Green and blue efforts continue to deepen with the Master Plan. There are plans for another 1,000 hectares of parks and park connectors. Parks will be connected by key recreational corridors such as the Round-Island Route, Rail Corridor, Coast-to-Coast Trail, as well as a diverse network of park connectors. In addition, waterways will also be enhanced with three more ABC (Active, Beautiful, Clean) Waters projects completed in 2019 and another 13 projects upcoming across the island in the next 5 years under the Public Utilities Board’s ABC Waters Programme. Since 2006, the programme has been integrating drains, canals and reservoirs with surrounding environments in a holistic manner, enhancing 102 km of waterways through 41 projects.
To strengthen and guide the conservation of Singapore’s natural assets, a nature conservation master plan has been put in place by the National Parks Board (NParks) to chart out the conservation approach for key habitats, guide enhancement and restoration efforts, develop research in conservation biology and foster community stewardship in championing nature areas. Creative solutions are also applied to further integrate greenery and biodiversity into the built environment through accessible parks, street-side planting, water networks and vertical greenery.
Green does not just remain on the ground. URA’s Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises (LUSH) programme has been encouraging and supporting vertical greenery since 2009. More than 550 LUSH projects with more than 150 hectares of development greenery have been implemented to date.
Lee Kong Chian Museum. © Finbarr Fallon
Bringing greening efforts one step further, the Biophilic Town Framework put in place advocates that a closer integration of nature with living environments is essential in creating more vibrant and sustainable housing towns. Biophilia refers to an innate affinity for and connection with the natural world.
In the book Nature, Place & People, elaborating on the framework, professor Chi Yung Jim, a leading expert on nature in cities, notes in his foreword that at the neighbourhood scale, “nature is most earnestly wanted by people”. Green spaces serve as “everyday landscapes” to most urban residents in compact urban areas and thus have a critical impact on their perception of urban landscapes, with restorative benefits to their mental and physical health.
Bishan Park
The Biophilic Town Framework promotes a seamless union between nature, place and people, proposing site-specific designs with nature, taking into account the expectations and aspirations of residents who live nearby. On the significance of the framework, the Housing & Development Board’s (HDB) chief executive officer Dr. Cheong Koon Hean explains that it “provides a strong foundation for holistic planning and design of neighbourhood landscapes so that residents can enjoy a strong sense of place and well-being." The Biophilic Town Framework was first piloted in Punggol Northshore District in 2015 and subsequently adopted in the planning and design of Bidadari’s Woodleigh Neighbourhood in 2016. Over the same period, HDB has refined and validated the framework through a three-and-a-half year research collaboration with National University of Singapore,, NParks and URA9. The research study successfully concluded in 2018 and the framework is now being applied for all new HDB projects.
Read more about the Biophilic Town Framework.
9. Research project on “Biophilic Town: A Framework for Enhancing the Environmental and Social Capital of High-Density Towns” supported by the Singapore Ministry of National Development and National Research Foundation under the Land & Liveability National Innovation Challenge (L2NIC).
The framework suggests 5 principles to guide the design of neighbourhood landscapes10:
1. The design should seek to understand ecological connectivity across neighbourhoods
Neighbourhood landscapes are understood, not as isolated patches but systems nested within larger ecosystems and interconnected with complex networks of energy flows and social networks. They are typically too small to sustain viable populations of larger organisms but can act as a temporary refuge, providing food sources and acting as stepping stones to aid the dispersal of organisms across larger landscapes. In promoting habitats for biodiversity, the design of neighbourhood landscapes should seek to enhance the ecological connectivity of neighbourhoods across green and other spaces.
2. The design should address social and ecological components
This is important as the unique quality of neighbourhood landscapes (designed forms, ecosystem functions, uses and maintenance) is formed not just by the composition of natural elements (for example, vegetation, soil, rocks and water), but by human values, social norms, and institutional policies. Both components must be addressed in neighbourhood landscape design so that neighbourhood landscapes are valuable and enduring.
3. The design should accommodate changes
As functioning ecosystems, neighbourhood landscapes are in constant flux. Some changes are visible, such as the maturation of trees, flowering, and fruiting, while others are hidden, such as the accumulation of organic matter in soils. Social factors add another level of dynamism; for instance, policy changes or ageing communities may affect the way landscapes are used and maintained. The design of neighbourhood should accommodate change, not resist it. Where space permits, landscapes should be allowed to develop spontaneously and undergo natural succession.
4. The design should enhance ecological flows and ecosystem functions
As neighbourhood landscapes are functioning ecosystems, visible and invisible processes continue to operate in them. Examples include the flux of energy through absorption and re-radiation of solar radiation, the flux of water through transpiration and infiltration, and primary productivity supporting the trophic needs of biodiversity, etc. This means neighbourhood landscapes are capable of functioning as habitats, especially if habitats are conceived as part of ecological networks connecting remnant habitats and protected areas at larger spatial scales. Neighbourhood landscape design should aim to enhance ecological flows and enable multiple natural processes to improve ecosystem functions.
5. The design should enhance species diversities
Neighbourhood landscape design can enhance heterogeneity by incorporating both managed (such as lawns) and unmanaged or spontaneous (such as woodlands, grasslands, etc.) vegetated areas, as well as other forms of ecosystems, such as constructed wetlands. Heterogeneity encourages species presence, abundance, composition, and interactions between species and the abiotic environment. The more diverse the landscape types, such as grasslands, wetlands, forests, swamps, etc., the higher the presence of species found in different habitats. Heterogeneity of neighbourhood landscapes helps to enhance species diversity.
10. Puay Yok, Tan, Kuei-Hsien, Liao. Yun Hye, Hwang and Chua, Vincent. (2018). Nature, place & people: forging connections through neighbourhood landscape design, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd, p. 73-75.