Roots in the Future: Croydon’s Calm Revolution

In the 1950s and 60s, Singapore was poor, crowded and unstable. Most families lived in slums or wooden shacks. Streets flooded, rubbish piled up, and disease spread easily.

• Housing: The Bukit Ho Swee fire in 1961 left thousands homeless and showed how unsafe housing had become.

• Sanitation: Only half the population had proper toilets. Many used “night soil” buckets that were emptied by hand, or just did it in the streets.

• Health: Illnesses like cholera and smallpox were common. Infant deaths were among the highest in Asia.

• Jobs: Unemployment reached 12%. Poverty and strikes were routine.

• Tension: Gang violence and racial riots divided the city.

• No resources: Singapore had no oil, no farmland and no natural wealth.

  
  

When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, many thought it would collapse.

Lee Kuan Yew’s Plan

Lee Kuan Yew became Prime Minister in 1959 and changed everything. His plan was practical, strict and focused on results.

1. Jobs and Investment: Singapore welcomed foreign companies and offered low, clear taxes. Factories were built, ports expanded, and trade grew.GDP rose from under $500 in 1965 to over $14,000 by 1991.(World Bank)

2. Housing for All: The Housing and Development Board built safe, affordable flats. By the 1980s, most citizens owned their homes, ending the slum era. (UN-Habitat)

3. Education and Skills: Every child went to school. English became the shared language, while other mother tongues were taught to keep identity alive.

4. Clean, Green and Orderly: Strict rules ended littering and illegal dumping. Parks, trees and gardens made Singapore beautiful and healthy.

5. Honest Government: A tough anti-corruption policy created trust and stability . Officials were paid fairly but punished harshly for misuse of power. (Transparency International)

Singapore’s success was not luck. It was discipline, planning and unity of purpose.

Croydon’s Calm Revolution

Croydon has many of the same challenges Singapore once faced: high housing costs, patchy regeneration, mistrust in leadership and divided communities. But it also has energy, diversity and creativity, the ingredients for renewal.

What Croydon Can Learn

1. Make Housing the Foundation: Secure, affordable homes build stability. Mixed-tenure neighbourhoods, where owners, renters and families share space, create community rather than separation.

2. Invest in People: Education and training must be linked to local jobs. Croydon’s young people should see pathways into digital, health and green industries.

3. Be Clean and Green: Green spaces, trees and safe walkways make a borough proud and healthy. Singapore’s parks weren’t decoration, they were strategy.

4. Lead with Integrity: Residents must see their council act with honesty and purpose. Transparency, data, and real engagement will rebuild trust.

5. Build a Shared Identity: Singapore united many ethnic groups under one national vision. Croydon can do the same, celebrating its African, Caribbean, Asian and English heritage as one British civic story.

Roots in the Future

Croydon doesn’t need a loud revolution. It needs a calm one, rooted in good homes, good schools and good governance. Like Singapore, its strength can come from planning, discipline and shared pride.

“Roots in the Future” means using what already exists, people, culture and place, to grow something stable and lasting.

Key References

BBC News | World Economic Forum | World Bank | gov.sg | UN Habitat