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Journal of Comparative Urban Law and PolicyJournal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy
Volume 3
Issue 1
Study Space XI Singapore Article 7
2019
The Deceptive Allure of Singapore's Urban Planning to UrbanThe Deceptive Allure of Singapore's Urban Planning to Urban
Planners in AmericaPlanners in America
Denis BinderChapman University, dbinder@chapman.edu
Follow this and additional works at: https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/jculp
Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Land Use Law
Commons, and the Urban Studies Commons
Recommended CitationRecommended Citation
Binder, Denis (2019) "The Deceptive Allure of Singapore's Urban Planning to Urban Planners in America,"Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1 , Article 7, 155-190.
Available at: https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/jculp/vol3/iss1/7
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Reading Room. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy by an authorized editor of Reading Room. For more information, please
contact mbutler@gsu.edu.
Volume 3
Issue 1
Study Space XI Singapore Article 7
2019
The Deceptive Allure of Singapore's Urban Planning to UrbanThe Deceptive Allure of Singapore's Urban Planning to Urban
Planners in AmericaPlanners in America
Denis BinderChapman University, dbinder@chapman.edu
Follow this and additional works at: https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/jculp
Part of the Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Land Use Law
Commons, and the Urban Studies Commons
Recommended CitationRecommended Citation
Binder, Denis (2019) "The Deceptive Allure of Singapore's Urban Planning to Urban Planners in America,"Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1 , Article 7, 155-190.
Available at: https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/jculp/vol3/iss1/7
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Reading Room. It has been accepted for inclusion in
Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy by an authorized editor of Reading Room. For more information, please
contact mbutler@gsu.edu.
THE DECEPTIVE ALLURE OF SINGAPORE’S URBAN PLANNING TO
URBAN PLANNERS IN AMERICA
Professor Denis Binder*
Singapore, as a settlement, is 200 years old this year. Initial visitors to
Singapore see a veritable Disneyland:1 perfection, cleanliness,2 everything
perfectly in its place. Urban planners marvel at Singapore; it is virtually a planning
utopia.
Singapore is a vibrant city-state with roughly 5.6 million people on the
278.6 square mile island. 82% of the population reside in public housing—mostly
high-rise complexes—and work in high-rise office buildings. Twenty-three self-
contained new towns ring Singapore’s coastal core. The city is considered one of
the most livable in the world; its Changi Airport,3 Singapore Airlines,4 and port
rank among the top in the world.5
*Professor of Law, Dale E. Fowler School of Law, Chapman University, A.B., (1967); J.D.
(1970), LL.M. University of Michigan (1971), S.J.D. 1973, University of Michigan. Professor
Binder thanks Dr. Linda Y. C. Lim, Professor Emeritus of Corporate Strategy and International
Business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan for her comments and insights.
He further appreciates the assistance of Sherry Leysen, Tami Carson, and David Moody of the
Fowler School of Law Library for their assistance.
1 Singapore does not have a Disneyland, but it does host a Universal Studios theme park.
Universal Studios Singapore, RESORTS WORLD SENTOSA,
https://www.rwsentosa.com/en/attractions/universal-studios-singapore (last visited Feb. 25, 2019).
2 Neither Disneyland nor Singapore sell gum. Hugo Martin, Cleanest Place on Earth, L.A. TIMES,
May 2, 2010, at B1; Sale of Food (Prohibition of Chewing Gum) Regulations, Ch. 283, § 56(1)
(2004) (Sing.).
3 Skytrax for the sixth year in a row ranked Changi as the world’s best airport. The World’s Best
Airports Are Announced for 2018, SKYTRAX WORLD AIRPORT AWARDS (Mar. 21, 2018),
https://www.worldairportawards.com/the-worlds-best-airports-are-announced-for-2018/.
4 TripAdvisor rated Singapore Airlines the world’s best in 2018. Kate Schneider, Singapore
Airlines Named the World’s Best, NEWS.COM.AU (Apr. 10, 2018, 2:09 PM),
https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/flights/singapore-airlines-named-the-worlds-
best/news-story/e209fb9c7da22bf67eb19d41aa0c8269.
5 Menon Economics ranked Singapore as the leading maritime capital of the world even though
Shanghai now handles more cargo. Aarthi Swaminathan & Blanche Lim, Singapore Ranked
World’s Top Maritime Capital, But Another City Is Quickly on the Ascent, CNBC (Apr. 26, 2017,
4:19 AM), https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/26/singapore-ranked-worlds-top-maritime-capital-but-
another-city-is-quickly-on-the-ascent.html; Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sing. Geneva,
155
Binder: Singapore & Urban Planning
Published by Reading Room, 2019
URBAN PLANNERS IN AMERICA
Professor Denis Binder*
Singapore, as a settlement, is 200 years old this year. Initial visitors to
Singapore see a veritable Disneyland:1 perfection, cleanliness,2 everything
perfectly in its place. Urban planners marvel at Singapore; it is virtually a planning
utopia.
