The City in a Garden

The first impression one gets of Singapore is how it stands up to its reputation as the garden city. There is greenery everywhere, including the inside of the airport arrivals area welcoming people to Singapore. It is impossible not to recognise the effort and dedication towards landscape and horticulture in the city. Contrary to fears, the high-rise buildings and the multilane vehicular traffic do not dominate the Singapore landscape owing to the impact of the tall trees and lush greenery in every possible location, including the network of nature reserves, parks, park connectors, green paths along canals and tree lined roads adding to the quality of the space. This is a result of five decades of greening efforts, with the aim to soften the harshness of urbanisation and improve the quality of life.

Exploring the city by car, one gets to see the lush greenery and the contemporary architecture of the buildings. On foot, it is a completely different experience as pedestrians are always away from the vehicular traffic, either with plants buffering the views and the sound of vehicles or the pedestrian routes being diverted through built environments like malls providing a rich shopping experience and direct access to MRT stations. Pedestrian crossings are set at higher level as bridges between buildings rather than on ground level across heavy vehicular traffic. Retail units are seen at pedestrian level all along the routes to every major tourist attraction promoting activity in the space and economy of the city.

There are also walking trails within the main island for people to enjoy and commute. One of the popular trails is the Southern ridges trail running close to the city core, offering a series of experiences like enjoying quiet gardens, walking through nature ways, identifying native tree species, canopy walk through a rainforest, listening to the song of native birds, play areas for children and viewing the city from high viewpoints like the Henderson waves (the tallest pedestrian bridge in Singapore). Such experiences within an urban core area are relishing.

The architecture and landscape of the recent waterfront developments including the Marina Bay Sands and the Gardens by the Bay are inspiring. The award winning Gardens by the Bay is a journey by itself and it showcases the best of tropical horticulture providing the visitors with a rich and educational experience. The colourful orchids of Singapore are a delight to see. It is not just the variety of flora in Gardens by the Bay that makes it stand out, but also the sustainability efforts that go into making it an eco-friendly attraction. Anyone even passing by the waterfront will immediately notice the supertrees. They are tall standing landmarks that also include environmentally sustainable features like air exhaust channels for the domes, rainwater harvesting features and photovoltaic cells that capture solar energy used to light them up at night.

Singapore is a major commercial and trading hub in south-east Asia and is also a mosaic of cultures from all over south-east Asia, offering something for everyone. Given the small land area and the need for economic growth, environmental sustainability in a small urban setting is their model. Their ongoing efforts and commitment to the environment are admirable and well worth adapting.