RETHINKING GREEN SPACE PLANNING IN NEW TOWNS TODAY

Abstract

From ‘Garden City’, to ‘City in a Garden’; more than just syntax, these slogans underscore the commitment of the government towards providing green spaces in Singapore. Closer to home, we see that park provision within most new towns follows a traditional model. The Town Park, neighbourhood parks and precinct gardens are hierarchical in size, degree of interspersion and the level of facilities they comprise. The three main aims of such a model are: to provide green relief, convenient recreational facilities for residents and a place to foster a sense of community. Created in the 1970s, the efficacy and relevance of such a prescriptive approach to green space planning is questionable, given the changes in society today. The findings indicate that the traditional model is less efficacious today. Firstly, the current equilibrium between size and interspersion of parks does not reduce residents’ sense of urbanity. Furthermore, the compactness of the town, and how close the buildings are to each other also need to be considered. Secondly, the high degree of interspersion of precinct gardens seems to undermine the importance of the larger neighbourhood parks as a place for recreation. Thirdly, the green spaces do not significantly contribute to a sense of community amongst residents. These results suggest that the model is less successful today in achieving its three main aims. Recommendations include a less theoretical approach to planning, involving residents more in the planning process, and paying greater attention to the use and sociobehavioural patterns of residents. This will hopefully increase the benefits residents derive from the spaces.