The future of Marina Bay
They call us the red dot.
We’re not a large island. Bali is seven times bigger. Our 704 square km is not large for a city either - we’re “M” size, at best. Then, there is the little matter of being a city that also happens to be a country!
This means that, unlike other cities in the world, we need to think about reserving some land for things cities don’t usually consider, like military training grounds, forested water catchment areas or “sea space” for our port and shipping industry.
An air travel hub like Paris plans to build a new international airport 120km from the CBD linked by fast-speed train. Ours - ChangiAirport - is just 20km away but only because any further is the sea. Still, being compact makes us an even better hub - meeting place. And because we value long term planning, back in the 70s when we were planning for Terminal 1, we already reserved land for 5 terminals, if we ever needed it.
A city needs to work well. But a country needs to be a home. So, quality of life and the sense of identity are equally important aspirations – How do we keep enough of our old city and landmarks and natural heritage for that sense of rootedness and harmony with the natural systems. And how do we grow our garden city so that instead of an urban concrete jungle, it becomes a city in the garden. A green dot.
"Super Trees" in Gardens @ Marina Bay
We hope that through a visit to Singapore City Gallery, students can