Bedok, also known asBedok New Town, is aplanning areaandmatured residential townlocated in theEast Region of Singapore. Population wise, Bedok is the largest planning area in the Republic, being home to an estimated 289,000 residents.This high demographic is largely explained by the affordable public housing in Bedok New Town, due to its relatively distant location from theCentral Area. Besides public housing developments, private residences are also prevalent in Bedok as well, most of which are found in the precincts of Bayshore, Frankel andSiglap, in the western and south-western portions of the area.
As a part of theTanah Merahregion, the history of Bedok is largely influenced by its coastal frontier. The general area known as Bedok today, was first mentioned in maps dating to the pre-Raffles era. After Singapore wascolonized in 1819, Simpang Bedok Village became an ethnically mixed community consisting ofChineseandMalaypeople groups.
