SINGAPORE AND THE RIVERINE LANDSCAPE: TRANSFORMATION IN URBAN WATER'S EDGE

Abstract

In Singapore's water history, rivers are of a vital importance in constructing the globalized economy and local society for the city state. With the dawn of Industrial Revolution, the country is experiencing high population growth, resulting in rapid urbanization and concretization of urban waterways. Until recent years, the restoration process from an artificial water channel back to its natural condition has been conducted progressively across Singapore with regard to ecological rehabilitation. For this purpose, the work premises upon the morphological change in natural ecosystem in relation to urban spatial development. This dissertation will examine the importance of riverine landscape design in the context of Singapore's landscape and community districts, as it alters the provision of ecosystem services by transforming the urban water's edge. It explores the four main strategies of riverine landscape design: edge, surface, mass and section, citing Bishan Ang Mo Kio Park and Lorong Halus Wetland as the main case studies to prove its feasibility, achievements and deficiencies as an ecological restoration design. By evaluating the design strategies and the changes in ecosystem services, it concludes the significance of river's edge transformation to the environment on top of raising ethical issues in regards to its role in dealing with the public and community.