Tag Archives: Urban Planning

Sustainable urban planning MOU signed

Posted on 4 Jun 2011 | Comments Off on Sustainable urban planning MOU signed

The Centre for Liveable Cities has signed an memorandum of understanding with the Urban Land Institute to conduct joint research and conferences on building sustainable cities for the future.

At the signing ceremony, representatives from both organisations highlighted urban planning challenges in Singapore.

These include planning with an ageing demographics and increasing population density in mind.

They also said private-public partnerships can help greatly in solving urban planning challenges. One such example is the land sales programme by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore.

Khoo Teng Chye, executive director, Centre for Liveable Cities, said: “If you take the example of Singapore, we are already five million people, and we continue to have economic growth and population growth.

“I think the challenge for cities like Singapore, going ahead, is how do we grapple with making sure that we can be sustainable and yet maintain a high quality of life for our cities.”

The Centre for Liveable Cities is a think tank on urban governance, jointly established by the Ministry of National Development and the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources.

The Urban Land Institute is an international non-profit research organisation for land use and real estate.

Source : CNA – 3 Jun 2011

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MND considers total ecosystem in planning

Posted on 10 Mar 2010 | Comments Off on MND considers total ecosystem in planning

IN ITS urban planning blueprints, the Ministry for National Development (MND) won’t miss the forest for the trees. Instead, it takes a well-rounded approach when drawing up its development concept plans, taking into account existing infrastructure and consulting MPs and other agencies.

This was National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan’s assurance to the House yesterday. ‘When we do make changes, they will be taken as a whole. It’s not just development for its own sake,’ he said.

‘On an overall basis, the whole planning process takes into account the whole gamut of requirements, ranging from housing, to roads, to schools, to nature areas, even right down to things like markets, places of worship and so on.’

Earlier, Mr Lim Biow Chuan (Marine Parade GRC) had asked about the Government’s planning methods. Were new projects drawn up in isolation, or was the total ‘ecosystem’ of the area taken into account?

He was particularly concerned about the growing density of the Amber and Katong areas. After the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) approved the construction of new residences in the area, a clutch of condominiums had sprung up. With more such estates on the way, traffic congestion, overcrowding and rising social pressure are becoming a definite possibility, Mr Lim said.

Mr Mah said the URA’s integrated approach to planning would mitigate such problems. In fact, the development of the Amber and Katong districts was precisely an example of such consultation bearing fruit.

‘The master plan takes into account what the increased density in the area means for traffic congestion and discussions were held with the relevant agencies, such as the Land Transport Authority.’

This helped the URA pre-empt overcrowding, he explained. The MRT network will be extended into the area and the Marina Coastal Expressway will take pressure off the existing East Coast Parkway.

‘I think this is one of the strengths of the Singapore planning system: That when we plan, we plan it on a holistic level, taking everything into consideration,’ he said.

Source : Straits Times – 9 Mar 2010

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