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Rebecca SE Tan
1 August 2022
Note: This article is best viewed in desktop mode, as the positioning of the images may be disrupted on mobile versions.
Singapore's National Day is coming up, and I'm filled with an almost irrational sense of patriotism. Still, while this post is dedicated to celebrating Singapore's success, I assure you that my admiration of our sustainable urban solutions is of sound justifications.
What is the Singapore Model?
The Singapore model is expressed in the Singapore Liveability Framework, which focuses on creating a competitive economy, a high quality of life and a sustainable environment. The approach used to achieve these outcomes is through integrated master planning and dynamic urban governance.
This model has been incredibly successful. In 2018, Singapore ranked the most liveable city in Asia based on Mercer’s 20th annual Quality of Living Rankings. We have substantial economic, social, and environmental successes, with the world's third highest GDP per capita, a homeownership rate of 90.7%, and a green cover of 47%, among other achievements. This impressive track record provides reason to analyse the current strategies.
One such initiative to utilise our strategies is the Sino-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City, otherwise known as SSGKC. China wished to develop its Guangdong Province and worked with the Singaporean government to establish sustainable city strategies.
The aim was to transform Guangzhou from a labour-intensive, manufacturing-based economy to a knowledge-based one to become a vibrant and sustainable city that attracts and retains talent.
An important stakeholder of the SSGKC is the Ascendas-Singbridge. Ascendas-Singbridge is a real estate company in Singapore that plays two critical roles at SSGKC. It is part of a joint venture called SSGKC Investment and Development Co. Ltd (GKC Co.), the master developer of the entire 123 square kilometres of SSGKC. It is also the real estate "sub-developer" of OneHub, a 6.27 square kilometre area in the Southern Start Up Area (SUA).
With the help of Ascendas-Singbridge, the export of Singapore’s model was greatly facilitated. But what exactly can we learn from Singapore’s model, and how was this translated to the SSGKC in China?
Lessons Drawn: Exporting the Singapore Model
Cities can learn three main lessons from Singapore: strong governance, facilitation of investments and an integrated planning approach.
Lesson 1: Strong Governance
Firm governance can be defined in three aspects: political stability, long-term planning, and community engagement.
Singapore boasts a stable political leadership and has established the rule of law to run a corrupt-free government. In 1951, the Public Service Commission was also set up to oversee the governance of the civil service to ensure it remained effective in its task of institution building. As such, the Singapore government is able to effectively lead its people on the principles of accountability, transparency, and incorruptibility.
The second component of strong governance is long-term planning. Since its formative years, Singapore has placed a great emphasis on all three facets of sustainability, integrating social, environmental, and economic development in its urban planning. In 1959, fiscal prudence was also institutionalised, where national revenue always had to exceed expenditure, paving the way for debt-free development.
Lastly, strong governance entails strong community engagement. Singapore's government actively involved the community as stakeholders. Residents' Committees were formed in HDB estates for residents to raise issues, give feedback on their needs, and promote neighbourly interactions. The community is also encouraged to be involved in leadership positions at the grassroots level and to engage in feedback dialogues.
This focus on strong governance was only mildly translated to the SSGKC example, which I will explore later.
Lesson 2: Facilitating Investments
The second lesson from the Singapore Model is its effectiveness in facilitating investment to develop sustainable cities. This aspect has been successfully exported to the SSGKC. The SSGKC received a lot of investments from both the government and the private sector. As China did not allow private investment into main infrastructures like trains and roads, these were built by the Guangzhou government.
To engage private investment, the Intellectual Property Hub, or IP Hub, was launched to create 'a law-based environment favourable to investors and firms through improving intellectual property awareness and usage'. By 2018, the IP Hub had issued over 150,000 patents.
This strategy was highly effective. The SSGKC attracted high-end industrial, infrastructure and public service projects. By 2017, the total investment of GKC Co. reached $56.6 billion Yuan, which is more than S$12 billion. Key investments came from biomedical, cloud computing and knowledge-based companies, which acquired land, constructed buildings, installed equipment, and invested in inventory.
Lesson 3: Integrated Planning
The third lesson we can learn from the Singapore example is its integrated planning approach. This was also successfully exported in the SSGKC. The 2011 Master Plan included seven clusters of integrated, multi-focus developments. The plan also contains ten scenic city highlights to enhance the park's image further.
Specifically, the Southern Start Up Area (SUA) comprises of one-third residential units, one-third business function, and one-third public amenities and green spaces. It was projected to house a population of 78,000 with the creation of 46,000 jobs. The SUA also boasts a Medical Cluster for Cancer Treatment.
Within the SUA, Ascendas-Singbridge also developed the integrated business park of OneHub, which targeted high-tech companies, regional headquarters, and innovative industries. By the end of 2016, 10 blocks of high-rise buildings had been built, attracting large tenants such as the Bank of China. The first batch of residential phase 1 was also completed, with 54% of the 302 residential units sold.
