SINGAPORE: Singapore’s urban planning system is internationally recognised for its long-term vision, but for Elaine Tan, research director at the Centre for Liveable Cities, its real strength lies in turning future risks into land-use decisions made today.
“Singapore is a low-lying island city-state,” Tan told Xinhua in an interview ahead of the World Cities Summit 2026, scheduled for June 14-16 in Singapore. “We need to accommodate the needs of both a city and a country.”
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She said Singapore is simultaneously dealing with multiple pressures, including rising sea levels, heavier rainfall, limited land, reliance on imported resources and an ageing population.
Rather than treating these challenges separately, she said the planning system integrates them across different layers of governance, from long-term strategy to on-the-ground land use decisions.
“Every single plot of land you see in Singapore, it’s actually planned for,” Tan said.
In recent years, Singapore has also adopted the concept of “regenerative cities” in its planning framework, focusing on developments that deliver multiple benefits while addressing core risks.
One major example is the Long Island project, an 800-hectare reclaimed coastal area announced in 2019 that will serve both as flood protection against rising sea levels and storm surges, and as new space for housing and recreation.
By 2100, sea levels around Singapore could rise by up to 1.15 metres, with storm surges adding further risk during extreme weather events, Tan said.
Instead of separating coastal defence from urban development, planners are integrating protection measures into future city design, including barrages and stormwater management systems, while creating about 20 kilometres of waterfront parks and public spaces.
Public participation is also becoming more prominent in the planning process, with more than 200,000 people involved in recent nationwide consultations on land use, she said.
However, she stressed that engagement is not just about numbers.
In a study of the Cambridge Road area, initially focused on flood risk, residents highlighted urban heat as a more immediate concern.
“With their local knowledge, they actually told us that flooding wasn’t the issue they felt most immediately,” Tan said. “Heat was a larger issue.”
As a result, the project was revised to include greening initiatives, including a corridor linking neighbourhood areas to a nearby market, improving cooling, walkability and community connectivity.
She said the broader lesson is that planning now involves a wider ecosystem of stakeholders, with government agencies setting long-term frameworks while residents, researchers, businesses and community groups contribute on-the-ground insights.
“Nobody has a monopoly on ideas, and it takes collective action and a coordinated approach,” she said.
