Photo: Pedestrians walking down the street in Singapore's financial district; AFP / Roslan Rahman
It is necessary for the city-state to look beyond the White Paper’s population projection of 6.9 million by 2030 and plan for a higher figure of 10 million, according to Liu Thai Ker, who is widely regarded as the architect of modern Singapore.
The 6.9 million forecast is an interim figure and Singapore will obviously surpass that, said Liu in late July at a seminar entitled “Building a Nation: Tomorrow, Challenges and Possibilities for a Liveable Singapore” according to media reports.
At a growth rate of below one percent per year, Singapore’s population could hit the 10 million mark by 2090, if the growth rate is calculated using the upper limit of the 2013 White Paper projection of 6.9 million, he explained. Or it could reach that level in 2200, if it’s based on the lower limit of 6.5 million.
Although Singaporeans are uncomfortable with the idea of having a population of 10 million, it is better for the country to plan for this huge number so that there can be smoother adjustments, Liu noted.
“If you look at from 1960 till now, Singapore’s land density has tripled but even with that, we have built a good environment through more skills and knowledge. So if we can do it then, Singaporeans should believe that we now have the ability to solve these problems and that we will have a good environment even though population density may increase.”
In his opinion, it is better to plan for the long term for a good gauge of the amount of land required even though Singapore has a lot of land to be reclaimed and there is also lot of land set aside for industrial purposes which can be converted for other use.
Liu was the Housing Board’s CEO and Architect-Planner from 1969 to 1989, while he served as the CEO and Chief Planner at the Urban Redevelopment Authority from 1989 to 1992. He is currently the director of RSP Architects & Engineers and the founding chairman of the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC).
Story: Muneerah Bee via PropertyGuru
Photo: Pedestrians walking down the street in Singapore's financial district; AFP / Roslan Rahman
It is necessary for the city-state to look beyond the White Paper’s population projection of 6.9 million by 2030 and plan for a higher figure of 10 million, according to Liu Thai Ker, who is widely regarded as the architect of modern Singapore.
The 6.9 million forecast is an interim figure and Singapore will obviously surpass that, said Liu in late July at a seminar entitled “Building a Nation: Tomorrow, Challenges and Possibilities for a Liveable Singapore” according to media reports.
At a growth rate of below one percent per year, Singapore’s population could hit the 10 million mark by 2090, if the growth rate is calculated using the upper limit of the 2013 White Paper projection of 6.9 million, he explained. Or it could reach that level in 2200, if it’s based on the lower limit of 6.5 million.
Although Singaporeans are uncomfortable with the idea of having a population of 10 million, it is better for the country to plan for this huge number so that there can be smoother adjustments, Liu noted.
“If you look at from 1960 till now, Singapore’s land density has tripled but even with that, we have built a good environment through more skills and knowledge. So if we can do it then, Singaporeans should believe that we now have the ability to solve these problems and that we will have a good environment even though population density may increase.”
In his opinion, it is better to plan for the long term for a good gauge of the amount of land required even though Singapore has a lot of land to be reclaimed and there is also lot of land set aside for industrial purposes which can be converted for other use.
Liu was the Housing Board’s CEO and Architect-Planner from 1969 to 1989, while he served as the CEO and Chief Planner at the Urban Redevelopment Authority from 1989 to 1992. He is currently the director of RSP Architects & Engineers and the founding chairman of the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC).
Story: Muneerah Bee via PropertyGuru