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In the battle of the best locations, the Easties now have one more reason to stake their claim, with Tampines named as the most well-connected regional centre. The insights published in the book titled “The City Rebooted: Networks, Connectivity And Place Identities In Singapore” state that Tampines demonstrates the highest degree of polycentricity among the regional centres. Besides its connectivity to other parts of the town, Tampines, which is home to over 265,000 residents, also holds the accolade of winning the United Nations 1993 “World Habitat Award for Excellence in Housing Design” in recognition for its “high-quality, high-density, and affordable housing”. Despite its long establishment, Tampines New Town offers an enviable mix of both resale properties with well-built amenities and new housing developments in Tampines North and South that could appeal to different groups of homebuyers. [ ]: Check out the other neighbourhood estate guides that we have written on:  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,   ,  ,  ,  , , and  . Like many towns in Singapore, Tampines originated as a farming and fishing village. It also had many sand quarries, which provided employment opportunities for its residents and were used as fill material for the East Coast Reclamation project. Its early name is believed to have been inspired by the Tampenus River depicted in Philip Jackson’s 1828 map of Singapore. This, in turn, could likely be in reference to the tall tampines (also spelled tempinis) trees, which is the Malay word for the Riau ironwood trees that grew abundantly in the area. The transformation of Tampines into a modern town began in 1979 with the relocation of the early settlers. Tampines, which is the first HDB town to be developed with a precinct planning concept, consists of 5 subzones: Simei, Tampines East, Tampines North, Tampines West, and Xilin. Its town centre was also designed as an hourglass to create a unique urban design for the town. Tampines, the first regional center in Singapore, offers a wide range of retail services, including heartland shops, shopping malls, Giant Hypermarket, IKEA Tampines, and Courts Megastore. It is one of the few estates that has a business district, offering residents the convenience of working closer to home. One of which is the Tampines Industrial Park A, located at Tampines Street 92. It caters to a myriad of industries, from precision engineering to automotive. The estate is managed by JTC and consists of eight 4-storey industrial workshops. Another major employment node in Tampines is the Tampines Wafer Fab Park, which sits along Tampines Road and Tampines Avenue 10. It includes JTC’s new purpose-built two-storey semiconductor facility that comes complete with a production area, a clean room, and ancillary offices catering to companies in the industry. As mentioned earlier, Tampines was identified as the most polycentric among the three regional centres – the other two being Woodlands and Jurong. This means that residents in Tampines travel the shortest distances from their homes to their destinations. Residents can connect to other parts of the town through a good network of public transportation. For instance, there are two MRT stations that are part of the East-West Line (EWL), 3 stations that are part of the Downtown Line (DTL), and one station that will be part of the upcoming cross-island line (CRL). For example, it takes 30 minutes to travel from Tampines to City Hall using the EWL, while the CRL will provide direct and convenient access to the West at short travel times. Additionally, the Tampines Bus Interchange runs , including feeder bus services and those that travel to other towns in the east and north. Tampines is also served by many major roads and expressways with the two main ones being the Tampines Expressway (TPE) and the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). This gives motorists quick and convenient access to other parts of the town from Tampines. Beyond these modes of transportation, residents can also look forward to more walking and cycling paths in the town as Tampines joins Ang Mo Kio as the next Walking and Cycling Town. This will see the existing cycling network tripled from 6.9km to about 21km, connecting residents from Tampines, Tampines East, and Tampines West MRT stations to their homes, schools, and other key amenities. As a mature housing town, Tampines offers a good mix of resale HDB flats and new BTOs planned for construction along Tampines Link and Tampines Avenue 10. It also has a larger proportion of 4- and 5-room and executive flat types. Additionally, Tampines stands out as one of the few estates that have jumbo HDB flat types. In fact, in 2022, a jumbo unit at Block 856D Tampines Street 82 was the first HDB flat in the estate to hit over a million dollars. Comparing the median resale prices for 3- to 5-room HDB flats across all towns, the flats in Tampines are slightly higher for the 4- and 5-room flat types. Interestingly, although the prices may be higher than the neighbouring estates of Pasir Ris and Sengkang, they are comparatively cheaper by around $30,000 than the flats in Punggol. *Insufficient transactions data. Source: On the private property front, Tampines grabbed the headlines in 2017, when Tampines Court – a former Housing and Urban Development Company (HUDC) estate, transacted for $970 million, becoming the in a decade. The site was subsequently developed into Treasure At Tampines by Sim Lian Group, which boasts as the Singapore’s largest condominium with around 2,203 apartments and transacts at around $1,580 per square foot (psf). Additionally, new residents or home upgraders have plenty of other private residential developments to choose from along Tampines Avenue 10, including the latest executive condominium – Tenet – to be built at Tampines North. One of the advantages of a mature town is the availability of schools within the town. In that aspect, Tampines would meet most parents’ expectations as it offers a wide selection of primary and secondary schools that are spread out across the town. In total, there are at least 4 MOE Kindergartens, 11 primary schools, 9 secondary schools, and 3 tertiary institutions. The list below states the different types of learning institutions available in Tampines. *Temporary location from January 2024 to December 2027 (tentative) as current campus is undergoing upgrading. Source:  Like most HDB estates, Tampines also offers a sizeable retail offering to meet the residents’ daily shopping and grocery needs. However, unlike the typical small neighbourhood malls in other towns, you can hop between 3 decent-sized shopping malls—Tampines 1, Tampines Mall, and Century Square—located side by side, each offering a different shopping experience that is unique to Tampines alone. Another recreational centre in Tampines is the Our Tampines Hub (OTH) – Singapore’s first and largest integrated community and lifestyle hub. It offers more than 30 community, sports, cultural, civic and lifestyle facilities, including a football stadium, indoor swimming pools, and a hawker centre. Alternatively, residents who wish to engage in sporting activities can also visit the SAFRA Tampines or HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir Clubhouse. These clubhouses offer a range of facilities, such as tennis courts, games rooms, and bbq pits. Lastly, for nature lovers, Tampines has a few green parks, with the larger ones at Tampines Central Park, Sun Plaza Park, and Tampines Eco Green, where one can enjoy the greenery and observe a diverse wildlife.