Introduction 

Good morning everyone, and thank you all for joining us on a Saturday morning. 

Since URA launched its public engagement effort for the Long-Term Plan Review, or LTPR, in July last year. We have engaged 15,000 Singaporeans through online polls, virtual workshops, facilitated discussions and webinars. Some of these discussions were organised by URA, but others were organised by our partner organisations and professional groups. And some of you also organised discussions with your own communities. Many of you, in fact, I would say the majority of you, have journeyed with us from the start. I am very happy that many of you are also joining us for the first time today. Thank you for being a part of our LTPR journey, and for charting Singapore’s next chapter with us. 

Recap of Phase 1 and 2 – Recognising Participants’ Contributions 

Today, we have arrived at Phase 3 of the LTPR journey. In Phase 1, you shared your aspirations and vision for our future Singapore. 

Then in Phase 2, we brainstormed possible strategies and ideas to use our limited space to achieve these aspirations. We also discussed the potential implications and trade-offs of your ideas, taking into account other challenges on the horizon. I joined some of the discussions and was really encouraged to hear many interesting ideas. For example, there were suggestions for offshore floating developments, and using waterways as an alternative means of transport. Others also suggested setting aside land to enable active ageing, as well as exploring cleaner energy sources. 

Before we go into our Phase 3 discussions, let me recap what we’ve learnt from the previous phases. 

Long-term planning is part of Singapore’s DNA. By mapping out land and infrastructure requirements in advance, we can better steward our scarce land resources and cater to diverse needs. We also continuously review and adjust our plans along the way to capture new opportunities and address new challenges. Most importantly, being far-sighted helps our city develop sustainably, so that we can realise the aspirations of not just our current generation – but also future ones. 

For this LTPR exercise, our theme has been to make Singapore a Space for our Dreams. The keyword here is “our” – from “our dreams” – meaning that these dreams belong to all of us, not just a select few. 

To achieve this, we have engaged people from various backgrounds – to discuss our values, dreams and ideas. 

Thank you for taking time to journey with us and share your views. From what you shared about your wish for the future of Singapore, four common aspirations stood out. 

Firstly, you called for quality and affordable housing – with sufficient options to cater to different aspirations. 

Secondly, many of you shared thoughts on how we could do more to reduce waste, cut down energy usage and better protect green spaces. This will help us create a sustainable built environment for many generations to come. 

Thirdly, besides caring for the environment, you also believe in caring for one another. Many called for us to ensure our towns are senior-friendly, walkable and accessible to residents of different abilities. 

Finally, Singaporeans also emphasised the importance of Singapore being resilient and staying competitive in a fast-evolving economic landscape. 

Over the past few months, we have carefully studied every idea and feedback received. We considered the merits of each idea, examining how they could help us adapt to the trends of the future. At the same time, we took a balanced view by weighing them against their expected costs and other trade-offs. To illustrate, one feedback we received was to continue creating more self-sufficient and convenient towns. In this regard, our polycentric strategy and our town planning has been effective in bringing jobs and amenities closer to homes. We therefore want to continue pushing the envelope in this area. Other suggestions such as underground housing will require further discussion – while there are some clear benefits, we should also consider carefully, given the implications on liveability, safety and cost. 

Responding to Participants – Future of Work and Future of Mobility 

In today’s Round-Up Dialogue, URA will present to you a set of planning principles and strategies for the LTPR, to guide the development of our long-term land use plans in two key areas: i) The Future of Work; and ii) The Future of Mobility. My colleagues from URA will elaborate how these planning principles and strategies were conceptualised based on the ideas and feedback you have shared with us. They will also explain the considerations and thoughts that went into the process of developing these strategies. 

Given the increasing uncertainty of the future, a key focus of the LTPR has been to strengthen the resilience and flexibility of our long-term plans. 

Before I hand the time over, allow me to just highlight a couple of key areas. 

For the Future of Work – we intend to introduce commercial sites with shorter-term leases. This will provide businesses with more flexibility, allowing spaces to support evolving business operations. This will help our city adapt to fast-changing economic trends. Shorter leases will allow us to respond to future uncertainties more nimbly. Some of these will also be sited outside the CBD, improving transport outcomes and bring greater convenience to residents. We will focus our efforts on decentralisation and continue to inject workspaces in polycentres such as the Jurong Lake District and the Punggol Digital District, so that jobs will be closer to where you live. We will also explore providing more co-working spaces to meet changing needs. 

Next, even as we continue to plan for economic centres islandwide, we’ve heard from you that our city centre and CBD still have an important part to play. Many have highlighted the CBD’s role in sustaining Singapore’s economic competitiveness and social activities, while also calling for it to adapt better to the times. Hence, we will continue to rejuvenate the city centre and our CBD by injecting more mixed uses, including arts & culture programming. At the same time, we will provide a greater variety of housing options to ensure it remains vibrant outside office hours. 

For the Future of Mobility – we’ve heard your strong desire for our urban spaces to be people-centric and cater better to active mobility. We agree that our city must be inclusive and accessible to all. Our spaces should encourage active mobility and healthy lifestyles for residents across different ages and abilities. 

In this vein, we will double-down on our strategy of planning for a Singapore that is more people-centric and car-lite. We are constantly working to improve our urban design, to ensure that new housing towns encourage walking and cycling, with convenient access to amenities for all. For our existing built-up areas, while we are already retrofitting them to become more conducive to active mobility and community uses, we will partner the community to make our public spaces even better together. For example, LTA has launched a 6-month trial to enhance community spaces and walkability in the Tiong Bahru area last month. Under the trial, Seng Poh Road, Eng Hoon Street and Lim Liak Street will be repurposed to create wider footpaths and more green spaces. We will continue to partner our residents to do more to improve our towns. 

Besides facilitating active mobility, many of you have also spoken up on the prospects of future technologies such as drones and Autonomous Vehicles as longer-term solutions. The technology is still nascent, but its potential is exciting and thus worth exploring. For instance, we have trialled our first revenue-collecting driverless bus services, on Jurong Island and in Science Park 2. We will continue to monitor these and other trials, and prepare the necessary infrastructure, regulations, and digital systems – so that they can be scaled up quickly and safely, when they are ready. 
 
It’s worth mentioning however that many participants highlighted that despite these new forms of mobility, we should continue to ensure that public transportation remains accessible to the vast majority of Singaporeans. Flying taxis, for instance, may not be able to cater to the average commuter, either due to cost or other practical reasons. 

We share these views – public transport is likely to remain central to our system, and the bulk of our efforts will continue to be directed at improving and complementing our existing buses and MRT trains. 

Conclusion – Setting the Stage for the Dialogue 

So, in conclusion, the planning principles and strategies of the LTPR were formulated based on the individual and collective dreams of Singaporeans, both present and future, as well as our needs and priorities as a nation. I hope today’s discussion will provide us with a deeper understanding of the complex considerations and trade-offs involved in land use planning. 

Nonetheless, the strategies we are presenting today are not set in stone. Their long-term horizon means that there will be plenty of opportunity to review and refine them together with you – in tandem with our changing needs and aspirations. We will continue to work with you to translate them into more detailed plans over the coming years, and progressively transform them into reality. 

I and my colleagues look forward to your active participation and hearing your feedback during the Q&A session later. Thank you very much.