• the geology, rainfall, history of land reclamation, literacy, demographic structure and population density of the South-Central region of Singapore; and
• how this region will be developed towards Year X.

• the history of urban conservation in Singapore and how it is being carried out;
• the advantages which the site of Fort Canning afforded to the British;
• the site and situation of Raffles Place;
• how Raffles Place became Singapore's premier financial centre;
• why water is such an important resource to Singapore;
• the HDB's Estate Renewal Strategy;
• how the Light Rail Transit system compares to the MRT; and
• the Park Connector Network.

Source: URA (1991)

Why don't you explore the map?


Source: Cheng (1995)

The heart of the matter

The area which the URA terms 'the Downtown Core' is by far Singapore's richest area in terms of historical significance. In an area of a mere 3.5 square kilometres or so lie innumerable reminders of Singapore's humble beginnings as a British trading port.

For example, there is the Merlion, unveiled in September 1972 and designed by Kwan Sai Kheong, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Singapore; the Sri Mariamman Temple, built by the 'father of Little India' - Naraina Pillai;

and there are memorials to Lim Bo Seng,

Tan Kim Seng

and to the civillian victims of the Japanese Occupation [?] (here shown dwarfed by the Westin Stamford.

On a lighter note, in 1915 the Singapore Sling was born, the brainchild of Raffles Hotel bartender Ngiam Tong Boon.

The area lies on the younger alluvium called the Kallang Formation, and on average, it experiences between130 mm to 150 mm per month of rain during October to March, and less than 115 mm per month during April to September. Most of the Core has in fact been reclaimed from the sea, both before 1950 as well as since the 1970s.

The Downtown Core represents Singapore's financial and administrative heart, and not surprisingly therefore, residential density in the Core is fairly low, between 2500 and 5000 people per square kilometre.

Virtually There at the Civic District - a 5636 k multi-node QuickTime VR panoramic tour.

By 2000, there is also the Citylink Mall, which is a 350-metre-long, 26-metre-wide underground shopping mall - South-East Asia's first - linking City Hall MRT station with Marina Centre. It also links the Bayfront (which is built in front of Marina Square) to Suntec City, Memorial Park, Connaught Drive, the Singapore Arts Centre and the Esplanade Park. Five thousand square metres of commercial floor space will thus be generated.

Virtually There at the War Memorial Park - Singapore's first cubic QuickTime VR panorama (984 k).

Virtually There at the Esplanade - a 845 k QuickTime VR panorama.

The Core also includes the Chinatown Historic District covering an area of twenty-three hectares (1 km² = 100 ha). This is divided into four sub-districts, each with its own distinctive characteristics: Kreta Ayer has a bustling street atmosphere, Telok Ayer is a hilly residential suburb [?], and Bukit Pasoh and Tanjong Pagar feature winding streets and a mixture of residential, association and commericial land uses.

'Live' snapshot of Chinatown

The URA has plans to facilitate the pedestrianisation of the district by building walkways connecting existing open spaces. A festival plaza will be created in front of Kreta Ayer Complex. Cars will even be banned from certain streets in Kreta Ayer. As a point of interest, the local Chinese name for Chinatown in Singapore is 'niu che shui', literally meaning 'water from bullock carts'. This was a reference to supplies of well-water distributed by such carts during the mid-nineteenth century.

The conservation of our urban heritage is important because of its role in nation-building [?]. In the words of the Minister for Information and the Arts Brigadier-General (NS) George Yeo: "Singaporeans have become middle-class in one generation and are sometimes over-confident and lack a sense of history. I think they must feel for the country, for the people." The next generation must know how the Singapore identity evolved and how not to take existing racial harmony for granted.

Notwithstanding the above, Singapore's urban conservation efforts only began in earnest during the mid-eighties. The republic was recession-struck and property was cheap. Redevelopment of many older districts had ground to a halt because of a lack of funds. It was also around this time that the STPB was getting feedback that tourist numbers were falling because many westerners were not attracted to a Singapore lacking in cultural [?] heritage.

The STPB's first conservation project was the restoration of the Empress Place, along the banks of the Singapore River. It was also responsible for the renovation of Alkaff Mansion on Telok Blangah Hill. Thus, we have the STPB to thank, just as much as the URA, for helping to protect our architectural heritage.

Sometimes, however, conservation efforts go awry. One of the most recent projects in the Downtown Core is at the 1.4 hectare site of the former Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. Costing $100 million, Chijmes mall is designed to be a one-stop wedding and convention venue. The cloisters were restored and within them are found restaurants, specialty shops and more. The Fountain Court at Chijmes is a sunken courtyard beneath Chijmes Hall, with cascading waterfalls.

Nevertheless, even before it opened in September 1996, Chijmes attracted negative publicity because of its vulgar juxtaposition of a site of a former convent with new commercial activities. Such insensitivity was exemplified by the retention of the crosses on the old chapel. The URA's defence that Chijmes is to be to Singapore what Covent Garden is to London and what The Rocks is to Sydney is lame because the latter two were originally marketplaces to begin with. Chijmes is an example that not all conservation efforts are necessarily in good taste.

It was in response to such criticisms that its developer refocused Chijmes's concept away from an arts/lifestyle complex complete with an upmarket auction house and children's theatre!

Source: the Straits Times

Virtually There at Chijmes - a 845 k QuickTime VR panorama.