Singapore is a vibrant city-state with roughly 5.6 million people on the
278.6 square mile island. 82% of the population reside in public housing—mostly
high-rise complexes—and work in high-rise office buildings. Twenty-three self-
contained new towns ring Singapore’s coastal core. The city is considered one of
the most livable in the world; its Changi Airport,3 Singapore Airlines,4 and port
rank among the top in the world.5
*Professor of Law, Dale E. Fowler School of Law, Chapman University, A.B., (1967); J.D.
(1970), LL.M. University of Michigan (1971), S.J.D. 1973, University of Michigan. Professor
Binder thanks Dr. Linda Y. C. Lim, Professor Emeritus of Corporate Strategy and International
Business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan for her comments and insights.
He further appreciates the assistance of Sherry Leysen, Tami Carson, and David Moody of the
Fowler School of Law Library for their assistance.
1 Singapore does not have a Disneyland, but it does host a Universal Studios theme park.
Universal Studios Singapore, RESORTS WORLD SENTOSA,
https://www.rwsentosa.com/en/attractions/universal-studios-singapore (last visited Feb. 25, 2019).
2 Neither Disneyland nor Singapore sell gum. Hugo Martin, Cleanest Place on Earth, L.A. TIMES,
May 2, 2010, at B1; Sale of Food (Prohibition of Chewing Gum) Regulations, Ch. 283, § 56(1)
(2004) (Sing.).
3 Skytrax for the sixth year in a row ranked Changi as the world’s best airport. The World’s Best
Airports Are Announced for 2018, SKYTRAX WORLD AIRPORT AWARDS (Mar. 21, 2018),
https://www.worldairportawards.com/the-worlds-best-airports-are-announced-for-2018/.
4 TripAdvisor rated Singapore Airlines the world’s best in 2018. Kate Schneider, Singapore
Airlines Named the World’s Best, NEWS.COM.AU (Apr. 10, 2018, 2:09 PM),
https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/flights/singapore-airlines-named-the-worlds-
best/news-story/e209fb9c7da22bf67eb19d41aa0c8269.
5 Menon Economics ranked Singapore as the leading maritime capital of the world even though
Shanghai now handles more cargo. Aarthi Swaminathan & Blanche Lim, Singapore Ranked
World’s Top Maritime Capital, But Another City Is Quickly on the Ascent, CNBC (Apr. 26, 2017,
4:19 AM), https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/26/singapore-ranked-worlds-top-maritime-capital-but-
another-city-is-quickly-on-the-ascent.html; Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sing. Geneva,
155
Binder: Singapore & Urban Planning
Published by Reading Room, 2019
The island is covered by an efficient public transit system of subways and
buses that 50% of workers use to commute to work. Rush hour traffic congestion
is relatively rare. Automobile ownership and usage is tightly restricted, greenery is
ubiquitous, and historic structures are preserved. Crime is low, streets are clean,6
homelessness is virtually non-existent,7 and industrial factories are located away
from residential communities, all leading to a clean environment, which is not
common among many other Asian nations.8 Urban sprawl is absent. Public
corruption is not a major issue. Per capita income in Singapore is close to that of
the United States.9
A quick description of Singapore’s uniqueness shows a city bereft of
barrios, ghettos, slums, and tenements with clean streets, no gum, cigarette butts,
graffiti, roaming dogs, squatters, billboards, and little crime; mostly smooth
flowing traffic as well. Smoking is limited to specific areas. Singapore has a highly
educated, technologically astute population.
Visitors to Singapore usually see only the built, mostly high-rise Singapore.
Viewers of the movie Crazy Rich Asians also see the modern Singapore. Neither
visitors nor movie goers see the Singapore of five decades ago and the measures
Singapore Clinches Top Spot as Leading Maritime Capital of the World for Third Consecutive
Time, MINISTRY FOREIGN AFF.,
https://www.mfa.gov.sg/content/mfa/overseasmission/geneva/press_statements_speeches/2017/20
1704/press_20170426.html (last visited Feb. 25, 2019).
