Urban planning in Singapore

Urban planning in Singapore is the direction of infrastructure development in Singapore. It is done through a three-tiered planning framework, consisting of a long-term plan to plot out Singapore's development over at least 50 years, a Master Plan for the medium term, and short-term plans, the first two of which are prepared by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the last by multiple agencies.

While planning in Singapore first began with the Jackson Plan in 1822, which divided up Singapore town into multiple ethnic areas, the colonial authorities in Singapore were not very involved in its development until the 1890s, when they began engaging in back lane schemes and building regulation. Further involvement came with the establishment of the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) in 1927, but as the SIT only had limited powers, its initial impact was limited. Detailed urban planning for Singapore eventually started in the 1950s, with the preparation of the 1958 Master Plan using British planning concepts. After Singapore's independence in 1965, planning policies were revised, and the State and City Planning Project was initiated to produce a new plan for Singapore, which became the 1971 Concept Plan. This plan laid out the basic infrastructure for Singapore's development and brought about the integrated planning process used ever since. Planning in Singapore started to incorporate additional priorities from the 1980s, such as quality of life and conservation, while the 1991 revision of the Concept Plan introduced the notion of regional centres to promote decentralisation. To improve the implementation of the Concept Plan's strategies, in the 1990s, Singapore was divided into multiple planning areas, and comprehensive plans for each area's development were produced and compiled into a new plan. From the 2000s, Singapore's urban planners began to incorporate public feedback and opinions into the planning process, while industrial areas became increasingly planned as mixed-use developments.

History

Colonial Town Planning (1819 - 1958)

Plan of the Town of Singapore, more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan

When Stamford Raffles, who founded Singapore in 1819, returned to the colony, he was dissatisfied with the haphazard development he encountered. At this time, Singapore was considered the trading factory and warehouse of the British East India Company. As a result, commercial houses and wharves grew disorderly along the banks of the Singapore River, a location known for its accessibility to trading boats. A town committee was formed as a result, to ensure that Singapore developed and grew in an orderly manner, as part of Raffle's vision of Singapore as a commercial and administrative centre. The first official plan of the town, the Jackson Plan, was drawn up in December 1822 or January 1823.

The strict regularity of the plan placed Singapore's streets and roads in a grid network. An area south of the Singapore River was set aside as a commercial and administrative centre, while the river's east bank, the 'Forbidden Hill' (Fort Canning Hill) and south-western tip was used for defence purposes. Crucially, the plan divided Singapore into several ethnic subdivisions, the Europeans, Malays, Chinese, Indians, Arabs and Bugis were placed in separate ethnic enclaves. To make Singapore a commercial and administrative centre, haphazardly constructed buildings were discouraged and significant disruptions were caused by the massive movements of people to and from their designated areas. Furthermore, to add professionalism to the planning process, Raffles secured the services of G.P Coleman, an architect and surveyor, and appointed Jackson, an assistant engineer), to build and oversee the development of the island. It was Jackson who would have the most significant impact on the appearance of the town, building the earliest Raffles Institution and the earliest bridges across Singapore River.

The ethnic segregation was considered by some as part of a "divide and rule" strategy, a concerted effort by the British government to make residents reliant on them for matters related to race and ethnicity. The demarcations also allowed the British political and economic control over the separated indigenous population, depending on the European Quarter as an administrative and commercial centre. This perspective is part of the larger critique of British hegemonic rule, where only selected ethnic leaders (mostly wealthy, professional and business Chinese) were represented in the Municipal Committee, which regulates ethnic interests. Such policies gave the appearance of mass support for British planning policies, such as those involving ethnic segregation, without considering the interests of the working class or other under-represented ethnic groups.

The Jackson Plan formed the foundations of Singapore's Central Business District and morphologically, the grid street pattern provided the form for the central area. The rigidity of the street pattern also became one of the main reasons for traffic congestion post-war when private cars began to take to the streets. Long afterwards, the segregation of racial groups will continue to remain intact and only begin to change in the mid-1960s.

