“We should continue to preserve and protect our greenery, but the next level is to bring more greenery into our urban and built environment," says National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.
Liyana Othman Channel NewsAsia 12 Jan 16;
SINGAPORE: Turning Singapore into a Garden City is not just a way to set the country apart, but it is also a social strategy to make sure greenery is accessible to everyone, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (Jan 12).
Speaking at a dialogue session called "Greening Our City - Innovation, Ideas and Solution", Mr Wong said one broad theme that was raised by the participants was bringing greenery into Singapore's built environment.
This is the National Development Ministry's first dialogue with the public under a series of SGFuture engagement sessions on creating a cleaner, greener and smarter Singapore. About 40 people, including industry players and youths, shared their ideas on how greenery can be incorporated outside traditional spaces like parks.
Said Mr Wong: “We have done very well to plant trees to make Singapore a garden city. That strategy has worked and we should continue tree planting. We should not stop.
“We should continue to preserve and protect our greenery, but the next level is to bring more greenery into our urban and built environment.”
He added that some of the ideas could get a boost from technology. For instance, robots can be used in urban farms or to help maintain the greenery in skyrise gardens.
However, Mr Wong said all these suggestions to make Singapore greener can only happen with community ownership. Everyone has a part to play to make this vision a reality, he added.
- CNA/xk
