SINGAPORE'S TWO TIER PLANNING SYSTEM

Abstract

In the past three decades or so, there has been radical physical restructuring in Singapore. This was necessary to facilitate the country's economic development. In such a process, public involvement was limited to mass education. The driving force behind the government's strategy was the need to get things done, to solve pressing urban and economic problems. However, more recently, this urgency to get things done has receded. Increasingly greater attention is being given to more qualitative issues. There has been an awareness of the need or desire to retain Singapore's unique heritage, while at the same time progressing to the status of a developed country. Singaporeans on the whole too, are becoming more vocal and environmentally conscious. It is high time that the government encouraged more positive participation from the private sector. As a result, we can see a move towards a more consultative and participatory approach in many governmental areas, including town planning. This has coincided with the introduction of new planning procedures in which the revised Concept Plan will provide the strategic framework for Singapore's future physical development, while a series of Development Guide Plans (DGPs) will elaborate in much greater detail these strategies. The public has been invited to comment and participate in the preparation of these DGPs. The reason cited for the introduction of this new two tier system of planning is basically that the old system comprising the Master Plan and the Concept Plan did not give enough information on the investment and development potentials of particular sites. While the Concept Plan projects broad development strategies for the island as a whole, the Master Plan is only a record of past and existing land uses prescribed for a site. Also it is expressed intention of the Ministry of National Development that the new system provide a more comprehensive and consistent framework for planning decisions both for public and private sector developers.