Brandon Chye

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Despite having a population of only 5.6 million residents and a landmass of 720 km2, the city-state of Singapore boasts an international reputation that precedes its small size. Emblematic qualities associated with the nation include socio-political order, rapid economic development, environmental cleanliness, and efficiency in the urban environment. And while Singapore is a major international financial centre in its own right, Singaporean technical expertise and capital have also manifested in global circuits of urban planning and infrastructure development.

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Singapore’s model of urban development: A roadmap from Third World to First?

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A salient aspect of Singapore’s reputation concerns notions of sustainable urban development. With limited natural resources and land, the city-state has oriented most of its urban systems towards effectively dealing with resource and water management, population congestion, and other challenges associated with large urban agglomerations. Multilateral initiatives, think-tanks and conferences such as the Centre for Liveable Cities, World Cities Summit are key components of Singapore’s political and commercial scene.

 

‘Singapore models’ of urban modernity increasingly serve as templates for projects aimed at master planning, public housing, urban transport, and water management, to name a few. Prominent examples include the development of Amaravati, a new capital city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, and the Tianjin Eco-City, a bilateral Sino-Singapore collaboration in China.