THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WATER-FRONT SPACE ALONG THE SINGAPORE RIVER, 1980S -2010

Abstract

Waterfront redevelopment schemes have been a significant aspect of urban renewal since the 1970s, when improvements in maritime technology and evolving trade patterns contributed to the decline of some port cities. While water as an industrial use diminished in importance, urban redevelopment of the waterfront scheme was seen as being beneficial to the economies. At the local level, the Singapore River was the Singapore Government’s first attempt at tackling the urban waterfront renewal scheme. This study of the transformation of the waterfront space along the Singapore River between the 1980s and present day 2010 is aimed at providing the readers with a clearer understanding of the transformation process that has happened to the river and the factors that can be attributed to it. The drastic change of the Singapore River from a mercantile port of call to the recreational and entertainment hub today is widely acknowledged. However, while previous studies have focused on issues of identity loss associated with the change, this study focuses purely on identifying the land-use and physical changes that have occurred. Through a review of past and present existing planning policies, along with the land-use and physical analysis of the environs along the water-front space of the river, the study has identified the exact land-use changes that have occurred along the waterfront space presently and also established the extent of influence that planning policies and legislations have on the long-term imaginings of space.