Singapore - city state
Singapore was founded as a trading post by the British early in the nineteenth century.
Until independence in 1965 the trading interests dominated and government was only
interested in supporting these interests. In 1965 the new state was cut off from its
hinterland and set about pursuing a survival strategy. The good world communication
based upon trade provided a useful base, however it was decided that the state's
industry needed to be developed if it was to secure its economic future. The state took
the lead in organising this economic strategy. New institutional structures were
needed to facilitate, develop and control the foreign direct investment, such as the
Development Bank of Singapore and the Jurong Town Corporation that provided the
infrastructure requirements. One of the most important bodies was the Economic
Development Board (EDB), an arm of government that developed strategies to induce
potential investors. So from this early period the Singapore government was actively
involved in city promotion. The interventionist stance continued through the 1970s
with the EDB continuing to ‘play an important role in the ongoing adjustments of the
Singapore economy to niches and opportunities in global capitalism’ (Chua, 1998,
p.983).
The limits on the size of the work force and the restricted land area made the
government realise that it was becoming increasingly uncompetitive in labour
intensive industry. An Economic Committee was established which concluded that
Singapore should focus on developing as a service centre and seek to attract company
headquarters to serve South East Asia, develop tourism, banking, and offshore-based
activities (Chua, 1998). The land requirements for this service sector orientation had
already been prepared in the early 1970s when the government had already realised
that it lacked the banking infrastructure for a modern economy. A new banking and
corporate district known as the ‘Golden Shoe’ was planned incorporating the historic
commercial area. This now houses all the major companies and various government
financial agencies. Thus the economic development of Singapore has been very
consciously planned and the latest strategy is very clearly oriented to establishing
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Singapore as a ‘world city’. It is well placed to succeed as it can draw upon its historic
roots as a world trading centre, has invested heavily in telecommunications and air
transport infrastructure, is well located to other Asian economies, has developed a
safe and clean environment and utilised the international language of English.
The centrally planned state economic strategy is closely linked to land use and
development planning. The EDB is a key influence on the strategic land use plans that
are prepared by another Board of government, the Urban Redevelopment Authority
(URA). The private sector is also involved in the planning process as they are invited
to give their opinions in the committees that are set up to advise these government
Boards. Thus in preparing its plans the URA responds to the views of the various
advisory committees and the Boards and Ministries of government, in which the EDB
plays an important agenda setting role. The URA translates these discussions into land
use and development terms through its preparation of a strategic plan for the whole
island, called the Concept Plan. The latest Concept Plan was completed in 1991 and
indicates the future development of the state in three stages, 2000, 2010 and ‘year X’.
The mission statement of the URA is to ‘plan and facilitate the physical development
of Singapore into a tropical city of excellence’ (URA, 1998, p1). Previous statements
also included the word ‘regulate’; however this has been dropped as it was not felt to
be business friendly. The Concept plan is certainly clearly and openly oriented
towards the attraction of business; ‘economic growth has always been our most
pressing concern. It still is, even though Singapore is already a major centre in terms
of commerce, industry and finance. But progress does not wait. Singapore cannot
afford to take a complacent view now that we have achieved a reasonable level of
business success. If we are to help lift Singapore to higher living standards, the
muscle will be provided by our economy’ (URA, 1991, p.18). The plan seeks to
ensure this continued economic growth through ‘restructuring the city’ to ensure that
the facilities needed by future business are planned now, this includes transport and
telecommunication infrastructure, land, and environmental quality. A major concern
is to avoid congestion through over-concentration in the central area and so the New
Concept Plan deviates from previous plans by having a strong decentralisation policy.
This includes four major regional centres each serving 800,000 people. This does not
mean that the existing CBD will not also grow. After studies of other world cities a
major extension of the existing financial district is planned around the Marina Bay
attempting to replicate the vitality of other cities with waterside central areas such as
Sydney and San Francisco (Chua, 1989). This is to be achieved by major land
reclamation of 667 hectares. Part of this has already been developed as a conference
and exhibition zone and the rest will be used for CBD expansion. However the need
for vitality has been recognised and a mixed zoning approach is adopted to include
housing and entertainment.
One of the new features of the latest plan is a broader conception of what contributes
to economic success. This encompasses high quality residential provision, a good
environment, leisure facilities and exciting city life. Thus there is more provision for
low density housing often in waterfront communities linked to beaches and
recreational facilities. The lower housing densities will put considerable pressure on
the very limited land available for development. This creates problems for another of
the plan’s aims which is to stress environmental quality. More and more of the
remaining open area will be developed and the only natural landscape surviving will
be a small zone in the centre of the island that serves as a water catchment area. The
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environmental policy is therefore very much concerned with the ‘greening’ of
development - what is referred to as the ‘beautification’ of Singapore. The plan
concentrates on green zones to define the boundaries of settlements and along
transport corridors. The incidental green provision within housing areas is also given
considerable attention. Much of the environmental provision is linked to the prime
objective of attracting business, e.g. golf courses, recreation areas, and beaches. The
plan places much emphasis on good leisure provision and the need to exploit its island
setting. One way of providing this is through further land reclamation to create a
whole new island devoted to leisure and luxury housing which will stretch from the
central area to the airport. The planners have recently also given much attention to the
concept of the 24-hour city and the café society. A promotion has taken place along
the Singapore river to create a café zone. This has included the realisation, rather late
in the day, of the value of retaining older buildings and the creation of a continuous
riverside promenade (Yu-Ning, 1998). Since the relaxation in 1996 of strict guidelines
on outdoor eating areas this has become an extremely popular area in the evenings
(Fong, 1997). Also in 1998 the URA created a new entertainment area in the centre of
the city which they are promoting as ‘the city’s one-stop dynamic entertainment
scene’ (Brennan, 1998, p.4). It can be said that a current concern is how to use the
planning system to create opportunities for greater spontaneity.
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