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Pick any weekday to visit Kovan and you'll find it bustling with hungry residents heading to the hawker centre for a meal, nipping into the supermarket or wet market to pick up groceries and students dropping by a bakery for a takeaway treat.   

It's a quintessential Singapore "heartland" neighbourhood, with coffee shops nestled between general stores selling everything a household needs, second-hand mobile phone shops and traditional Chinese medicine clinics alongside general practitioners.

But in the last few years, the retail landscape of the area has slowly evolved with various bubble tea and ice cream shops emerging, cafes selling matcha alongside the trendiest baked goods and mall chain stores finding their way there. 

It's a similar story in many other heartland neighbourhoods. While new shop owners in heartlands across Singapore say they are just trying to offer what consumers want, some long-time residents lament the loss of the kampung vibe and say new offerings are chipping away at the very soul of their quaint neighbourhoods.  

"When you grow up and visit these (older) places every day, the staff know you by name. They call you 'xiao di' (little boy) or 'shuai ge' (handsome man)," said Mr Henry Lee, 33, who has lived in Hougang his entire life. 

The finance executive added: "The newer shops don't do the same … most part-timers wouldn't bother knowing your name."

A rise in international chain shops in Bishan has also changed the vibe of the neighbourhood Mr Eugene Liu, 39, grew up in.

"It irks me a little because I see it as an invasion of our cultural identity and they seem to be popping up everywhere – they are in the malls, even in town, and other neighbouring heartlands," said the media professional. 

"It becomes almost formulaic. (Such chains) lacks soul."

Some old-time shopkeepers also feel the same way. Over at Toa Payoh Central, 77-year-old Mdm Chew said she's watched as other mom-and-pop shops have given way to trendier cafes or mala restaurants.

Mdm Chew, who declined to give her full name, has been manning her clothing and towel store for about 20 years. Like a number of stores in Toa Payoh, her stall is unnamed and consists of a table and some racks set up outside her landlord's shop.

"Everyone's retiring, and the shops are changing. They don't sell things for older people like me, and its just not the same environment like in the older days," she said in Mandarin.

Experts say the rise of new lifestyle offerings and modern chains is a natural response to e-commerce and shifting consumer habits. 

But as shops in the heartlands remain central to a neighbourhood’s identity and community, how can the retail landscape evolve with community needs while retaining its charm?

THE HEARTLANDS CHARM 

The 13 residents CNA TODAY spoke to all said that living in the heartlands fosters a strong sense of belonging and familiarity, with at least half expressing the recent loss of charm in their neighbourhoods. 

Bedok resident Lee Chow Hong, for example, said he navigates Bedok Town Centre effortlessly, having lived in the neighbourhood for nearly two decades. 

He starts his day with a cup of coffee at his regular coffee shop in Bedok Central, followed by a walk around the bustling town centre. 

He eats lunch at one of the other coffee shops in the area and if his grandchild is visiting, the 70-year-old retiree picks up chocolates at the supermarket before walking home.  

"There are always the same people here every day. We know each other well because we're all here," he said in Mandarin. 

"And we worry when we don't see one of the aunties or uncles after a while. Sometimes we'll go visit their homes if we never see them for some time."

Other interviewees had similar stories and cited familiar shopowners they grew up or old with, which added to the charm of their neighbourhood. 

Like the salons where hairdressers know them by name and how they want their hair cut and family doctors who have seen generations of their relatives.   

These sentiments mirror findings from a joint HDB-EnterpriseSG study on heartland shops, which was released in November 2022.

Eight in 10 residents agreed that heartland shops are part of the culture and heritage of Singapore, and three in four felt that heartland shops facilitate the interaction of Singaporeans across different demographics and backgrounds.

But what gives the heartlands such emotional resonance?

Prof Fong Chun Wah, deputy director of NUS Cities at the National University of Singapore's College of Design and Engineering, said that Housing and Development Board towns were designed as self-contained communities with housing, shops, hawker centres, markets, parks, schools and healthcare facilities built side by side. 

Heartlands, which describe areas outside the city centre, have since become integral to Singapore’s identity.

Prof Khoo Peng Beng, the head of pillar, architecture and sustainable design at Singapore University of Technology and Design, added that beyond providing daily necessities, heartlands offer "uniqueness, affordability and friendly village vibes".

"They embody Singapore's heritage and cultural identity. Diversity and community in these spaces create rootedness and social capital, giving residents a sense of belonging," he said. 

"Together, these neighbourhoods form a rich tapestry that makes Singapore vibrant, varied and captivating."

However, this rich tapestry is undergoing change, said Prof Fong, given the broader shifts in income levels, consumer preferences and demographic patterns.

"The result is a retail environment that reflects evolving consumer expectations, with traditional trades operating alongside more contemporary F&B (food and beverage) and lifestyle offerings, together with community facilities," he added.

NEW ENERGY IN OLD SPACES

While some residents and shopkeepers lament the changing face of the heartlands, new store owners say they hope to not only breathe fresh life into these neighbourhoods but also cultivate the same community feel that older shops used to have with residents. 

One of them is Ms Au Hui Her, 30, co-founder of The Weirdoughs, a café opposite Serangoon Stadium that opened in July.

Ms Au and her partner, 35-year-old Liu Yi Wen, who took over Plain Jane cafe where they used to be regulars, were keen to make their space a community gathering spot. 

They designed Weirdoughs with a central communal table where customers can have their fresh bakes and interact with each other if they wish. While their sourdough offerings may differ from what typical heartland bakery shops offer, The Weirdoughs has garnered a base of regulars – both young and old.

