Singapore – Crowded Coasts Case Study

Singapore (City Guide)– Crowded Coasts Case Study

Singapore is a country that has been growing very quickly in recent years. It can be classified as a NIC (Newly Industrialised Country) as it has undergone substantial Industrial development over the past 150 years, since becoming a British colony in 1867.

Singapore is a very successful example of a well managed crowded coastline. This is partly due to the fact that URA or Urban Redevelopment Authority has had a significant input in managing the countries land use.

“Given Singapore's small size, judicious land use planning is critical for the nation's future. URA has to take into consideration not just the needs of the city but all the needs of an independent nation and provide sufficient land for economic growth and future development.” – URA

A Physical feature which makes Singapore so crowded is that the area has ideal conditions for a port. The port in Singapore is deep and sheltered meaning it makes a very successful port. It is the second biggest port in the world behind Kobe, Japan. The port brings with it vast amounts of trade and wealth and provides directly and indirectly many thousands of jobs across Singapore.

Some of the Human features that have made Singapore very crowded are its efficient traffic management and transport systems. The traffic management is such that it is very rare for people to own cars, road tax is very expensive. Owning a car in Singapore is a sign of wealth, there is also a yearly new car quota to restrict the growth or cars and the potential negative consequences this could have. The public transport is excellent, highly efficient and widespread train and bus networks and good taxi services. Singapore also utilises a ‘smart card’ transport system similar to the Oyster card which makes travelling easy and efficient.

Singapore’s growth has been fuelled to an extent by Links with China these mainly have been trade links and the use of China’s cheap manufacturing. Recently, in Singapore there has been a desire amongst the population to enjoy their leisure time a lot more and there is a lot of tourist area regeneration happening across Singapore, not only is this for the inhabitants but also for the growing tourist industry in Singapore. The $8 -10 billion dollar Sentosa re-development plan is aimed at turning the South of Singapore into an even more successful tourist and recreational destination. This is because in recent years the area had suffered negative impacts from overcrowding and had started to look worn and unattractive, this is one of the general negative impacts across Singapore of the dense population.

Singapore’s land has been planned in such a way that the prevailing wind (useful Physical Feature) blows all air pollutants out to sea rather than across the city. Although this is an ingenious way of getting good air quality it also shows that Singapore does get air pollutions problems because of its dense population and lack of green space to absorb pollutants (impact).

The impacts of Singapore’s crowded population remain relatively low and unnoticeable due to the fact the city is so well planned and managed. For example pollution levels are relatively low because of good transport management, the prevailing wind and the dominance of the Commercial sector over industry.

Singapore has grown increasingly in recent years due to the fact that it has a very well educated workforce. The country provides very skilled labour and as a result this attracts wealthy companies and corporations and then as a result of that more skilled labour is attracted. One of the negative impacts of Singapore rapid growth has been a substantial increase in house and property prices. This graph shows the growth in property prices from 1990 to 2009.

In Summary I would say the key human features which have led to Singapore becoming a crowded coast are favourable weather conditions for keeping pollution under control and ideal conditions for housing a busy port. The key human features are lots of highly skilled labour, well managed transport and meticulously planned land use. The impacts of the Growth have been increased pollution levels and rising house prices. As well as increased GDP and improved living conditions.