1900s (decade) a large forest of ironwood trees, or tempinis, were there.

Like other districts in Singapore, it is densely populated with the population density higher than other housing districts. Tampines New Town is a regional centre that lies to the east of Singapore's city centre, much like the centrally located Orchard Road.

History
In the past, Tampines was covered by forests, swamp and sand quarries. Ironwood trees, or tempinis, grew abundantly here and thus gave the area its name. It was part of military training area until about 1987.

The name Tampines goes back to the Franklin and Jackson map of 1828. It is named after Sungei Tampenus, which in turn got its name from the tampines trees (Streblus elongatus) which were said to be growing there. The oldest street in the area, Tampines Road, dates to 1864, when it was a cart tract. At the turn of the 20th century, Tampines was a rubber plantation. Among the plantations were Teo Tek Ho and Hun Yeang estates.

The new town started in 1978. Construction began for Neighbourhoods 1 and 2 and was completed between 1983 and 1987 although they were given priority. Neighbourhoods 8 and 9 started in 1985–1989, followed by Neighbourhood 5 which was completed in 1989 with the Tampines Town Centre. Neighbourhood 4 was completed with the new Tampines North Division. Neighbourhoods 3 and 7 was only fully completed in 1997.

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 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.

Geography
Tampines is bounded by the Tampines Expressway, Tampines Avenue 10, canal north of Bedok Reservoir, Upper Changi Road, Simei Avenue, north of private estate off Upper Changi Road, Simei Road, west of private estate off Upper Changi Road North, the Pan Island Expressway, and back along Tampines Expressway. For administrative purposes, it includes the boundaries of Simei New Town located south of Tampines New Town proper.

Amenities
Tampines New Town is home to over 237,800 residents living in 152,000 HDB flats spread out over 24.24 square kilometres:
 * Tampines North New Town (Future)
 * Tampines North (401-490B, 491A-495F, 496A-496G, 497A-497L, 498A-498M, 499A-499C)
 * Tampines East (201-271, 352-374A, 381-396, 501-510, 512-513)
 * Tampines West (140-151, 156-166, 801-829, 887/A-899/A, 902-903, 906-916, 921-922, 924-946)
 * Tampines Changkat (101-114, 124-127, 136-139, 272-298, 299A/B, 301-343, 345-351A)
 * Tampines Central (515/A-D-523/A-D, 701-742A, 830-886A)
 * Tampines Retail Park
 * Tampines Industrial Park
 * Tampines LogisPark

Tampines Regional Centre
The urban planning policy of Singapore is to create partially self-sufficient towns, in terms of commercial needs, to relieve strain on traffic drawn to the city centre. Thus, an array of facilities are provided primarily for residents in the new towns. Tampines is one of Singapore's four regional centres (along with Woodlands, Jurong East and future Seletar ), under the plan of the Urban Redevelopment Authority. As a result, the Tampines Regional Centre serves the Tampines residents and the entire East Region.

Commercial services
Retail shopping in the Tampines Regional Centre is done at three main shopping malls: Tampines Mall, Century Square and Tampines 1. Commercial tenants of the shopping centres include restaurants, supermarkets, department stores, cinemas, bookstores, jewelry and gift shops.

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

On April 6, 2009, UNIQLO opened its first outlet in Singapore at Tampines 1.

Community services
The Tampines Regional Library is near the Tampines Town Centre and organises events for children and adults to promote reading and learning.

Parks
The three main parks in the Tampines are Sunplaza Park, at Tampines Avenue 7 and 9; Tampines Bike Park(which is going to be closing down soon, as to make way for the future developments of the future Tampines North New Town ), at the junction of Tampines 9 and 7; and NParks latest nature park as of April 24, 2011, Tampines Eco Green, at the junction of Tampines 12 and 9. All of the parks are close to each other to provide easy access to each.

The other parks in Tampines are mainly community areas &mdash; Tampines North Park, Tampines Leisure Park, Tampines Central Park, Tampines Park, Festival Park, Tampines Green, Tampines Tree Garden and some neighbourhood parks.

Another park is Tampines Quarry Park, which originally was a sand quarry. As time passed, rain water filled the quarry. It is the only park in Tampines that is not equipped with any facilities, but this park is still popular among residents living nearby. There are no signs to the park and there is no entrance as it is hidden among the greenery. There are hidden pathways to enter.

Transportation
A 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 served by the Mass Rapid Transit at Tampines MRT Station, Tampines West MRT Station, Tampines East MRT Station and a Tampines Bus Interchange.

SBS Townlink bus services bring residents from the Town Centre (where the Tampines MRT station and Tampines bus interchange is) to their doorsteps.

Education
The 12 primary schools, nine secondary schools and three tertiary institutions (one junior college, one polytechnic and one institute of technical education) provide education for Tampines residents and those living in the region. There are plans to add new schools in Tampines due to a high demand in the East Region of the city-state of Singapore.

Primary schools

 * 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
 * Tampines North Primary School
 * Tampines Primary School
 * Yumin Primary School

Secondary schools

 * Dunman Secondary School
 * East Spring Secondary School
 * East View Secondary School
 * Junyuan Secondary School
 * Ngee Ann Secondary School
 * Pasir Ris Secondary School
 * Springfield Secondary School
 * Saint Hilda's Secondary School
 * Tampines Secondary School

Tertiary institutions

 * Tampines Junior College
 * ITE College Central (Tampines Campus)
 * Temasek Polytechnic
 * United World College of South East Asia (Tampines Campus)

Sports
Tampines Stadium, which is the home to Tampines Rovers FC, is in the area.

Tampines Town Hub
The Tampines Town Hub will be a new development in Tampines. It will be completed by 2016. Construction started in June 2013. It will located at Tampines Stadium part of Avenue 4 and 5, together with the swimming pool. It is not known whether any facilities belonging to existing sites (such as bus interchange, sports hall, swimming pool, stadium) might move out, but the area might be changed due to DTL Station construction at Tampines Central 1.

It is built for the residents of Tampines and the Town Hub will provide a community space where residents can gather, interact and bond with others from the community. Located in the heart of Tampines town, the first integrated lifestyle destination in the Singapore heartlands will bring retail, sports, and other community and civil services together under one roof. Catering to every interest, it will be key in providing residents with the best facilities and vibrant environment for active community living. Facilities available include a community centre, sports and recreation centres, swimming pools, bowling alleys, information centres and several offices, Linden Research, North East CDC, OpenNet, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco and Council of Estate Agencies.

Downtown Line, Singapore
Three new MRT stations will be expected to be completed in the year 2017 to serve residents of Tampines and commuters who frequent the Tampines Regional Centre.

The future Huang Wen MRT Station will be under Tampines Ave 4. It is in the neighbourhood of HDB Tampines Polyview and Tampines Palmspring, within easy reach of Junyuan Primary School and East View Primary School. The station is within walking distance to the Temasek Polytechnic.

The Tampines Station will be an interchange station with the East West MRT Line Tampines station. It is also next to the Tampines Bus Interchange creating a new transport hub in Tampines. It will provide commuters an alternative choice to meet their travel needs. It will serve commuters going to the office and commercial buildings at the town centre, such as CPF Tampines Building, Tampines One, Tampines Mall and Century Square.

The future Emily Sng MRT Station which is under the junction of Tampines Ave 2, 9 and 7, is convenient for the residents of HDB estates in the Tampines East vicinity and for the students of Tampines Junior College and Ngee Ann Secondary School.