SPEECH BY MINISTER ONG YE KUNG AT THE 3RD NUS CITIES SYMPOSIUM

Friends, colleagues

Ladies and gentlemen

1.             I am happy to join you today at the 3rd NUS Cities Symposium. To all our foreign guests, welcome to Singapore!

An Unnatural Blue Zone

2.             Two months ago, I met Dr. Michel Poulain. His fields of study are demography and longevity, and his most famous research work is on Blue Zones. Places such as Okinawa, Sardinia, Ikaria, and Costa Rica are places he took a particular interest in, because there are many centenarians there, where people live healthily beyond 100 years.

3.             He noted that Singapore had been included as a Blue Zone. But he quickly clarified that Singapore was not part of his research work, as we were in fact added by Netflix. And I said I knew that. He also told me he read my response to our inclusion, and he agreed, which is, I did not celebrate. I, in fact, told him, and which is what I said to the public, I'm not sure Singapore deserved to be a Blue Zone.

4.             We discussed and something insightful came up in our conversation. We observed that the original Blue Zones were grappling with modernisation, and their traditionally healthy lifestyles were at risk of being eroded. On the other hand, Singapore had already faced these urban health challenges, such as processed food, sedentary lifestyles and pollution, but we were actively forging a new path towards being a healthy city

5.             The original Blue Zones and Singapore are therefore on different parts of the health trajectory curve for cities. The original Blue Zones may be on a downward cycle, while Singapore is trying to climb up on an upward trajectory.

6.             I tell this story to illustrate that cities are living entities. They are not just bricks and mortar. They are alive and dynamic. They are shaped by the environment and the tides of history, and undergo natural cycles of growth, stress, maturity and renewal. Cities also have agency. We can invest effort to rehabilitate, nurture, strengthen and rejuvenate themselves, and go against these natural cycles.

7.             This is the job of visionaries, policy makers, planners, architects, designers, builders, social workers, community groups, and everyone present today.

Cities of the Past

8.             There are many examples of living cities in history.

9.             Take ancient Chinese capital Chang’an, now known as Xi’an. The city was designed for defence, surrounded by colossal walls, fortified gates, watchtowers and rapid movement of troops and supplies.

10.          After Xi’an, the capital of China shifted to Luoyang, Nanjing, Hangzhou and now Beijing, but Xi’an remains a large city – diminished in political significance, but retaining its historical importance.

11.          Then there is Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital built on a lake, which placed agriculture at the heart of its design. The Aztecs expanded the chinampa “floating gardens” system, creating fertile land and efficient canal transport. This allowed year-round crop production and supported a population of over 200,000 at that time – remarkable for its era. Today, it is in ruins and buried deep under the bustling streets of Mexico City.

12.          There is also New York City – founded in 1624 as New Amsterdam by the Dutch. Located at the east coast of North America and served by the Hudson and East Rivers, it was a major centre for trade and shipping. When the British took over in 1664, they renamed it New York, and the city grew rapidly. Early neighbourhoods like SoHo and Greenwich developed organically. Subsequently, a Grid Plan was put in place in Manhattan, creating an orderly street system ensuring maximum connectivity and accessibility.

13.          In more recent times, a decommissioned above-ground rail line was thoughtfully converted to a linear public park. A memorial with two large reflective pools poignantly reminds people where the World Trade Centre twin towers used to stand. New York City – with all its rich history, chaos, tragedy and dynamism, remains one of the most consequential cities in the world today.

14.          Closer to home, Singapore underwent a major facelift over 60 years. A large part of our coast has been devoted to trade, to serve ships sailing along the Straits of Malacca. Inland, large-scale public housing projects moved people from overcrowded kampungs into modern flats. Swampy areas like the Kallang Basin were filled up to become vibrant new neighbourhoods. Coastlines that early immigrants arrived on were reclaimed and became part of today’s city centre. You would know Thian Hock Keng Temple, which was around when the Hokkiens first arrived. Today it is just part of a road called Amoy Street.

15.          Urban planners meticulously compartmentalised our scarce land and deployed them for all the uses needed by a small independent island state. We cleaned up rivers, managed floods, introduced modern sanitation, tackled infectious diseases and poor hygiene. Lives improved and today we are a developed Asian metropolis.

Health at the Heart of Cities of the Future

16.          The examples I gave show that cities, whether designed for defence, agriculture, trade or thrusted into independence, were products of their times. The future, however, presents with opportunities and challenges that require cities to adapt to very quickly.

17.          For example, expectations on what a city can offer has changed. It is no longer just bricks and mortar and a safe place to live in. As it develops and becomes connected to the world, the population has sophisticated tastes. They want modern lifestyles in leisure, entertainment and the arts.

