URA maps land use and transportation plans
Alicia Wong, Today Online 11 May 10;
SINGAPORE - Instead of squeezing with other drivers to get to Raffles Place every morning, imagine taking a water taxi down the Singapore River to get to work.
Or, for those who aspire to live in the city, what if you had a wider range of options including rental apartments for young adults and a re-use of existing buildings.
For those who live in HDB flats, there could be more mid-rise communal spaces within the blocks for greater interaction among neighbours.
These were some recommendations by the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) focus group on "Quality of life and ageing" at its public forum yesterday, as part of the Concept Plan 2011 consultation. The plan maps the directions for Singapore's land use and transportation plans over the next 40 to 50 years.
To ensure Singapore's distinctiveness, the focus group - co-chaired by National Arts Council chairman Edmund Cheng and National University of Singapore president Tan Chorh Chuan - suggested creating more iconic spaces such as Marina Bay and making the city centre "buzzy".For example, this could be done by closing streets in the business district on weekends and public holidays for community events.
Professor Tan told reporters that making Singapore "more interesting, more vibrant" than other cities includes increasing the live-in population "so that the city is alive at all times of the year at different times of the day, and not sort of busy during work hours and quite deserted in the evenings".
Like URA's other focus group on sustainability and identity, which released its draft recommendations on Friday, the importance of enhancing the public transport experience and encouraging cycling was also cited.
Yesterday's group also called for the Government to retain some empty plots of land for future development and give the community greater say on how to use such spaces in the interim.
A "lighter touch" in distinctive districts such as Bras Basah, Bugis and Little India, so they can evolve organically, is the way to go, said the group. Urban planners could even involve non-government organisations in "place management and programming".
When it comes to designing public housing, facilities, recreational and commercial spaces, the group proposed that community and intergenerational-bonding be adopted as key principles.
More space on the second storey of HDB blocks could also be designated for voluntary welfare organisations and social enterprises.
The group also suggested facilitating ageing-in-place, as most seniors would prefer to stay in familiar surroundings. This includes, for instance, having flats with walls that can be easily knocked down so two or three units can be joined.
After gathering views from the public, the final report will be submitted to URA. The public can give their feedback at spring.ura.gov.sg/conceptplan2011/publicforum.
Other Recommendations
Alicia Wong Today Online 11 May 10;
- Space MRT stations closer together, have an intra-city shuttle bus network
- More street-level spaces to display art
- More paired housing arrangements where seniors can live next door to family members
- Cluster amenities that cater to different age groups
- Have buses to bring people to parks on public holidays
- More neighbourhood-scale parks, roof-top gardens, green spaces near workplaces.
- Let residents move to HDB units of different size within a block or precinct when their household size changes
- Aim for "end-to-end" accessibility so the disabled can move from one facility to another.
Vision of future Singapore
Carolyn Quek & Ang Yiying, Straits Times 11 May 10;
A VISION of future Singapore as a place which celebrates diversity, encourages community life and creates iconic spaces has been drawn by a group tasked to look at improving the quality of life here.
Among their ideas are to create desirable housing for the elderly, develop a transport network that lets people get around the city easily, and allow places with distinct character to grow.
Preliminary recommendations were presented to 200 people yesterday at a public feedback forum by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on its Concept Plan 2011, which sets out directions for land use and transport for the next 40 to 50 years.
The focus group recommended creating spaces that would have distinct and different purposes, from art outreach to community interaction.
Because of land scarcity, green spaces need not be huge and could be 'pocket-sized', said Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, president of the National University of Singapore and the group's co-chairman.
He told reporters the group was in 'strong agreement' about letting distinctive neighbourhoods, like Bras Basah and Little India, develop organically and open up to greater community involvement.
Suggestions for the greying population included allowing seniors to live next door to their family members. Technology must also be better harnessed to improve the transport system so that they and the disabled can get around easily.
The feasibility of getting around on bicycles generated a lot of discussion too, said Mr Edmund Cheng, chairman of the National Arts Council and the group's co-chairman.
Forum participants also suggested making shopping centres more diverse and less homogeneous, reducing pollution by replacing buses with electric trams in the city and saving energy by having buildings that do not need too much air-conditioning.
Another focus group looked into issues of sustainability and identity. The finalised recommendations will be taken into consideration by URA for the concept plan, to be made public next year for feedback.
Be a distinctive, age-friendly city
URA focus group suggests ways to tackle quality of life and ageing issues
Uma Shankari Business Times 11 May 10;
A GOVERNMENT-initiated focus group tasked with looking at quality of life and ageing issues ahead of Concept Plan 2011 thinks that Singapore should strive to become a more distinctive city - and more 'age-friendly'.
The focus group is one of two set up by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in January to gather ideas as Concept Plan 2011 - which will map out Singapore's long-term land use strategies and directions - is drafted. The first focus group, which announced its draft recommendations last week, looked at two other topics - sustainability and identity issues.
The second focus group announced its draft recommendations and sought public feedback on them at a forum yesterday.
Its members propose four key thrusts: creating an inspiring global and Asian city; deepening people's sense of community and ownership; catering for diversity while being 'age-friendly'; and making sure Singapore stays at the cutting-edge of technology use.
Specific suggestions included enhancing public transport by creating a comprehensive intra-city shuttle bus network with convenient pick-up points, a hire-and-ride bicycle scheme and/or a water transport network within the city centre.
'We need to enhance mobility, walkability and the public transport experience,' said focus group co-chairman Edmund Cheng, chairman of the National Arts Council.
The group also said that the government has to look at ways to facilitate 'ageing in place' for the elderly.
'Provisions have to be made for the majority of people to fulfil their wish of ageing in place,' said Tan Chorh Chuan, the other co-chairman of the focus group. Professor Tan is the president of the National University of Singapore.
Suggestions include providing different flat sizes within each HDB block or precinct to cater to changing household sizes over time, and giving the elderly a menu of senior-friendly fixtures to retrofit their existing homes as they age.
Prof Tan also said that more places have to be 'senior-friendly', which means that mobility for seniors and the less-abled has to be improved by ensuring more pervasive universal design and 'end-to-end' accessibility.
Both focus groups will now gather public feedback and incorporate it into their deliberations before releasing their final recommendations in June.
Concept Plan 2011, which is expected to be finalised by the second half of next year, will then take these recommendations into consideration.
Intra-city shuttle bus & bicycle scheme recommended for city buzz
Satish Cheney Channel NewsAsia 10 May 10;
SINGAPORE : Recommendations of the The Concept Plan 2011 Focus Group on "Quality of Life and Ageing" include an intra-city shuttle bus network and a hire-and-ride bicycle scheme.
The focus group has also recommended, among other things, a menu of senior-friendly fixtures for residents to retrofit their existing homes.
The recommendations are aimed at making Singapore a more liveable and lively city, which is inspiring and vibrant.
One way, the group said, is to improve public transport - for example by renting out bicycles.
Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, co-chairman of the focus group and President, National University of Singapore, said: "The idea was to create more cycling paths as well as make it more convenient for people to cycle.
"The idea is that if you could take up a bicycle at one place, leave it off at another place and maybe with facilities to clean up after that, that might promote cycling within hot and humid Singapore."
The focus group is one of two focus groups appointed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority as part of the Concept Plan 2011 review public consultation exercise to discuss four key issues - Quality of Life, Ageing, Sustainability and Identity.
- CNA/al