6 Fines are imposed for littering, spitting, and smoking. Pamelia Lee, 50 Years of Urban Planning
& Tourism, in 50 YEARS OF URBAN PLANNING IN SINGAPORE 197, 200 (Heng Chye Kiang ed.,
2017) [hereinafter Heng].
7 A small homeless population exists in Singapore. A 2017 survey found 180 homeless sleeping in
public spaces. See Gabrielle See, Going Public: Homelessness in a Nation of Homeowners –
Social Space, Food for Thought, Online Exclusives 10, socialspacemag.org,
https://socialspacemag.org/going-public-homelessness-in-a-nation-of-homeowners/, Homelessness
in Singapore, the world’s richest city, is not what it seems, New Straits Times, October 15, 2017,
https://www.nst.com.my/world/2017/10/291213/homelessness-singapore-worlds-richest-city-not-
what-it-seems.
8 A recent study of air quality has six Asian countries (Bangladesh (1), Pakistan (2), India, (3)
Afghanistan (4), Mongolia (6), and Nepal (8)) in the ten worst countries in air pollution. Singapore
ranks 47th on the list. IQAir, AirVisual, 2018 World Air Quality Report: Region & City PM2.5
Ranking 7 (2019).
9 It was $52,867 in Singapore in 2015 and $58,079 in the United States. DEP’T OF STATISTICS
SING., SINGAPORE IN FIGURES 2018, at 3 (2018), https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-
/media/files/publications/reference/sif2018.pdf.
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buses that 50% of workers use to commute to work. Rush hour traffic congestion
is relatively rare. Automobile ownership and usage is tightly restricted, greenery is
ubiquitous, and historic structures are preserved. Crime is low, streets are clean,6
homelessness is virtually non-existent,7 and industrial factories are located away
from residential communities, all leading to a clean environment, which is not
common among many other Asian nations.8 Urban sprawl is absent. Public
corruption is not a major issue. Per capita income in Singapore is close to that of
the United States.9
A quick description of Singapore’s uniqueness shows a city bereft of
barrios, ghettos, slums, and tenements with clean streets, no gum, cigarette butts,
graffiti, roaming dogs, squatters, billboards, and little crime; mostly smooth
flowing traffic as well. Smoking is limited to specific areas. Singapore has a highly
educated, technologically astute population.
Visitors to Singapore usually see only the built, mostly high-rise Singapore.
Viewers of the movie Crazy Rich Asians also see the modern Singapore. Neither
visitors nor movie goers see the Singapore of five decades ago and the measures
Singapore Clinches Top Spot as Leading Maritime Capital of the World for Third Consecutive
Time, MINISTRY FOREIGN AFF.,
https://www.mfa.gov.sg/content/mfa/overseasmission/geneva/press_statements_speeches/2017/20
1704/press_20170426.html (last visited Feb. 25, 2019).
6 Fines are imposed for littering, spitting, and smoking. Pamelia Lee, 50 Years of Urban Planning
& Tourism, in 50 YEARS OF URBAN PLANNING IN SINGAPORE 197, 200 (Heng Chye Kiang ed.,
2017) [hereinafter Heng].
7 A small homeless population exists in Singapore. A 2017 survey found 180 homeless sleeping in
public spaces. See Gabrielle See, Going Public: Homelessness in a Nation of Homeowners –
Social Space, Food for Thought, Online Exclusives 10, socialspacemag.org,
https://socialspacemag.org/going-public-homelessness-in-a-nation-of-homeowners/, Homelessness
in Singapore, the world’s richest city, is not what it seems, New Straits Times, October 15, 2017,
https://www.nst.com.my/world/2017/10/291213/homelessness-singapore-worlds-richest-city-not-
what-it-seems.
8 A recent study of air quality has six Asian countries (Bangladesh (1), Pakistan (2), India, (3)
Afghanistan (4), Mongolia (6), and Nepal (8)) in the ten worst countries in air pollution. Singapore
ranks 47th on the list. IQAir, AirVisual, 2018 World Air Quality Report: Region & City PM2.5
Ranking 7 (2019).
9 It was $52,867 in Singapore in 2015 and $58,079 in the United States. DEP’T OF STATISTICS
SING., SINGAPORE IN FIGURES 2018, at 3 (2018), https://www.singstat.gov.sg/-
/media/files/publications/reference/sif2018.pdf.
156
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that transformed a backwater port into a glamorous, modernized metropolis. Nor
do they see the rising inequality in Singapore.10
The Singapore of today is not the Singapore at independence.