Export Challenges: Difficulty in a Direct Export of the Singapore Model
With such a successful model, why hasn't this already been implemented everywhere? Clearly, there are limitations to directly exporting Singapore's model, which will be analysed in this section.
Recall the three main lessons learnt from the Singapore model: strong governance, investment facilitation, and integrated planning.
While I had previously presented a linear relationship between these three factors, the reality is that strong governance provides the foundation for the other two factors. Even though China does very well in exporting the second and third aspects, it faces some challenges with the governance factor.
One challenge for the export of Singapore's model is the governance feature of political stability.
While local authorities in China were eager to begin with physical developments to attract investments, GKC Co. argued that it was difficult to do that without first creating a conducive, business-friendly environment.
Indeed, based on Singapore's experience, high-value corporations and R&D sectors preferred political stability and consistency in policy, amongst other factors. With the frequent changes within the local Chinese leadership, it was difficult to foster a more investor-friendly ecosystem.
Another factor is the government's role in enabling long-term projects. This challenge is not specific to China - master development has a very long gestation process. Original proponents of the project, with their personal relationships and institutional memory, may no longer be in the project. In addition, the first five years are invested in land resettlement and building infrastructure, with little returns. As such, the government needs to assure businesses that the project will be financially attractive in the long run, such as through constant alignment mechanisms.
Lastly, the translation of community engagement from Singapore to China is not ideal. In the Singapore liveability model, neighbourhood centres (NCs) encourage inclusivity and social engagement within the community and are a key component of urban planning. Each NC caters for the daily living needs of nearby residents, with both commercial retail and public amenities, such as clinics, police posts, day-care centres, and libraries.
This is in contrast to the situation in China, where privately-run commercial retail space dominates the front of residential developments. The GKC Co. found it difficult to interest sub-developers in building the NCs, fuelling worries that the NC concept may fall apart in the Southern Start Up Area and be too vulnerable to market considerations. Hence, China needs to better incorporate Singapore's experience in society building through building consensus and providing legislative support for social infrastructure.
While these challenges may seem daunting, other China-Singapore projects have shown that it is not impossible to overcome!
One example is the Sino Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, otherwise known as SIP, which was also developed based on Singapore's model. Crucially, it emphasised the transfer of 'Singapore software' to China, loosely the administrative and legal apparatus that made Singapore respected for its transparency, lack of corruption, and long-term planning. By 2014, 2300 SIP officials had received training in such areas, resulting in the massive success of the SIP. Today, it is a modern city with a high-tech industrial park, a green environment, and arguably one of the most liveable places in China.
Another example is the Tianjin Eco-City, which has incorporated the community engagement factor. Currently, three Community Centres provide shared spaces for residents and promote community bonding. In addition, there are 21 Residents' Centres to facilitate feedback loops. This focus on social development is no doubt one crucial pull factor in attracting residents and allowing the transformation of barren land into a thriving eco-city.
Closing Thoughts: How to Build More Sustainable Cities
We have seen that strong governance, facilitation of investments, and integrated planning are all crucial factors in building a sustainable city. But how can we tie all of these factors together?
We need our environmental values, education, and social norms to change. Ultimately, people are the reason and drivers for building sustainable cities, and hence we require the efforts of citizens to push this dream into reality.
Take, for example, the city of Copenhagen in Denmark! The good urban planning of the government and the prevalence of its biking culture works hand in hand to achieve sustainability. The government does its part by building more biking routes and bridges, with more than 382km of cycle tracks. But ultimately, the people's buy-in makes the city sustainable – cycling accounts for a whopping 49% of all commuter trips!
There are so many other examples of how environmental values and social norms transform cities! In Bristol, UK, residents recycle or compost 47% of their household waste. In New York City, urban gardening is becoming an increasingly popular pastime to produce fresh and sustainable food.
Perhaps then, building sustainable urban cities maps to three pillars of sustainability, plus the X factor of culture.
Strong governance relates to the law and governance pillar, including political stability, long-term planning, and community engagement. Facilitating investments relates to the economic and financial incentives pillar by creating an environment favourable to investors and firms to fund the sustainable growth of cities. Integrated planning relates to the technology and innovation pillar, as innovative solutions are needed to envision and build viable and convenient multi-focus developments.
Lastly, the X factor of culture is required to push these three pillars along. With a cultural shift and a buy-in by the population, we can signal demands to encourage efficient laws, inspire more incredible innovation, and push the right economic incentives. By implementating these learning points, I believe we can pave the way for sustainable cities.
* Potential discussion questions: What do you think about Singapore's urban solutions? What are some interesting solutions from your country or abroad? Can urbanisation truly be sustainable? Let me know in the comments below!
Author's note: This article has been adapted from a presentation I made for class presentation, though I have shortened the slides considerably for this post. Credits to Slidesgo material for the slides template. Hope you enjoyed!
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