Coming together to shape our home and city
At URA, our planners look ahead and consider how to continuously provide a good quality of life for those who live, work and play in Singapore, even many years into the future. A large and important part of this is partnering with the people that we plan for, to own and shape our shared future together.
The year’s highlights reflect this continued commitment, and we saw citizens from all walks of life come onboard to co-create this shared future. Whether it was sharing with Singaporeans our planning approach and future plans as volunteers at the Singapore City Gallery and at exhibitions, or creating multimedia content to raise awareness of spaces in our city, their efforts helped grow interest and participation in city planning. When we called for ideas on what people would like to see at new growth areas or districts, we also received encouraging proposals from professionals and the public that offered fresh and relevant perspectives. We have seen strong participation from youths as well, with students spinning off their own projects based on our plans, or submitting their ideas for different areas.
Volunteers from (clockwise from top left) the National University of Singapore, School of the Arts Singapore and ITE College West were among the many who stepped forward to partner us for various programmes
The impact of COVID-19 has further demonstrated the importance of planning a resilient city together. A home that can, even in the midst of unpredictable developments, sustain a good quality of life and provide infrastructure and spaces that strengthen our community well-being. While social interaction is being reshaped by the pandemic, our collaborations will continue. And we are already looking beyond traditional means to reach out and partner more people, such as through digital engagement and smaller group discussions.
I thank our volunteers, stakeholders and partners who stepped forward to reinforce and augment our efforts in the past year. I hope that more will take an interest and join us, to make Singapore a home that we all enjoy and cherish, and a great city for the future.
Lim Eng Hwee CEO