For the next century, until 1958, there was little involvement by the colonial authorities in the planning of Singapore, and while the authorities occasionally modified Raffles' plan, they did not make any official plans on a comprehensive scale. The authorities only became more involved in urban development from the 1890s, taking responsibility for development work under the Municipal Bill of 1896, constructing back lanes and introducing building regulations. Nevertheless, these efforts were far from able to control urban development, and by the 20th century, Singapore faced congestion and squatter problems. This observation was made with regards to Singapore in the 1920s:

... a striking example of a planless modern city and regional growth undirected by any comprehensive general plan and complementary schemes of improvement and development. The outcome of their modern growth is much unnecessary disorder, congestion and difficulties for which remedial measures have long been overdue [sic]

— Reade, Town Planning Adviser to the Federated Malay States (FMS)

In 1918, in response to a Housing Committee's findings regarding unsanitary living conditions posing a health hazard, the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) was established in 1927. Tasked with carrying out urban improvement and rehousing works, the SIT was not empowered to prepare comprehensive plans or to control development, initially only handling minor development schemes. In the years preceding the Second World War, the SIT concentrated mostly on building and improving roads and open spaces, and constructing public housing.

Post-World War II Town Planning (1958 and 1965 Master Plan)

During the British Military Administration after World War II, the British government was focused on alleviating the housing shortage in Singapore, redeveloping the central area and to improve living conditions in the congested city centre. At this time, Singapore faced an urgent need for environmental management and to control land use. This was further motivated by the vision that Singapore will play a wider economic role in the Federation of Malaya. A comprehensive plan for Singapore's development was drafted, but was not implemented after the return of civilian rule. Nevertheless, to provide more housing and raise living standards in the central area, the SIT started preparing a Master Plan in 1951. The plan was passed to the government in 1955 and was adopted in 1958.

In order to formulate the plan, the 1958 Master Plan undertook detailed surveys and forecasts of major variables: land use, population, traffic, employment and possible industrial development. A blueprint planning approach was adopted for the plan, with a strong emphasis on rational use of land for zoning and physical elements of the plan. The plan consisted of zoning throughout all urban land uses, open spaces such as greenbelts, and several new towns away from the city centre for the purpose of decentralization. In addition, significant road network upgrades were proposed to handle predicted large increases in road traffic volumes, and two-thirds of slum residents were to be rehoused in formal housing. The plan was conceived with the expectation that Singapore would grow gradually and was unsuited for the social and economic change, rapid population growth and the Central Area's expansion in the early 1960s. Expected to last for 20 years, the Master Plan was formulated to be an instrument of control which could be expanded or retracted. Several British planning assumptions were evident in the plan, such as the slow and steady rate of social change and minimal public sector intervention in planning, ideas transmitted through the involvement of British planners overseas. Despite its short timeline, the 1958 Master Plan laid the groundwork for detailed urban planning in Singapore and came to be regarded as essential for the development of the country.

Singapore gained self governance in 1958 and was part of the Federation of Malaya for two years. The uneasy political arrangement and disputes over Singapore's status within the federation played a big influence on the planning process and the formulation of the 1965 Master Plan. While the 1958 Master Plan provided a guide for the control of development and land use, it became inadequate for the rapidly changing social and economic conditions in Singapore as a result of self governance and time lapses between policy formulation and implementation. The main problems that the plan had to target was the high rate of population growth, rapid expansion of central area, traffic congestion and deterioration of the city core.

Unlike the 1958 masterplan, the 1965 plan had a regional element, characteristic of the new government's priority that Singapore's future planning cannot be considered in isolation to its surrounding regions. Beyond basic standard of living and amenity, the 1965 Plan re-oriented Singapore from a mere commercial outlet to a centre of manufacturing export Malaysia's industries and a centre for industrial expansion. The population basis for planning was raised to between 3.5 and 4 million, and plans to accommodate this expanded population took the form of a radial expansion. The ''Ring City' would have urban centres along the coast and at selected inland sites. A network of highways and a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system will be used to provide transport. The First Review of the plan included an area encompassing southern Johore and Singapore Island, in line with the plan's regional focus. However, with Singapore's direction of development unclear, the 1965 Plan was held back innovatively and was not expected to last past 1972.