HISTORY
Singapore was a sparsely settled island on January 29, 1819, when Sir
Thomas Stamford Raffles landed.11 On February 6, 1819 he entered into a treaty on
behalf of the British East India Company with Sultan Hussein of Johore and the
Temenggorg12 for a British trading post on the island. The March 1824 Anglo-
Dutch Treaty of London recognized the respective spheres of influence, leaving
Indonesia to the Dutch, and Malaysia and Singapore to the British. In August 1824,
the final treaty between the Sultan and the Temenggong formally converted
Singapore into a British colony by granting the island and adjacent territory to the
British.
Singapore soon became a booming port and trading post through its
location, its sheltered port, and Sir Raffles’ decision to make Singapore a free port.
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the advent of the steamship raised
Singapore into one of the world’s largest ports. Ships between the Suez Canal and
the South China Sea must pass Singapore.
Singapore fell to the Japanese on February 15, 1942 and remained in
Japanese possession until the war’s end. On September 5, 1945 England regained
possession. Much of Singapore was devastated. England reigned victorious but
suffered economically from the war. The British returned to Singapore, but the
British Empire was in its dying days.13 England lacked the resources to sustain,
10 As Singapore has prospered, it has increasingly become dependent on low-wage, low-skilled
foreign workers. Kenneth Paul Tan, S’Pore’s income inequality is made worse by elitist values &
systematic elitism: soft talk to keep Singapore from stalling, MOTHERHOOD, October 14, 2018
https://mothership.sg/2018/10/kenneth-paul-tan-income-inequality-sg-elitism/, Anna Maria
Romero, Not Everyone in Singapore is a Crazy Rich Asian; unmasking the class divide in order to
find solutions, The Independent, October 28, 2018, http://theindependent.sg/not-everyone-in-
singapore-is-a-crazy-rich-asian-unmasking-the-class-divide-in-order-to-find-solutions/.
11 Singapore had about 1,000 residents when Sir Raffles arrived. MARK R. FROST & YU-MEI
BALASINGAMCHOW, SINGAPORE: A BIOGRAPHY 40 (2009).
12 Temenggong Abdul Rahman was the local chieftain of Johore.
13 The fall of Singapore doomed the British Empire, at least in Asia. The defeat of the British
“undermined the old assumption of racial superiority and the belief that a colonial power could or
should defend its subject people without calling on their cooperation,” C. M. Turnbull, A History
of Modern Singapore: 1819-2005 192 (NUS Press 2009).
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do they see the rising inequality in Singapore.10
The Singapore of today is not the Singapore at independence.
HISTORY
Singapore was a sparsely settled island on January 29, 1819, when Sir
Thomas Stamford Raffles landed.11 On February 6, 1819 he entered into a treaty on
behalf of the British East India Company with Sultan Hussein of Johore and the
Temenggorg12 for a British trading post on the island. The March 1824 Anglo-
Dutch Treaty of London recognized the respective spheres of influence, leaving
Indonesia to the Dutch, and Malaysia and Singapore to the British. In August 1824,
the final treaty between the Sultan and the Temenggong formally converted
Singapore into a British colony by granting the island and adjacent territory to the
British.
Singapore soon became a booming port and trading post through its
location, its sheltered port, and Sir Raffles’ decision to make Singapore a free port.
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the advent of the steamship raised
Singapore into one of the world’s largest ports. Ships between the Suez Canal and
the South China Sea must pass Singapore.
Singapore fell to the Japanese on February 15, 1942 and remained in
Japanese possession until the war’s end. On September 5, 1945 England regained
possession. Much of Singapore was devastated. England reigned victorious but
suffered economically from the war. The British returned to Singapore, but the
British Empire was in its dying days.13 England lacked the resources to sustain,
10 As Singapore has prospered, it has increasingly become dependent on low-wage, low-skilled
foreign workers. Kenneth Paul Tan, S’Pore’s income inequality is made worse by elitist values &
systematic elitism: soft talk to keep Singapore from stalling, MOTHERHOOD, October 14, 2018
https://mothership.sg/2018/10/kenneth-paul-tan-income-inequality-sg-elitism/, Anna Maria
Romero, Not Everyone in Singapore is a Crazy Rich Asian; unmasking the class divide in order to
find solutions, The Independent, October 28, 2018, http://theindependent.sg/not-everyone-in-
singapore-is-a-crazy-rich-asian-unmasking-the-class-divide-in-order-to-find-solutions/.
11 Singapore had about 1,000 residents when Sir Raffles arrived. MARK R. FROST & YU-MEI
BALASINGAMCHOW, SINGAPORE: A BIOGRAPHY 40 (2009).