"We were afraid of opening in the heartlands at first, given there's a big group of people from the older generation living nearby," said Ms Au. "We worried that they might find our sourdough too hard for their liking or our breads too weird or interesting."

But when the cafe started accepting Community Development Council vouchers, several older residents decided to give their bakes a try. These older residents have now become frequent customers. 

"We also have younger families and customers who live nearby and enjoy our space. We take the effort to know them, (and) talk to them," said Ms Au.

Her relationship with some customers runs deep. She recalled how on one occasion, she and her partner had a heart-to-heart talk with a regular customer who was struggling at her workplace. Her partner drew on her own experience working in fine dining restaurants to dish out advice.  

"In the heartlands, it's really the people that make this area special. You don't see this sort of community elsewhere like in town. The energy they bring when they come regularly is something unique to (the Serangoon) area … and is something we want to keep on growing."

In Potong Pasir, Mr Sam Wong, 41, has built a similar community through his Japanese izakaya restaurant, Kizuna.

He and his wife Tan Shen Hui, 42, took over her family’s long-running bakery, Shangri-La Confectionery and Delicatessen, when her aunt and uncle retired. 

Although they couldn’t make the traditional pastries, they wanted to preserve the space, launching a cafe, initially intended to be a gathering ground for designers. So, they opened Kizuna about six years ago.

When Shangri-La Confectionery and Delicatessen closed its doors, Mr Wong recalled how regular customers from the area came down on the shop's last day to shutter the store  â€“ a task they were all too familiar with after frequenting the bakery for decades.

"There were tears back then," said Mr Wong. "But when we opened the cafe, they would come by and tell us stories of the old days, and how they're glad our family is still in the area running a shop in the neighbourhood."

The couple later turned that cafe into an izakaya as they didn't want to compete with the 12 other cafes in Potong Pasir. 

While old regulars of Shangri-La Confectionery and Delicatessen no longer visit, the shop has a group of new regulars. The shop's Instagram account even features posts celebrating their regular customers' milestones like birthdays.

The couple also continue efforts to support the community in Potong Pasir through their store – they recently helped raise funds for social work organisation Shine Children and Youth Services, among other initiatives.

"The old charm and vibe of Potong Pasir is still around, but shops like ours are bringing in a modern kick that attracts the newer residents who have moved into the HDB BTOs (Build-to-Order flats)," said Mr Wong.

BRINGING BACK THE HEART OF OUR HEARTLANDS

While some new shops say they hope to foster the same community vibe that older shops used to, some older shops say they are trying to evolve to meet the changing needs of younger residents in the area while continuing to be an integral part of their community.

For example, Mr Joseph Chua, the operations manager at mobile phone shop Mobile Connex Communication, used to cater more to the older folks in Toa Payoh and only offered mobile phones in a certain price range. In order to attract younger residents to his shop, he has expanded his product offerings. 

At the 18-year-old shop, a pile of blind boxes sits in the corner of the store, waiting to be sold. Mr Chua hopes to get younger folks into his store who will chit-chat while browsing his products – the same way older residents who patronise him do. 

Despite being a chain store, furniture and lifestyle store COURTS, has become synonymous with the Toa Payoh neighbourhood, having been there for 21 years.  

The four-storey outlet recently renovated to cater to "a new generation while continuing to meet the requirements of existing customers", said its chief executive officer Harry Higashiura.

The refurbished store will feature a two-room flexi and four-room BTO showroom so that new homeowners can envision their home layout. 

"Shops like ours naturally draw footfall throughout the day and create a sense of energy and dynamism within the community as different groups of people from all walks of life interact with each other," said Mr Higashiura.

While the evolution of heartlands might seem inevitable as people's preferences changes, there is a need to ensure our heartland environments can maintain strong, cohesive communities, said experts. 

"The heartlands are central to community-building because they are where most residents in Singapore live – and also work, learn and play. Facilities and services located within them function as 'third places' beyond home and workplace where organic social interaction takes place," said Prof Fong of NUS.

"Many shops play subtle but important social roles: a familiar hairdresser who chats with customers, or a supermarket cashier who recognises and looks out for an elderly patron. 

"These human connections form the social fabric of neighbourhood life."

CNA TODAY understands that unlike smaller rental shop clusters in BTO developments where HDB imposes trade mix controls such that the basic needs of residents are met, HDB allows for "greater market flexibility" on the trade mix for traditional neighbourhood centres. 

The exception to this rule are quotas on trades which may cause potential disamenities, such as massage parlours and eating establishments with noise and exhaust air pollution.

In response to a parlimentary question in 2022 on whether government takes into account the variety of businesses in HDB estates when granting its commercial unit leases, then-Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said: "The larger number of shops provides sufficient opportunity for market forces to determine a good trade mix, while still ensuring that residents’ essential needs are met and local heritage is preserved."

On this note, Mr Liu, the media professional, said that he hoped that the Government would find a way to encourage more local shops to open in the heartlands. He added that one way was to offer subsidies or rebates to home-based businesses to expand and set up a physical space in the heartlands. 

"Essentially, more businesses by Singaporeans and less international chains that dilute our culture. Keep those for the malls in town," he said.

Agreeing, Mr Wong of Kizuna said that newer housing estates also need the right infrastructure to foster the heartland spirit and community associated with older estates, rather than new shopping malls with the same chain offerings.

He added that malls often have higher rental, making it difficult for people to start their own business and build a community around their shops.

Mr Henry Lee, the Hougang resident, added: "It's a shame if our heartlands waste away. There's a charm to these spaces where many of us grew up and made friends in."