Singapore, which once faced a severe housing shortage, now has one of world’s most effective housing programs. When Singapore declared independence from the UK in 1959, the new government set up a new housing board with a five-year mandate to resettle the poor into public housing. Even though a disastrous fire broke out shortly thereafter, the board not only contained its impact but also achieved its mandate by constructing 51,000 apartments and having 400,000 people housed by 1965, according to Bloomberg. Now, 82% of the city-state’s population live in HDB-built blocks, and they are far from your typical shabby and crime-infested public housing ‘zones’ (watch, runtime: 3:59).