A Study On The Policy Of National Integration Of Singapore 's Housing Under The Perspective Of Multi - Ethnic Coexistence Of Cities

The city is the crystallization of human civilization. Its powerful function of resources controlling has been accelerating the development of human society. With the acceleration of urbanization and the increase of social mobility, the coexistence of multi-ethnic groups has become a common phenomenon. It is testing human intelligence if these ethnic groups, which have many structural differences, can coexist harmoniously in the city. As an objective condition that influences the contact and communication of various ethnic groups, the ethnic residential patterns has become an important indicator measuring ethnic relations. The experience from some countries shows that residential differentiation of ethnic groups leads to relative isolation and alienation, which not only influences inter-ethnic contact and communication, but also hinders the modernization, and risks the urban and national security. As a multi-ethnic country, in the process of urbanization, China is also faced with various problems, which result from residential differentiation of ethnic groups. The government and academia are more and more concerned about these problems. Last year, at the Central National Working Conference, The General Secretary said:"We should focus on the community and promote the establishment of mutually embedded social structures and community environment." As a new version of ethnic theoretical study and new directions of ethnic community development, "Ethnic Inter-embedded Community" has become a hot topic.From the international case, Singapore developed public housing and ethnic integration policy, aiming at promoting neighborhoods with mixed ethnic groups and creating conditions for ethnic contact and communication. The policy has achieved remarkable success, creating harmonious relations between ethnic groups and the stability of the city. The practice and achievement of ethnic inter-embedding in Singapore have attracted worldwide attention. This paper attempts to sort out the changing process of ethnic residential patterns and the public housing policy, exploring the mechanism that influences the ethnic residential patterns and ethnic relations.The first part of the paper describes the role of the city as a coexistence place, analyzing the motivation of ethnic residential patterns and its influence to ethnic relations. Meanwhile, we give a brief introduction to the special city-state, Singapore. The second part introduce the theme—The Housing and Ethnic Integration Policy, analyzing the ethnic profile of Singapore, the evolution of urban ethnic residential patterns, the formation and development of the Public Housing Policy, and the practice of ethnic integration. The third part is the evaluation for the policy, including the success and challenges. The last part of the paper is the reflections on China’s ethnic residential patterns in the process of urbanization, concluding:scattered living is the inevitable trend of urban ethnic residential patterns and the inevitable claim of health development of urbanization and modernization.Singapore’s practice tells us:the impact of ethnic living patterns on urban ethnic relations can’t be ignored; it is necessary to take advantage of appropriate national policies and governmental actions if the culture and market can’t resolve the problem; the establishment of the ethnic inter-embedded community is the requirement of national development and political stability.