Five commandments of urban planning

By Khoo Teng Chye, Published The Straits Times, 10 Jul 2012

INTEGRATED master planning goes beyond the making of physical plans. It looks at how impact on the environment, economy and quality of life can be balanced, especially with competing demands for use of limited land. It must also ensure that meeting long-term outcomes as well as short-term needs are optimised.

But the key differentiating factor for Singapore's planning is that its plans do not stay just on paper - they are implemented and executed with dedicated organisations, expertise and resources.

At each stage in the integrated master planning and development process, there have been five implicit operating 'rules' that have remained remarkably consistent over the years.

Rule 1: Think long term

THINKING long term helps officials keep the three outcomes in balance at both the planning and implementing stages. A longer-term view can also help planners make decisions on developing a good project that may be before its time.

Long-term thinking provides government agencies with a sense of mission and direction, and at every point in time, rigorous decisions in evaluating and implementing projects have to be made to deal with challenges based on the best knowledge and information available at the time.

When homes were urgently required in the 1960s, city planners took pains to ensure all public housing was developed with requisite sewerage, drainage and transportation systems, even if it took more time. This meant in the long term, there would be no need to retro-fit these systems at a high cost and great inconvenience.

Rule 2: Fight productively

IN A rational, interest-based analysis, government agencies tend to focus on their own targets rather than the larger goals of government. An inter-agency structure forces various government departments to acknowledge one another's concerns and goals. Such a structure, and the resulting processes, gives room for 'productive fights'.

A fight is productive when it helps officials to bring up their concerns and differences, challenge proposals, and reach decisions on planning and implementation that optimise the three liveability outcomes. Unresolved issues are moved forward for resolution by considering overall strategic goals and national interests.

Fights are not just a result of different interests, but also sometimes, of different perspectives. For example, our research has shown some instances where political and professional ideas and assessments diverge. In these cases, it is not mere power that resolves the issue - there is a historical and deep respect for professional expertise in public policy planning and implementation in Singapore.

As land was scarce, the 1983 Catchment Policy enabled water catchments and urbanisation to co-exist. However, tension between land use for industrial developments and the protection of water catchments grew as economic development intensified. The PUB, Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) and the Economic Development Board (EDB) worked together to review the 1983 Catchment Policy in 2002 and came up with a solution - 'a negative list' rather than a total ban - that allowed more light industries to be located within unprotected water catchment areas.

Rule 3: Build in some flexibility

WHILE planning is necessarily for the long term and done in some detail, city planners need to accept that no plan is perfect, just as no future is predictable. Planning needs some operational flexibility. Regular reviews of land use and development policies take into account new technologies, changing circumstances and public feedback. This process allows for the re-evaluation of development strategies as well as the strategic and specific land use plans to cater for changing economic and social needs.

The flexibility in the Concept and Masterplan lies with the regular review of land use and development policies. For example, industrial land use was updated in the early 2000s to accommodate the changing landscapes of the industrial sector - to cater to more IT, R&D and hybrid business types.

Rule 4: Execute effectively

A PLAN is only as good as its successful implementation. The Government set up action-oriented agencies or statutory boards for implementation of policies and programmes in view of larger national objectives.

The emphasis is on delivering the mission. In this, leadership, especially in the civil service and statutory boards, professional expertise and clear benchmarks and indicators of performance have made a crucial difference. Technocratic excellence is also sustained by committing the necessary resources to ensure that agencies stay on track.

The EDB was able to present an attractive value proposition to foreign investors with the entire government aligned behind its initiatives. While the EDB marketed Singapore to multinational corporations as the site for investments in manufacturing, JTC and PUB built good supporting infrastructure for industrial parks. The Ministry of Manpower upgraded the skills of workers while the Ministry of Education provided industry-relevant education. These collective efforts helped to develop Singapore's manufacturing base and allowed for the progression from low-skill manufacturing to innovative business parks.

Rule 5: Innovate systemically

SINGAPORE learns from the experience of many countries. But, instead of merely imitating successful practices, officials seek to understand the underlying causes and then adapt the principles to the local context to achieve its policy objectives. This systemic mindset has led to many policy innovations in dealing with urban development challenges in Singapore.

Through continuous experimentation, learning and adaptation, Singapore has achieved significant breakthroughs in areas such as economic development, public housing, water management, transport regulation and industrial infrastructure.

The move to make use of every drain and canal possible to collect rainwater, as well as the intensive expansion of the reservoirs network - including the building of reservoirs in urban areas - came from an unusual philosophy that more than 60 per cent of the country's land area could and should be turned into water catchments.

Indeed, Singapore's aim is to have 90 per cent of land area as water catchments by 2060. In addition, waste water is not considered wasted water.

Singapore actually goes to great lengths to collect every drop of used water that can be reclaimed, including building a first-of-its-kind Deep Tunnel Sewerage System.

The writer is executive director of the Centre for Liveable Cities. This article is adapted for The Straits Times from a longer one in the centre's Urban Solutions magazine launched at the recent World Cities Summit 2012.