18.          With virtually every major city outside of Africa ageing, cities need to take on another role – one that supports active ageing, preserves health and keeps people young at heart.

19.          With warming temperatures, cities also need to contend with erratic weather, rising sea levels and unfamiliar infectious diseases. Recently, Guangzhou had a bout of infectious diseases which used to be from the tropics, but now they are facing it.

20.          With culturally diverse populations, cities need to prevent their communities from fragmentation and create common spaces to connect people and bring them together.

21.          Many cities are proactively tackling these challenges. Whether it is through globalisation, cultural diversity, ageing, climate change, they have to proactively tackle these challenges and there are many best practices we can learn from. For example, Amsterdam made great use of its flat terrain, building extensive cycling paths and pedestrian-friendly streets to create an exceptionally active and healthy population.

22.          Elsewhere, Copenhagen’s waterfront parks are more than just places of leisure. They are designed with absorbent landscapes and retention basins, which can soak up and hold excess rainwater during storms, and prevent floods.

23.          Tokyo offers another compelling example. As a coastal megacity facing typhoons, heatwaves and occasional earthquakes, it recently launched the Tokyo Resilience Project – a 17 trillion yen effort to protect the city over the next century, including huge underground reservoirs to contain stormwater and prevent flooding.

24.          Likewise, in Singapore, resilience, sustainability and health have become key priorities in developing a Singapore for the future.

25.          We are expanding our Park Connector Network, integrating green spaces such as parks and therapeutic landscapes across our towns. We complement this 'hardware' with 'software' – programmes that encourage Singaporeans to stay active. So I am always amazed that when you walk along the streets, you see one side of Singapore. Once you get into the parks and onto the Park Connector, you see a whole new dimension that you have never seen before. Same scene, different angle, much greener, and it doesn't feel like Singapore. And Singapore is probably the only space in the world where you get the government paying you for exercising.

26.          For example, we have developed and are expanding a network of Active Ageing Centres – which promote socialising and volunteerism amongst seniors. They are complemented by Community Health Posts run by public hospitals, which deliver healthcare, especially preventive care, in the community. We are also enhancing personal care services in the community. We are making improvements to the physical living environment, through Friendly Streets and barrier-free access. When we put all these features together in the neighbourhood, what can we produce?

27.          Singapore does not have the space to build retirement villages, and neither do we want the majority of our seniors to live in retirement homes that are isolated from the rest of the community. By combining and integrating all the improvements I mentioned earlier, we can transform existing housing estates into virtual retirement villages – what we called Age Well Neighbourhoods. And what is the beauty of this scheme is that seniors continue to live in their existing homes, but the surroundings are improved, so that you are virtually living in a very friendly retirement village.

28.          As temperatures in Singapore are expected to rise by up to 5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, we adopt cooling strategies such as augmenting our built environment to reduce waste heat generated and improve air flow and ventilation. 

29.          We are building up resilience to help us manage floods even as sea levels rise. Over the past decade, we have invested almost S$2 billion in drainage improvements and set aside S$10 billion in our Coastal and Flood Protection Fund.

30.          One major coastal protection project is the Long Island Project, which will reclaim land off the East Coast of Singapore to protect the low-lying coastline. At the same time, it will create new space for recreational uses.

Closing Reflections

31.          All these efforts – building green spaces, connecting neighbourhoods, helping seniors age well, strengthening climate resilience – are ultimately about building enduring homes that will serve our people for years to come.

32.          Every city houses a complex society – individuals with their dreams and aspirations, families with their hopes and fears, communities with their own identities and pride – all co-existing in a dynamic and even messy way.

33.          Every city – past, present, and future – also needs to anticipate and adapt to their circumstances and challenges of the times. We need to evolve cities in anticipation of future needs. Urban science is our means not only to better understand the forces that affect our lives, but also to evolve our city and ourselves so that we can continue to determine our fate. This no longer applies just for security or economic survival and gain, but also for our continued flourishing – to build health, resilience, sustainability, and cohesion for all who call the city home.

34.          Urban science is an important field. As city living becomes the norm, urbanisation throughout the world is gaining pace. More and more people choose to live in cities, and yet cities need to be resilient, need to be planned for the future. So having urban scientists is not enough. You need to work with a government that is prepared to implement bold measures that are long term. In most other countries, there is a central government, and cities are run by mayors. In Singapore, we have one level of government, the city is the government. The mayor is the Prime Minister. That gives us this extra advantage, which is why we can plan long term and we can work with urban scientists to continue to evolve Singapore for the future.

35.          Thank you very much. I wish you a good conference.