The Lion City

My last post touches on the growth of a city and town and the effect on the reliance on one agent of resource to support the growth. One of the country that always kept me thinking on the rapid growth of development despite having little to no natural resources is Singapore. Singapore was once part of Malaysia and when they were expelled from the country in 1965, the then Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew broke down in tears as the newly formed country of Singapore faces uncertainty in the future. Fast forward to 2014 and Singapore is now the most developed country in the South East Asian region.

The rapid rise of Singapore as a developed nation owes much to the fast-acting and planning during the initial years of its formation to overcome its short-comings. The lack of natural resources was overcome with development in other sectors such as entrepot trading and manufacturing to maintain its economy. Singapore is a prime example of a modern-day city that relies on trading and manufacturing to overcome the lack of natural resources. The diversified economy of Singapore is a strategy implemented as a vital source for growth despite its size as a country.

The recent development of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore is also a strategy to reduce the outgoing of capital to its neighbouring country of Malaysia. Before, Singaporeans travel extensively to Malaysia for the casino in Genting Highland and this has benefited Malaysia in more ways than one. The effect of this can be seen in the land ownership in the town of Malacca where the heritage-listed shop lots along Heeran Street in Malacca are owned mostly by Singaporeans. Located in between Singapore and Genting Highlands, Malacca was a convenient stop-over for Singaporeans. However, since the opening of Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, the tourist industry in Malacca and Genting Highlands slowed down significantly.

Marina Bay developments are built on reclaimed land to overcome the land shortage issue in the country. This was not the first time that Singapore resorted to reclaimed land to cater for new developments and probably won’t be the last. There are other measures taken to overcome the shortage of buildable lands in the country. One of it is the public housing policy that is pro-density living introduced by the Housing and Development Board (HDB). High-rise HDB flats are a common sight in Singapore and it houses more than 80% of its population. I find that the HDB flats area good strategy to overcome the shortage of land for residential units while able to prevent slums and squatter housings.

The public transportation system is also build around the idea of dense population in the small country. To minimize land congestion on the ground level, the main public transportation system, the MRT, are located below ground in the city center. As a result, there are many shopping malls that is located underground to link to the train stations below ground. Travelling around the city center in Singapore, I find that people spent more time below ground than they do on street levels discounting the time where they are in the office or at home.