Long-term planning and development for urban and regional inclusion, safety, resilience, and sustainability. Insights from Singapore

Abstract

Today, Singapore is a thriving city-state representing a growth of almost eighty percent since 1990. A feasible combination of state authorities’ planning, policy implementation, public-private partnerships, and international assistance has led to the city-state’s development and sustainability. Urban economics fl uctuations, demographic shifts, environment degradation reaching to irreversible points, among others, are expected to challenge the future of cities the next 50 years. Thus, it is considered essential to plan ahead for sustainability and resource management. This study delves into the broad policies and practices that have contributed to Singapore’s success story while also getting into recent years’ specifi cs and modern technologies of sustainable planning and development. Adopting a case study of Singapore long-term, or constant, re-development, fi ndings contribute to the enhancement of the existing body of knowledge in the fi eld of sustainable planning and can benefi t those interested in understanding from a policy and operational standpoint. The Singapore example illustrates that technocratic competence in design, planning, and implementation is a fundamental requirement for the long-term world-wide sustainability scheme expressed by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.