12 Temenggong Abdul Rahman was the local chieftain of Johore.
13 The fall of Singapore doomed the British Empire, at least in Asia. The defeat of the British
“undermined the old assumption of racial superiority and the belief that a colonial power could or
should defend its subject people without calling on their cooperation,” C. M. Turnbull, A History
of Modern Singapore: 1819-2005 192 (NUS Press 2009).
157
Binder: Singapore & Urban Planning
Published by Reading Room, 2019
much less invest in, the Empire. India was granted independence in 1947 and the
British Empire began to unravel.
England granted sovereignty to Singapore in 1959. Singapore joined the
Federation of Malaysia in 1963 and left Malaysia in 1965, becoming fully
independent on August 9, 1965. Incompatibility in values and ethnicity doomed the
merger.
Housing was a problem in Singapore before the city-state gained
independence. In 1947, the British Housing Commission reported that 72% of
Singapore’s population lived within 80 square kilometers of the central city area,14
which was a slum.15 In 1959, only 9% were living in public housing.16 The central
city area was overcrowded with 1.15 million of the 1.6 million population living in
squatter settlements.17
Upon gaining independence, Singapore had major economic issues, and
could be described as a poverty stricken third world country with extensive
pollution problems. As Professor Lim points out, however, Singapore had the
second highest per capita income in Asia after Japan.18 Yet, the per capita income
was only $515.19
14 Abhas Jha, “But What About Singapore?” Lessons from the Best Public Housing Program in
the World, WORLD BANK: SUSTAINABLE CITIES (Jan. 31, 2018),
http://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/what-about-singapore-lessons-best-public-housing-
program-world.
15 SEEK NGEE HUAT, SING TIEN FOO & YU SHI MING, SINGAPORE’S REAL ESTATE: 50 YEARS OF
TRANSFORMATION 21 (2016). The occupancy rate was about 18 people per building. OLE JOHAN
DALE, URBAN PLANNING IN SINGAPORE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF A CITY 22 (1999).
16 Jha, supra note 15.
17 Liu Thai Ker, Planning & Urbanization in Singapore: A 50-Year Journey, in Heng, supra note
8, at 23, 25. Another statistic was that 60% of the population lived on 16% of the land. Tan Puay
Yok, Greening Singapore: Past Achievements, Emerging Challenges, in Heng, supra note 8, at
177, 180.
18 Linda C.Y. Lim, Singapore’s Success: After the Miracle 203, 205 in Robert E. Looney,
Handbook of Emerging Economies (Routledge 2014).
19 How Wealthy Was Singapore at its Independence (1965)? Economic History of Singapore:
Facts and Details, http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Singapore/sub5_7c/entry-3782.html.
158
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British Empire began to unravel.
England granted sovereignty to Singapore in 1959. Singapore joined the
Federation of Malaysia in 1963 and left Malaysia in 1965, becoming fully
independent on August 9, 1965. Incompatibility in values and ethnicity doomed the
merger.
Housing was a problem in Singapore before the city-state gained
independence. In 1947, the British Housing Commission reported that 72% of
Singapore’s population lived within 80 square kilometers of the central city area,14
which was a slum.15 In 1959, only 9% were living in public housing.16 The central
city area was overcrowded with 1.15 million of the 1.6 million population living in
squatter settlements.17
Upon gaining independence, Singapore had major economic issues, and
could be described as a poverty stricken third world country with extensive
pollution problems. As Professor Lim points out, however, Singapore had the
second highest per capita income in Asia after Japan.18 Yet, the per capita income
was only $515.19
14 Abhas Jha, “But What About Singapore?” Lessons from the Best Public Housing Program in
the World, WORLD BANK: SUSTAINABLE CITIES (Jan. 31, 2018),
http://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/what-about-singapore-lessons-best-public-housing-
program-world.
15 SEEK NGEE HUAT, SING TIEN FOO & YU SHI MING, SINGAPORE’S REAL ESTATE: 50 YEARS OF
TRANSFORMATION 21 (2016). The occupancy rate was about 18 people per building. OLE JOHAN
DALE, URBAN PLANNING IN SINGAPORE: THE TRANSFORMATION OF A CITY 22 (1999).
16 Jha, supra note 15.
17 Liu Thai Ker, Planning & Urbanization in Singapore: A 50-Year Journey, in Heng, supra note
8, at 23, 25. Another statistic was that 60% of the population lived on 16% of the land. Tan Puay
Yok, Greening Singapore: Past Achievements, Emerging Challenges, in Heng, supra note 8, at
177, 180.
