Singapore's Sustainable and Liveable Urban Environment Under Focus. Lights and Shadows of the "City in a Garden"

Oscar Carracedo (National University of Singapore)

Singapore is renowned for its very successful urban model of a 'City in a Garden' with high-density development, efficient transport system, innovative housing policies and liveable environment. During the last 50 years this model has worked efficiently giving rise to one of the most thriving economies in the world. However, Singapore is facing new challenges towards an environmental, resilient, sustainable, more social and liveable development.

This article examines the physical and spatial conditions of the existing urban model, in order to determine its performance and to identify the significant characteristics and attributes that can be incorporated into the future development of neighbourhoods towards a more sustainable, resilient and liveable environment. Liveability is a very difficult concept to define that can vary from city to city, the approach proposed by this research sees the city as a set of interconnected relationships between urban systems that can be planned in order to enhance our living environments and to achieve better quality of life. In this sense, the proposed system it is to be understood as a process and a method rather than a fixed set of rules or standards. Using the 'Ecological Urbanism' methodology and indicators as a base (S. Rueda), this presentation will elaborate on the preliminary findings and conclusions on the performance of the Singapore neighbourhoods in relation to their sustainability and liveability, and assesses critically the system through the quantitative data obtained.

The ultimate purpose of this research and the proposed systematic approach is to provide a useful guide for developing sustainable, resilient and liveable neighbourhoods. The method proposed by this research aims to provide a set of tools for cities to be analysed and assessed in order to take the necessary actions to improve them and to achieve higher liveability standards that meet the needs of their population.