World Cities Summit Issue, Jun 2008

Achieving Sustainable Urban Development
Cheong Koon Hean

Singapore’s urban future hinges on making tough choices that seek to balance economic growth with societal well-being and environmental quality.

The issue of sustainable development has taken centrestage in recent years. Government agencies, non-governmental organisations and private companies alike are busy drawing up plans and promises for greater sustainability. In 2004, the Mayor of London announced “The London Plan”, which sets out a framework of policies to accommodate London’s growth in a sustainable way.¹ In 2007, it was New York City’s turn to unveil its comprehensive plan, “PlaNYC”, which pledged to remake New York into a more sustainable metropolis.² In particular, the potential impact of global warming has captured the world’s attention.

Today, much of the public debate on sustainability centres on reducing carbon emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change. There is much emphasis on using green technology to help reduce energy usage and keep our air and water clean.

Indeed, technology is important and will continue to be a key enabler to solve many of the technical challenges associated with sustainable development. However, what may be less visible and less appreciated is the fact that sustainability can be attained only when we take a holistic and comprehensive approach. This starts with making strategic planning choices that cascades to the formulation of innovative policies, and subsequently implementing technologies to tackle urban and environmental problems. At the top end of the continuum, sustainable development involves generating economic growth and societal well-being without exhausting our limited natural resources. Keeping every tree and shrub in Singapore untouched does not constitute sustainable planning. Neither does building as many petro-chemical plants as we can qualify as sustainable, even if this creates jobs and income for our people. Sustainable development requires a careful balancing of different demands and differing priorities. Within this broad planning framework, we develop good policies and tap on technology to find the best ways to deal with issues on protecting the environment, climate change, clean energy use, and effective waste and water management.  

Singapore has recognised the need for such a comprehensive approach. Since our Independence,³ we have taken on the challenges of providing for a nation in a city-state environment with virtually no natural resources. Today, ensuring sustainable development in Singapore has taken on greater impetus with the formation of an Inter- Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD), chaired by Ministers of both the Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR). The IMCSD looks at sustainability from both a national development and an environmental perspective. An Inter-Ministerial Committee on Climate Change will also study what Singapore can do to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.  

THE TRADE-OFFS
Planning for sustainable urban growth within Singapore’s borders is the priority of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). In fact, it is crucial for the country’s survival. A city-state without hinterland, we face the challenge of ensuring we have sufficient land for housing, recreation and business. At the same time, we have to set aside land for defence, power generation, waste disposal and water catchment—all within 700 square kilometres of land. With one of the largest container ports in the world, our sea-space is limited by our international boundaries. As a regional air hub and with five airports and airbases, building skywards is also constrained. Deciding on one land use over a myriad of other possibilities inevitably involves making trade-offs. For example, having more parks and open spaces means that more of us will live in high-rise housing. Allocating more land for industries could mean loss of waterfront and heritage areas. Having more roads and a smoother drive to work may result in smoggier air and more noise pollution.  

As URA’s decisions affect many people, we cannot afford to go it alone. We have to make these evaluations and trade-offs together with our partner agencies like the Land Transport Authority, the National Parks Board, the Housing and Development Board, the Public Utilities Board (PUB), the National Environment Agency, economic agencies as well as various other stakeholders. The result of many hours of discussions and consultations are consolidated into our long- and medium-term land use plans. One product of many such debates and decisions is the Master Plan 2008 which was unveiled to the public in May 2008. This Plan guides Singapore’s development over the next 10 to 15 years in a sustainable manner.  

These land use plans cater to multiple needs. For example, they try to facilitate economic growth by providing more industrial land for petro-chemical and aeronautical industries, hotel and tourism projects, as well as an expanding financial sector. These are then balanced with social considerations for achieving a high quality living environment to meet rising aspirations. We will provide more variety of good quality housing, more greenery and more leisure choices.  

The challenge is to fit it all in. Planners overcome our land constraints by developing innovative solutions. We work towards ensuring that business activities use land optimally. For example, factories built with ramps allow trucks to access every floor, hence they function effectively as flatted factories. Where possible, facilities such as polyclinics, libraries and community centres are co-located to maximise land space. Additional structural loading is also provided over Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations and underground roads so that we can build above them. To create a greater sense of space, our major parks and coasts are linked up using park connectors.⁴ Cycling and jogging routes will increase more than four-fold from 100 to 400 kilometres eventually. We also provide incentives for developers to develop more vertical greenery like skyrise gardens⁵ to mitigate the dense built-up space. In addition, we work closely with PUB to utilise canals and inland reservoirs to create beautifully landscaped “lakes and streams” that integrate with developments. As a result, more leisure space is created, built-up areas are “softened”, and we have been able to increase real estate values.  

Various agencies also work together to harness new technologies to optimise the use of land. For example, the development of the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System by PUB replaces the existing six water reclamation plants and about 130 pumping stations. This frees up approximately 1,000 hectares of land occupied by the existing facilities and buffer zones around the plants. Incinerating and recycling our wastes reduce the need for waste disposal sites. The JTC Corporation⁶ is piloting a project to use subterranean rock caverns for storage. All these initiatives work towards making the most of what we have.

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