Another example of controversial conservation is the site of the Fullerton Building in Raffles Place. In July 1996, the URA announced its sale for its redevelopment as a hotel (similar to the likes of the Waldorf Astoria, the Ritz, the Crillon, the Peninsula and, of course, the Raffles).

Built in 1928, the seven-storey building has room for about two hundred suites on a site area of 2.4 hectares. This compares to the 104 suites at the Raffles on an area of 2.7 hectares.

The sale attracted some negative publicity because of concern that the government was selling a piece of history. Named after Robert Fullerton - the first Governor of the Straits Settlements - it was there that General A E Percival informed Governor Shenton Thomas of the British military's decision to surrender to the Japanese in Malaya during the War. Fullerton Square carpark (now landscaped) was also the site of energetic election rallies till 1989.

The URA countered that the conservation and restoration of the building was part of the terms of the tender. Apart from historical reasons, the building is also suited to be a hotel because of its architecture (for example, its use of Doric columns) and its strategic location. For example, it will be the only hotel located in the heart of Singapore's financial district. It is also the only site in Singapore which has two water frontages.

The URA argued that for the building to continue to be well-maintained and appreciated, it should be viable and relevant. As a hotel (as opposed to government offices), both Singaporeans and tourists alike would be able to view its halls, airwells, high patterned ceilings and picture windows.

Of special significance to Singapore's urban geography is the island's first official skyscraper - the Cathay building. It first opened its doors in 1939.

In the Orchard area, among the many noteworthy buildings there is the Hyatt Regency Hotel, which has been designed according to principles of fengshui.

'Live' snapshot of Orchard Road

Unlike the Downtown Core, most of this area lies on the Jurong Formation, except of course, for the area along the banks of the river. The area also tends to receive higher rainfall than the Core, namely 150 mm to 165 mm per month during October to March, and 115 mm to 135 mm per month during the rest of the year, on average. Population densities here are similar to those in the Core. The entire Marina area has been reclaimed from the sea.

This means, of course, that the sea during Raffles's time came right up to where present-day Beach Road is (that's why Beach Road is so named). As a consequence, if we imagine this district a hundred and eighty years ago, present-day Fort Canning Hill was once much closer to the sea. This is shown in the diagram below (which you can explore), which is taken from Yeoh et al (1995). The fort at Fort Canning Hill (then known as Government Hill) was therefore built to take advantage of this strategic position at this site [?].

Fort Canning got its name from the Viscount George Canning, Governor-General and the first Viceroy of India. The fort was built in the 1860s, and continued to be used as a military base - first by the British, then by the Japanese [?] during World War Two, and finally by our own armed forces - till the seventies. Its former name of Government Hill derived from the fact that in the early nineteenth century, Singapore's governors lived there.

The major conservation project in the area is that of the thirteen hectare Little India Historic District along Serangoon Road. This will take place along similar lines as the Chinatown project. Certain parts of Dunlop Street and Campbell Lane may even be pedestrianised.

The area around the Downtown Core will see numerous changes as we proceed towards Year X. For instance, by 2000 Marina East

and Buran Darat at Sentosa will be residential areas - the former will also boast a yachting marina. A business park [?], focusing on biotechnology, will spring up near the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

Virtually There at Marina East - an 845 k QuickTime VR panorama, showing the contrast between reclaimed land - old and new.

Marina South will be built upon and used to extend the existing 266 hectare CBD by 372 hectares (equivalent to three million square metres of office space). This measure is necessary to allow businesses to expand while keeping rents stable. At the same time, backroom operations can be located in the finance park at Tampines. In this way, Singapore will be able to continue to attract business investments and develop the new Downtown into an international business hub.

By 2010, the area will be served by the north-east MRT line, and by Year X, 26000 apartments in 9.6 hectares of residential sites (compared to the present two thousand in the existing CBD) will be built in Marina South, in order to keep the new Downtown bustling after office hours. To cater to the residents, there will be schools, child-care and community centres. In this new integrated working, living and recreational Downtown, there will be a choice of homes along the waterfront, in the heart of the city, or next to nearly sixty hectares of parks and recreational spaces. Indeed, in keeping with Singapore's 'Garden City' image, there will be more tree-lined boulevards, waterfront promenades and a coastal park.

A new coastal expressway will be built to help traffic bypass the city. The existing East Coast Parkway will be straightened into a major arterial road. In order to avoid roads being dug up for utilities repair works, all utility cables and pipes (such as electrical and communication cables, water, gas and pneumatic refuse collection pipes and cooling systems) will be housed in Singapore's first Common Services Tunnel (previously such infrastructure was buried in the space between buildings and the road edge (termed the 'road reserve') - buildings can thus now be constructed half a metre closer to the road). Fringe carparks (four hundred metres away from activity centres) will help reduce the number of cars in the area. For those who do wish to drive, secondary carparks (two hundred metres from destinations) will be built, but their fees will be higher. This pedestrian-friendly Downtown will have underground malls, air-conditioned second-storey travellators, a continuous garden deck and even high-level links to facilitate the movement of people between towers.

Source: the Straits Times

Marina Bay, Marina East, Lavender, Novena, Newton and Outram will be developed into so-called 'fringe centres', meant to relieve the pressure for goods and services experienced by the Downtown Core. These fringe centres will have retail and entertainment space equivalent to two 'Centrepoint' shopping centres.