Urban renaissance
There is always something exciting about the designer plan of a new city area. For the bold, the sky can be the limit, especially if you are starting with virgin land. Few cities have such an opportunity, but Singapore, by reclaiming land from the sea, once again has a chance to do something impressive.
The city-state has long been considered a model of urbanism, having successfully kept and integrated large green areas with modern infrastructure and high-density housing blocks. In recent years, the country has tried to embrace the combined 'live, work and play' development concept, held dear by hard-working yuppies.
Now it has the chance to bring this concept to a whole new level by developing a new downtown area, Downtown@MarinaBay.
The 'Draft Master Plan 2003', recently unveiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, plans to make Singapore's central region a more vibrant hub to live in, with an increase of 35 per cent in housing units. Part of the plan includes the restoration and conservation of old quarters, as well as an expansion of the Botanic Gardens, which will take over land currently occupied by the Singapore Management University.
But the jewel of this urban crown will be the yet-to-be-developed waterfront area fronting Marina Bay. It will include a new business and financial centre, residential units, a waterfront promenade, a 1.8 hectare underground space that could be developed into (yet another) shopping mall, landscaped sky bridges and a 2km tree-lined Bayfront Avenue reminiscent of Paris' Champs Elysees.
Continuing efforts to establish Singapore as a destination rather than a stopover, some government officials are even dreaming of a Guggenheim Foundation museum (space has been reserved for civic and cultural use) to bring to Singapore the frisson the American foundation so effectively created with its museum in Bilbao, Spain.
The government's ambitious plan partly responds to the increasing competition from rising Asian cities like Shanghai, which are aggressively competing to attract investment and jobs. It must be hoped that re-branding the new financial district (formerly New Downtown) within this plan will improve its marketing efforts, which have had little success to date.