Post-independence and the Concept Plan

After Singapore's independence in 1965, planning policies were revised yet again, with plans made based on the concept of Singapore being closely connected with the global economy, and to make sure land was utilised most appropriately. Foreign planning talent and methods were brought in while locals were sent abroad for training. Under the State and City Planning Project, and with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme, preparation of a new plan for Singapore was initiated. Through the cooperation of multiple agencies such as the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Planning Department and the Public Works Department, the project released a draft plan in 1969, which, with several amendments, was approved in 1971 as the Concept Plan.

Under the 1971 Concept Plan, areas across Singapore were earmarked for development based on a "ring city" concept. Industrial and residential areas were spread out across several independent new towns, which formed a ring around the central area, while the city centre was to be dedicated to financial and commercial uses. A rail network and an expressway system were planned to connect the developed areas with one another, while plans were also made to construct a new airport at Changi.

The 1971 Concept Plan marked a change in the nature of Singapore's urban planning from one based on the possible directions Singapore's development could take to one based on the path its development should take, and the introduction of an integrated planning process brought about by inter-agency cooperation. Moreover, it laid out the basic infrastructure from which Singapore developed further.

The 1980s and 1990s

While Singapore's development focused mainly on economic success during the initial post-independence years, as Singaporeans became more affluent in the 1980s, planners started taking into account quality of life factors. Additional land within new towns was allocated for parks and open spaces, while gardens and common facilities were incorporated into public housing estates to foster a sense of community between residents. Moreover, from 1980, industrial planning shifted towards infrastructure and areas suited for higher value industries, and industrial areas started to be constructed as "business parks". These "business parks" had cleaner environments than earlier industrial areas.

In addition, a review of planning of the Central Area culminated in the Structure Plan in 1984. Under this plan, several districts in the city centre were identified for conservation, open spaces and parks were clearly marked out, and other districts, such as the Golden Shoe and Orchard Road districts, were designated as areas for high-density development. More attention was also paid to conservation, with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) setting aside certain parts of the city centre for conservation in 1986, and announcing the Conservation Master Plan in 1989, under which entire areas in the city centre could be conserved.

As the 1971 Concept Plan's plan period ended in 1992, a revised Concept Plan was released in 1991. The 1991 Concept Plan divided Singapore into five regions, each of which consisted of several new towns with multiple housing types, and several areas across Singapore were designated as regional and sub-regional centres, and were intended to act as commercial centres, in a bid to reduce congestion in the city centre. Moreover, industrial areas were to be distributed across Singapore, and under the "Green And Blue Plan", a network of linear parks and open spaces along waterways was to be created.

To aid the implementation of the Concept Plan's aims, Singapore was divided into 55 planning areas. Development Guide Plans, comprehensive plans for each planning area, were drawn up between 1993 and 1998, and the resulting plans were compiled into a plan for the whole island.

To make sure Singapore could stay competitive in the global market, Singapore's industrial planning shifted towards the development of industrial clusters in the 1990s. These clusters were industrial areas in which multiple businesses in the same industry were consolidated, in order to foster mutual support between companies and increase economies of scale. Furthermore, to ensure optimal land use, minimum plot ratios were introduced and older industrial areas were redeveloped for more productive industries. Land reclamation was also carried out to increase the land available for industrial use.

2000s to present

Public consultation and feedback started playing a greater role in Singapore's urban planning from the early 2000s, and for the preparation of the 2001 Concept Plan, focus groups were formed to discuss urban planning issues. The 2001 plan mainly focused on quality of life, proposing more diverse residential and recreational developments, and balancing the goals of liveability and economic growth.

In response to recommendations by focus groups during the 2001 Concept Plan review to form a conservation trust to foster more public engagement, a Conservation Advisory Panel was formed in 2002. Consisting of members from many parts of society, it was intended to provide feedback on the URA's conservation proposals, and to encourage the public to learn more about Singapore's built heritage. In addition, Identity Plans were introduced in the same year for fifteen districts across Singapore. For these plans, studies of the districts were made, and public feedback and forums were handled by Subject Groups formed for each district.

