When Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew announced in 1963 that Singapore was to become a ‘garden city’, he set the island on a path that it continues to traverse today.
At the time (though ahead of its time), Lee’s initial mandate was simply to launch a tree planting strategy.
Today, Singapore is governed by an elaborate masterplan that carves out its position as not just a garden city, but a ‘city in the garden’. Parks have been linked by green ‘park connector networks’, nature reserves have been safeguarded, and whole neighbourhoods are being redeveloped to put tree-growth first.
But most visible is the greening of infrastructure. Every new building in this city is decorated with foliage running sideways up the walls, sometimes with whole floors devoted to open green space, and always capped off with a haven of vegetation on the rooftops.
It is a grand statement to make in pure sustainability terms, but it also makes a large impact visually. Singapore’s urban aesthetic is that of a city given over to the gardens, and here, nature rules the roost.
