Developed as an inter-agency effort, the Master Plan features a comprehensive and integrated planning approach that ensures our social and economic needs are met, while maintaining a liveable and sustainable environment.
In reviewing the Master Plan, we balance all major land needs in collaboration with relevant government agencies and take into account public feedback gained through our engagement process, before finalising the plans.
PLANNING FOR SINGAPORE’S FUTURE
Singapore is economically vibrant and one of the most liveable cities in the world. This is a result of our comprehensive and long-term approach in land use planning. This integrated approach is needed to optimise the use of Singapore’s limited land, to meet the current and future needs of our people. There are difficult trade-offs, but we try our best to plan ahead for the needs of current and future generations, considering social, economic and environmental factors in a holistic manner.
DRAFT MASTER PLAN 2013
The Draft Master Plan 2013 is driven by the vision of an inclusive, highly liveable, economically vibrant and green home for all Singaporeans. As a small city-state, we have to ensure that sufficient land is available to accommodate a whole range of land uses, including greenery and other critical needs such as housing, schools and employment centres.
We strive to plan for a quality living environment with amenities for all ages within reach, bringing jobs closer to homes, as well as creating green, healthy and connected towns with strong communities united in diversity.
The planning strategies to achieve the vision for Draft Master Plan 2013 are presented through these six key focuses.
The Draft Master Plan 2013 will continue to enhance the liveability of Singapore across all areas. Singaporeans can look forward to good quality living environments and a variety of housing options with supporting amenities to serve residents of all ages.
Government agencies will continue to actively work together to provide public amenities closer to homes, with more co-located facilities for greater convenience. Public facilities and spaces within easy reach also serve as social spaces for community bonding, and enable seniors to continue living in environments they feel at home in. As Singapore develops and older towns are rejuvenated, we will continue to ensure that the character of each town remains special and distinctive.
Land will be set aside to sustain Singapore as a vibrant economy to provide a wide variety of jobs and opportunities that will meet the needs and aspirations of our people. As we strengthen our city area and other employment centres, we will also make a greater effort to decentralise jobs and create new hubs for businesses.
As part of the North Coast Innovation Corridor, we will see the emergence of the Woodlands Regional Centre, the Punggol Learning Corridor and Creative Cluster. New industrial estates such as Jalan Bahar / Wenya / Tengah, Lorong Halus and Seletar West will also be progressively developed.
In future, Singapore residents can look forward to job opportunities in the northern, southern, eastern and western regions of Singapore.
By taking a holistic approach to planning and balancing our needs, we have managed to safeguard land for nature reserves, nature areas and parks. Earlier this year, we have added two new sites to our list of Nature Areas. While we will not be able to conserve every local green space, we have conserved a significant and representative segment of our native ecosystem through conscientious planning.
We will continue to safeguard land for greenery to ensure that parks and green spaces are well distributed so at least 90% of our residents will live within 400m walking distance of a park. More open spaces and local parks have been planned, and residents can also look forward to upgraded green spaces and facilities with fresh recreational options. Efforts to increase accessibility to parks will continue, with the Round Island Route anchoring Singapore’s green network.
Agencies will plan for eco-corridors to strengthen Singapore’s biodiversity and connections between our existing nature areas to sustain our rich natural systems, providing safe environments for nature to flourish as well as green havens where residents can find relief from the intensity of urban life. We will also continue to make creative use of functional water bodies such as reservoirs, canals and drains for recreation.
Under SSC’s Sports Facilities Master Plan, new spaces for sports will be created and existing ones will be enhanced to cater to the community’s needs. A tiered approach of sporting facilities will provide a network of venues for sports and leisure activities for various sporting needs at the national, regional, town and neighbourhood level. There will be more common spaces (e.g. integrated community sports hub and community playfields) for the community to interact and bond through sports.
Within the Draft Master Plan 2013 are initiatives to protect our built heritage and social memory. Existing areas with distinctive identities will be enhanced, while new ones will be nurtured in community-centric ways.
To make Singapore an endearing home for all, we will provide more community spaces to foster social interaction, and integrate local identity and heritage into the development and design of future towns and projects. Our efforts will also be focused on strengthening collaboration with local communities and safeguarding our local identity via conservation efforts and the designation of identity nodes.
As outlined in the Land Transport Master Plan 2013, our transport network will be expanded with an emphasis on green and sustainable transportation modes, such as public transport, cycling and walking. This will bring about greater connectivity for all commuters over the next 10 to 15 years. Agencies will continue to be guided by the vision of a more connected Singapore, with greater accessibility to public transport and a reduced reliance on private cars as a mode of commute.
The rail network will double to about 360km by 2030, so that 80% of all homes are within a 10-minute walk of an MRT station. Bus services will be enhanced with increased fleets, and there will be more integrated transport hubs provided for more convenient journeys. Infrastructure will be put in place to encourage cycling as an alternative mode of transport for both commuting and leisure. Pedestrian connectivity within a 400m radius of MRT stations will be further improved through a network of covered linkways that connect to activity-generating hubs in the vicinity.
With these enhancements to our public transport services, our towns will possess more options for walking and cycling, and ultimately lead to sustainable living environment.
Well-designed public spaces are essential to the enjoyment of city life, and to make Singapore more attractive and liveable for all. More public spaces will be set aside to create and realise new shared community spaces. The successful implementation of these projects will require closely coordinated efforts between government agencies and collaboration with the community.
MOVING FORWARD
The Master Plan supports the needs of current and future generations of Singaporeans. As a city-state, we have a diverse range of land use needs, and we cannot predict the entirety of these needs nor the forms that they will take in future. Thus, we review the Master Plan regularly to refine it and take into account changing developmental needs.
We continue to explore better use of Singapore’s land by consolidating activities that require a large area, such as military training, golf courses and farming in order to release more land for other uses. In addition to land reclamation as a strategy for Singapore to expand our physical capacity, we will also continue to explore innovative ways to use underground space, such as for infrastructural, industrial and commercial developments.
Source: URA
Wednesday, Nov 20, 2013