18 Linda C.Y. Lim, Singapore’s Success: After the Miracle 203, 205 in Robert E. Looney,
Handbook of Emerging Economies (Routledge 2014).
19 How Wealthy Was Singapore at its Independence (1965)? Economic History of Singapore:
Facts and Details, http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Singapore/sub5_7c/entry-3782.html.
158
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In 1957, the population reached 1,445,929.20 Singapore was said to have
the largest slums in Asia.21 Much of the population lived in shophouses,22 slums,
shanty towns, and kampong villages (which were squalid, overcrowded, poor
farming villages). The owners raised vegetables, pigs and chickens, and were
fishermen. The rivers were fouled with pig-farm effluent, food wastes, and sewage.
The homes lacked electricity, running water, and modern sanitation.23 Public health
and sanitation were disasters.24 Swamplands were common. Public transit consisted
of limited, irregular bus service.25 Roads had primarily been designed for the needs
of the British military.26 Fires and floods were a constant threat.
In addition, much of the land was owned in tiny parcels, making it difficult
for private developers to amass tracts suitable for development.27 The onus,
therefore, was on the government to acquire suitable tracts of land.
SINGAPORE TODAY
Today, Singapore’s population is densely contained in a high rise, urban
core that is well served by an extensive mass transit system with greenery
everywhere – on roofs, balconies, climbing walls, and greenbelts with major
restrictions on automobiles. It may not have started out as a detailed-planned
community with the master plan of Irvine, California, but its development is almost
completely controlled by the government, which owns 90% of Singapore’s land.
20 DALE, supra note 16, at 22.
21 Tan, supra note 18, at 177, 180.
22 The shophouses were built for single families, but were increasingly subdivided into smaller and
smaller living units. Alan F. C. Choe, The Early Years of Nation-Building: Reflections on
Singapore’s Urban History in Heng, supra note 6, at 3, 6.
23 One prominent Singapore planner described growing up in the old Singapore. He said sewage
collectors would go house to house collecting sewage in buckets to bring to sewage trucks. Bharati
Jagdish, On the Record: Liu Thai Ker, Architect and Former Master Planner of Singapore,
CHANNEL NEWSASIA (Oct. 7, 2017, 7:00 AM),
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/on-the-record-liu-thai-ker-architect-and-
former-master-planner-9285942. A discussion of the pail toilet system is found at Loh Kak Seng,
The 1962 Kampong Burkit Ho Fire and the Making of Modern Singapore 91-93 Dissertation,
Murdoch University 2008).
24 Choe, supra note 23, at 3.
25 Mohinder Singh, Transportation: Mobility, Accessibility, and Connectivity, in Heng, supra note
6, at 127, 128.
26 Id. at 127.
27 Choe, supra note 23, at 13-14.
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the largest slums in Asia.21 Much of the population lived in shophouses,22 slums,
shanty towns, and kampong villages (which were squalid, overcrowded, poor
farming villages). The owners raised vegetables, pigs and chickens, and were
fishermen. The rivers were fouled with pig-farm effluent, food wastes, and sewage.
The homes lacked electricity, running water, and modern sanitation.23 Public health
and sanitation were disasters.24 Swamplands were common. Public transit consisted
of limited, irregular bus service.25 Roads had primarily been designed for the needs
of the British military.26 Fires and floods were a constant threat.
In addition, much of the land was owned in tiny parcels, making it difficult
for private developers to amass tracts suitable for development.27 The onus,
therefore, was on the government to acquire suitable tracts of land.
SINGAPORE TODAY
Today, Singapore’s population is densely contained in a high rise, urban
core that is well served by an extensive mass transit system with greenery
everywhere – on roofs, balconies, climbing walls, and greenbelts with major
restrictions on automobiles. It may not have started out as a detailed-planned
community with the master plan of Irvine, California, but its development is almost
completely controlled by the government, which owns 90% of Singapore’s land.
20 DALE, supra note 16, at 22.
21 Tan, supra note 18, at 177, 180.
22 The shophouses were built for single families, but were increasingly subdivided into smaller and
smaller living units. Alan F. C. Choe, The Early Years of Nation-Building: Reflections on
Singapore’s Urban History in Heng, supra note 6, at 3, 6.
23 One prominent Singapore planner described growing up in the old Singapore. He said sewage
collectors would go house to house collecting sewage in buckets to bring to sewage trucks. Bharati
Jagdish, On the Record: Liu Thai Ker, Architect and Former Master Planner of Singapore,
CHANNEL NEWSASIA (Oct. 7, 2017, 7:00 AM),
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/on-the-record-liu-thai-ker-architect-and-
former-master-planner-9285942. A discussion of the pail toilet system is found at Loh Kak Seng,
The 1962 Kampong Burkit Ho Fire and the Making of Modern Singapore 91-93 Dissertation,
Murdoch University 2008).
