URA has bold ideas to balance development, conservation: PM Lee

The Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) new blueprint for the country has "bold ideas" to balance development with conservation and green space, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook post yesterday.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

Here is PM Lee's Facebook post in full:

 What makes Singapore our home? Some things that matter: living with or near our loved ones, spending more time with friends and family, and enjoying green spaces at our doorsteps.

How to allow new development, while protecting space for green living and conservation on our little island, is a constant challenge.

Urban Redevelopment Authority’s team has come up with bold ideas to strike a good balance, and improve our quality of life. It envisions more jobs closer to our homes; 90% of households to live within 400 metres of parks; 700km of cycling routes integrated with our public transport network; and more. Khaw Boon Wan has shared some details on his blog, so take a read and check out URA’s videos.

Here is Mr Khaw Boon Wan's blog post:

URA's Draft Master Plan 2013 has attracted a good response. 20,000 people visited the exhibition in the first week alone. For the convenience of most, we have a DMP13 website, with close to 250,000 unique visitors so far.

DMP13 is a complete picture of how the plans by our various agencies add up collectively to shape our living environment going forward. Our vision is that every new town will promote community interaction, health, energy efficiency and worker productivity, with pervasive greenery.

DMP13 will make Singapore an inclusive city for all ages, where people are also connected through green modes of transport and work closer to their homes. For this Master Plan, we want to involve the community in proposals like community-friendly, fenceless residential precincts with fewer cars, planning of cycling routes, and shaping our public spaces. We are also seeking Singaporeans' views on how we should plan for the longer-term, in areas such as the Southern Waterfront.

The response has been very encouraging. The cycling community is excited about our plans to promote cycling as a green mode of transport and has been enthusiastically sharing their ideas with the URA. There has also been positive feedback on our plans to enhance the Civic District into a pedestrian-friendly precinct. Image

Many of these ideas need strong support of the community to be implemented. If you like them, you can help share the ideas and show your support. The more support we have, the more we can push the envelope to implement the plans.

Do visit the DMP13 exhibition at URA Centre or the website. Our planners have worked very hard to envision Singapore's future through interactive displays, videos, and brochures for 26 towns. Share your views so we can shape our Singapore together.