Industrial areas planned from the 2000s were designated for multiple industries, and were referred to by the government as "mixed-use developments". These areas consisted of plots that could be used in multiple ways, with multiple open spaces between developments, and were intended to foster the development of knowledge-based and creative industries in Singapore. Furthermore, in response to population changes in the 2000s, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) released the Land Transport Master Plan 2008, which called for bus route planning to be handled by the LTA, a significant expansion of the rail network, and for the integration of the bus and rail systems in a hub-and-spoke network. The subsequent Master Plan, released in 2013, called for more sheltered walkways and cycling path networks within new towns to improve pedestrian and cycling access.

Sustainable development was prioritised in the 2011 revision of the Concept Plan, and industrial areas in the 2010s were planned to be further integrated, with districts comprising residential, recreational and industrial developments closely linked together. In addition, building conservation saw the greater involvement of the public and the National Heritage Board, through the establishment of a Heritage Advisory Panel and the Our Heritage SG Plan for the heritage sector, while the Conservation Advisory Panel was replaced by a Heritage and Advisory Partnership in 2018. This partnership, besides providing feedback for conservation proposals, was intended to generate new proposals regarding building heritage in Singapore.

Current planning policy

A view of a model of the land use in the Singapore city centre.

Singapore's planning framework comprises three tiers, a long-term plan, the Master Plan, and detailed plans. The long-term plan, formerly called the Concept Plan, plots out Singapore's developmental direction over at least five decades. Intended to ensure optimal land use to meet economic growth targets and handle expected population increases, it is revised every 10 years. The Master Plan, intended for the medium term, comprises land use plans across Singapore, and is revised every five years, while the detailed plans, issued by agencies supervising certain aspects of urban development, plot out short-term development. Preparation of the long-term plan and Master Plan is done by the URA, while the URA carries out the planning process in cooperation with four other agencies, namely the LTA, the HDB, Jurong Town Corporation, and the National Parks Board.

Under Singapore's current planning policy, development outside the central area comprises independent new towns, with residential, commercial and industrial areas, linked by expressways and a rail network. These new towns are in turn served by four regional centres, one in each region of Singapore, which carry out some of the functions of the central area. Moreover, the new towns are planned out with the intent to foster community interaction, improve connectivity, and to improve quality of life, with common areas, integrated cycling and pedestrian path networks, and widespread greenery.

Transport planning in Singapore consists of the Land Transport Master Plan, which is revised every five years, and development plans for the rail and bus system. Built upon a spoke-hub distribution paradigm, Singapore's transport planning has several key aims, namely increased connectivity, improved public transport provision, and increasing the proportion of commuters using public transport. The current Master Plan, released in 2019, aims to increase connectivity with better pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, and to promote public transport use.

See also

• Geography of Singapore
• Urban planning areas in Singapore
• Urban renewal in Singapore

Further reading

• Tan, Sumiko. "Home, work, play." Urban Redevelopment Authority, 1999 ISBN 981-04-1706-3
• About Us, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)
• Dale, O.J., Urban Planning in Singapore: The Transformation of a City. 1999, New York: Oxford University Press.
• Lim, W.S.W., Cities for People: Reflections of a Southeast Asian Architect. 1990, Singapore: Select Books Pte Ltd.
• Bishop, R., J. Phillips, and W.-W. Yeo, eds. Beyond Description: Singapore Space Historicity. 2004, Routledge: New York.
• Yeoh, Brenda S. A. Contesting Space in Colonial Singapore: Power Relations and the Urban Built Environment. 2003. Singapore: Singapore University Press. ISBN 9971692686
• Yuen, Belinda. Planning Singapore: From Plan to Implementation. 1998. Singapore: Singapore Institute of Planners. ISBN 9810405731
• City & The State: Singapore's Built Environment Revisited. ed. Kwok, Kenson and Giok Ling Ooi. 1997. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies. ISBN 9780195882636
• Wong, Tiah-Chee, Yap, Adriel Lian-Ho, Four Decades of Transformation: Land Use in Singapore, 1960–2000. 2004. Cavendish Square Publishing. ISBN 9789812102706