Wanted: Ideas for underused and overlooked public spaces

The ideas will serve as an inspiration for future PubliCity programmes, and up to 10 winners will win S$1,000 cash, the Urban Redevelopment Authority says.
Monica Kotwani, Channel NewsAsia 14 May 15;

SINGAPORE: The public can now send in their ideas on how to transform underused and overlooked public spaces such as spaces between buildings, areas below flyovers and forgotten backlanes, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Thursday (May 14).

The competition, called "My Ideas for Public Spaces", will serve as an inspiration for future PubliCity programmes, and up to 10 winners will win S$1,000 cash, the agency said in its press release.

"The URA is looking for ideas that can creatively transform these spaces, making them inviting and accessible for the community," it said. "The public should also consider how their ideas relate to the surrounding context, and whether they can be easily implemented and sustained in the long run."

Participants who are interested in this year’s competition can submit their entries by hand or mail between May 14 and Jun 26. The winning entries will be announced later this year. More information can be found on URA's portal.

This is the second time the competition is being held. The first edition was held in late 2013, and ideas were sought for four spaces - The Lawn @ Marina Bay, spaces along the Singapore River Promenade, an open space in Kampong Glam, and Woodlands Civic Plaza.

URA hopes the ideas from the public will result in a sense of ownership of these spaces.

Ms Tracey Hwang, director of the Urban Planning department of the URA, said: “In contrast to the previous competition where we selected four specific spaces, this time around, we're letting the public select their own spaces so that they can select spaces familiar to them and think of ideas that cater to their need in their neighbourhood."

- CNA/kk/hs

Got an idea to transform a space in Singapore? You are wanted
AsiaOne 14 May 15;

SINGAPORE - If you have an idea on how to transform underused or overlooked pockets of public spaces in Singapore, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is looking for you.

To sweeten the honey pot, URA is offering 10 winning ideas $1,000 in cash each.

The competition - called "My Ideas for Public Spaces" - aims to inspire people to transform forgotten spaces into something more meaningful.
The public can submit ideas for forgotten spaces such as:


The ideas should transform these spaces creatively, making them inviting and accessible for the community in relation to the surrounding context, and whether they can be easily implemented and sustained in the long run.

The first edition of the competition was conducted in 2013 for four spaces - The Lawn @ Marina Bay, spaces along the Singapore River Promenade, an open space in Kampong Glam, and Woodlands Civic Plaza.

Over 160 entries were submitted, of which 11 received awards.

"We were delighted with the many innovative ideas received in the first competition and have adapted some of them for our PubliCity projects," Mr Ng Lang, Chief Executive Officer of URA said.

"With the spotlight turning to 'forgotten spaces' this year, we hope the public can apply the same inventiveness to turn these overlooked spaces into delightful, meaningful ones that the community can enjoy."

The entries inspired the first series of PubliCity pop-up projects, URA said. These include 'Chairs in Squares', 'Picnic in the Park' and 'Play Space'. 'Picnic in the Park' took place at the Sultan Gate open space in Kampong Glam.

Participants who are interested in this year's competition can submit their entries by hand or mail between May 14 and June 26. The winning entries will be announced later this year.

The public can visit ura.sg/myideas2015 for more competition details.