Urban Design - TOD
Urban Design - TOD
Urban Design - TOD
TRANSIT-ORIENTED
DEVELOPMENT
Principles from Singapore
Building effective urban mobility in land-scarce As early as 1963, a UNDP report on future urban
Singapore has often revolved around high- growth strategies had identified that “there is no
intensity transport technologies. One example is doubt that Singapore needs some form of mass
its ever-expanding Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) transport”. The report recommended that
system, which is integrated with an extensive Singapore invest in either monorails or subways,
public bus network. What Singapore has now is noting that these options were the most suitable
the result of a growth process that has spanned and cost-effective for the cityscape (Abrams,
over five decades. 1963). By 1998 Singapore’s urban transport
However, directly emulating such resource- infrastructure had grown manifold, to the point
intensive public transit options is not necessarily that Robert Cervero identified Singapore as a
a viable solution for many developing cities. seminal example of a “Transit Metropolis”: a city
These projects require robust financial capital, which is designed to be especially conducive for
careful land use and transport integration, and sustainable public transit modes (Cervero, 1998).
implementation capacities that are often lacking
in developing cities. Nevertheless, policymakers Throughout its growth, Singapore has leveraged
and businesses in developing cities across the an effective array of strategies pertaining to
world may learn and benefit from the enabling urban mobility and transport infrastructure
factors, strategies and policy instruments development to stimulate its social and
underpinning Singapore’s urban transportation economic development.
scene.
Concept Planning
Successful transportation planning cannot be pursued in isolation from other urban development
objectives. Singapore’s institutional ability to coordinate multiple urban agendas has enabled
strategic planning and provision to develop transport infrastructure in tandem with a broader urban
planning and development framework.
“The Concept Plans cover aspirations, what the community wants to achieve, and confronts major
strategic trade-offs and dilemmas – quite deliberately without getting bogged down in details. The
[Master & Development Guide Plans] take the concepts as a starting point and provide the details of
how the aspirations are to be achieved”
This streamlined approach allows current and future plans to extend public transport infrastructure
to be effectively aligned and evolve alongside population densities and Singapore’s satellite towns.
Nonetheless, political centralisation and the fused nature of the city-state’s national, urban and
local layers have allowed it to pursue vigorous “UrbaNational” policies (Olds, 2004).
Given the long construction windows and high financing costs of physical infrastructure projects,
demand-regulating policies may offer viable instruments in the short-to-medium term for many
developing cities. These measures can help to maximize use of transport infrastructure, incentivize
shifts to public transportation, and help provide financing for further public transport infrastructure
development. For instance, World Bank researchers have observed that the revenue generated from
Singapore’s traffic demand management policies has also helped cover incremental costs for scaling
and maintaining road and railway infrastructure
Summary: Singapore has introduced urban design guidelines to encourage the provision of new
through-block pedestrian links and view corridors within selected developments in order to
break down the scale and improve permeability of street blocks. xxv The overall pedestrian
network in Singapore includes covered walkways, linkways as well as through-block links, and
has been designed to be three-dimensional with key routes linking upper and basement levels in
addition to at-grade pathways. Specific design guidelines have also been implemented on some
key sites, alongside minimum widths and heights of through-block links.
Results: Downtown Singapore has been planned as a pedestrian-friendly area. The city features a
comprehensive network of pathways that provide convenient connections between
developments, transport nodes, and key facilities. Due to strong design guidelines, the
pedestrian networks have been planned for an enhanced walking experience, with the inclusion
of awnings being particularly important to protect walkers from the extreme sunshine and
rainfall typical to the climate of Singapore.
Reasons for success: The provision of through-block links is guided by a set of planning
parameters and urban design guidelines used to assess development proposals. In addition,
further incentives are given by exempting linkages from Gross Floor Area calculations if they
form part of the larger pedestrian network.
When/why a city might adopt an approach like this: Cities with large footprint buildings might
adopt through-block policies to provide more permeable urban environment and convenient
walking routes, encouraging pedestrian activity. In addition, cities with inclement weather could
benefit from the three-dimensional pedestrian network approach of Singapore by providing links
on upper and basement levels, and covered paths for a sheltered and more comfortable
experience.