24 Choe, supra note 23, at 3.
25 Mohinder Singh, Transportation: Mobility, Accessibility, and Connectivity, in Heng, supra note
6, at 127, 128.
26 Id. at 127.
27 Choe, supra note 23, at 13-14.
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Binder: Singapore & Urban Planning
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Singapore's success is seemingly miraculous for an island-state small in
size and lacking in natural resources. However, it had several advantages and
resources, not always appreciated at the time of their independence. The first is the
most critical factor in real estate: location, location, and location. Singapore lies at
the foot of the Malay Peninsula aside the Straits of Malacca, which is the main
shipping route connecting the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean to the South China
Sea. It became a major shipping and refitting port. Its sheltered, deep harbor is well
protected from monsoons.
The second under appreciated asset was its people—especially the inspired
leadership by its founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. The Prime Minister and
his allies had a vision of a Singapore built on economic success for the benefit of
the people. He eschewed socialism, unlike many newly independent ex-colonies:
Did I ever contemplate nationalism, socialist planning for
industrialization and economic transformation? Frankly, No. For
there was precious little to nationalize, apart from office furniture and
equipment, bank offices, shops, hotels, and some factories.28
His People’s Action Party (PAP) won the election in 1959, and every election since.
PAP has guided the miracle of Singapore.
A third advantage was not necessarily realized at independence. Singapore
has a unified government. Singapore is one government, one political system, and
an economy of stability. The island is the city. The city is the state. The state is the
nation. One party and one government decides for all, as it has since 1959. It is a
top down government open to capitalism.
Another advantage of its small size is especially significant in comparison
to post-World War II land development. The island’s small size precludes urban
sprawl and the devouring of farmland. No flight out of the “city” is possible. If
citizens do not like the system, the alternative is to emigrate.
The government has unique planning powers both because it owns 90% of
the country’s land and because it is a unitary government. The one-party, unitary
government speaks in one public voice.
Singapore is constrained by its small land size. It has to maximize the use
of seemingly every square inch. The fledging government recognized the need for
economic development with control of the land as the key. The independent
Singapore succeeded to 49% of the country’s land as crown lands. It increased the
28 Lee Kuan Yew, The Wit & Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew: 1923-2015 114 (2013).
160
Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy, Vol. 3 [2019], Iss. 1, Art. 7
https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/jculp/vol3/iss1/7
size and lacking in natural resources. However, it had several advantages and
resources, not always appreciated at the time of their independence. The first is the
most critical factor in real estate: location, location, and location. Singapore lies at
the foot of the Malay Peninsula aside the Straits of Malacca, which is the main
shipping route connecting the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean to the South China
Sea. It became a major shipping and refitting port. Its sheltered, deep harbor is well
protected from monsoons.
The second under appreciated asset was its people—especially the inspired
leadership by its founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew. The Prime Minister and
his allies had a vision of a Singapore built on economic success for the benefit of
the people. He eschewed socialism, unlike many newly independent ex-colonies:
Did I ever contemplate nationalism, socialist planning for
industrialization and economic transformation? Frankly, No. For
there was precious little to nationalize, apart from office furniture and
equipment, bank offices, shops, hotels, and some factories.28
His People’s Action Party (PAP) won the election in 1959, and every election since.
PAP has guided the miracle of Singapore.
A third advantage was not necessarily realized at independence. Singapore
has a unified government. Singapore is one government, one political system, and
an economy of stability. The island is the city. The city is the state. The state is the
nation. One party and one government decides for all, as it has since 1959. It is a
top down government open to capitalism.
Another advantage of its small size is especially significant in comparison
to post-World War II land development. The island’s small size precludes urban
sprawl and the devouring of farmland. No flight out of the “city” is possible. If
citizens do not like the system, the alternative is to emigrate.
The government has unique planning powers both because it owns 90% of
the country’s land and because it is a unitary government. The one-party, unitary
government speaks in one public voice.
