SINGAPORE is building a 42,000-home eco ‘smart’ city in a country where over 80% of residents live in public housing.
Promising 42,000 new homes across five residential districts, the eco-town of Tengah, will be the 24th new settlement built by Singapore’s government since World War II.
It is, however, the first with centralized cooling, automated trash collection and a car-free town center, which conservationists hope offers a roadmap for slashing carbon emissions in the Southeast Asian city-state.
The development is, however, being dubbed a “forest town” by officials, due to its abundant greenery and public gardens.
A 328-foot-wide ecological “corridor” will be maintained through its center, providing safe passage to wildlife and connecting a water catchment area on one side to a nature reserve on the other.
The project has proven a tabula rasa for urban planners advocating green design principles and “smart” technology, according to Chong Fook Loong, group director for research and planning at Singapore’s Housing and Development Board (HDB).
“Tengah is a clean slate,” he said.
“We’re going for the ideal concept of segregation of traffic, (with) everything underground and then the ground level totally freed up for pedestrians — for people. So, it’s a very safe environment for all.
“We want a town that allows walking and cycling in a very user-friendly manner,” he added concluded.
CNN