Singapore is constrained by its small land size. It has to maximize the use
of seemingly every square inch. The fledging government recognized the need for
economic development with control of the land as the key. The independent
Singapore succeeded to 49% of the country’s land as crown lands. It increased the
28 Lee Kuan Yew, The Wit & Wisdom of Lee Kuan Yew: 1923-2015 114 (2013).
160
Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy, Vol. 3 [2019], Iss. 1, Art. 7
https://readingroom.law.gsu.edu/jculp/vol3/iss1/7
government owned land to 90% through aggressive powers of eminent domain.29
Singapore has also expanded its size by 25% by filling in land, both on the main
island, known as Singapore, and on smaller off-shore islands as well as creating
some artificial islands.
For example, seven offshore islands were joined as Jurong Island, a single
island of 3,000 acres.30 Three refineries are located on the island all with a capacity
of 1,500,000 biomass-based diesel, assorted petrochemical facilities, and an
underground crude oil storage facility.
Industry is often removed from the populated areas. Singapore is an
industrial powerhouse with a large petrochemical and pharmaceutical industry.
THE PLANNING PROCESS
Sir Raffles in a sense created the first Singapore master plan when he laid
out the first town plan for the island in 1822. The British Plan featured a grid
pattern, functional specialization, and ethnic enclaves.31 The Singapore Investment
Trust introduced a master plan which was adopted in 1958.32 The master plan aimed
to resettle two-thirds of the kampong residents over 20 years. Some kampongs,
including Bukit Ho Swee, which was consumed by fire a few years later, were
marked for clearance.33 Master plans are updated every 5 years, and complement
the Concept Plan. Singapore, as a unitary government, has one concept plan and
one master plan.34
29 Jha, supra note 15.
30 Philip Yeo, Economic Planning for Productivity, Growth, and Prosperity, in Heng, supra note
8, at 45, 50. The islands of Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Merlimau, and Puleau
Seraya were fishing communities. The other islands were Pulau Pesak, Pulau Pesak Kechil, and
Pulau Sakra. Tang Hsiao Ling, Industrial Planning in Singapore, in Heng, supra note 8, at 153,
161-64.
31 Choe, supra note 23, at 4-5.
32 Id. at 7.
33 Loh Kah Seng, Fires and the Social Politics of Nation-Building in Singapore 6 (Asia Research
Ctr., Murdock Univ., Working Paper No. 149, 2008).
34 Liu, supra note 18, at 26. It has one master plan and one planning agency, The Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA). Singapore has though a number of agencies involved with
improvement of the city: the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the Public Utilities Board
(PUB), the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), Singapore
Tourist Promotion Board (STPB), Regional Development Board (RDB), and Public Works
Department (PWD).
161
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Singapore has also expanded its size by 25% by filling in land, both on the main
island, known as Singapore, and on smaller off-shore islands as well as creating
some artificial islands.
For example, seven offshore islands were joined as Jurong Island, a single
island of 3,000 acres.30 Three refineries are located on the island all with a capacity
of 1,500,000 biomass-based diesel, assorted petrochemical facilities, and an
underground crude oil storage facility.
Industry is often removed from the populated areas. Singapore is an
industrial powerhouse with a large petrochemical and pharmaceutical industry.
THE PLANNING PROCESS
Sir Raffles in a sense created the first Singapore master plan when he laid
out the first town plan for the island in 1822. The British Plan featured a grid
pattern, functional specialization, and ethnic enclaves.31 The Singapore Investment
Trust introduced a master plan which was adopted in 1958.32 The master plan aimed
to resettle two-thirds of the kampong residents over 20 years. Some kampongs,
including Bukit Ho Swee, which was consumed by fire a few years later, were
marked for clearance.33 Master plans are updated every 5 years, and complement
the Concept Plan. Singapore, as a unitary government, has one concept plan and
one master plan.34
29 Jha, supra note 15.
30 Philip Yeo, Economic Planning for Productivity, Growth, and Prosperity, in Heng, supra note
8, at 45, 50. The islands of Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Merlimau, and Puleau
Seraya were fishing communities. The other islands were Pulau Pesak, Pulau Pesak Kechil, and
Pulau Sakra. Tang Hsiao Ling, Industrial Planning in Singapore, in Heng, supra note 8, at 153,
161-64.
31 Choe, supra note 23, at 4-5.
32 Id. at 7.
33 Loh Kah Seng, Fires and the Social Politics of Nation-Building in Singapore 6 (Asia Research
Ctr., Murdock Univ., Working Paper No. 149, 2008).
34 Liu, supra note 18, at 26. It has one master plan and one planning agency, The Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA). Singapore has though a number of agencies involved with
improvement of the city: the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the Public Utilities Board
(PUB), the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA), Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), Singapore
Tourist Promotion Board (STPB), Regional Development Board (RDB), and Public Works
Department (PWD).
161
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