SINGAPORE – How successful Singapore’s regionalism project has been, the future of city centre office spaces post-pandemic, and how cities recover post-crisis are among the key urban issues tackled in a new book.
The City Rebooted: Networks, Connectivity And Place Identities In Singapore was edited by Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) honorary professor Chan Heng Chee and professorial research fellow Harvey Neo. The Straits Times unpacks some of the book’s key ideas and insights, as well as those raised during a panel discussion at the book’s launch on April 26.
Regional centres
Tampines demonstrates the highest degree of polycentricity compared with two other regional centres, Jurong and Woodlands, according to Global Positioning System data from the mobile phones of residents in those areas.
Polycentricity refers to the clustering of various human activities, such that more commuters are attracted there and fewer residents leave the area for activities. Regional centres are meant to shorten the distances that people travel from home for work or leisure.
Analysing data from 837 phones in the month of September for 2019, 2020 and 2021, Dr Neo and SUTD adjunct researcher Li Bayi found that Tampines residents travelled the shortest distances from their homes to their destinations, while Woodlands residents travelled farthest, on average, compared with those in Tampines and Jurong. When residents do not need to commute too far beyond the regional centre, it indicates higher polycentricity.
Dr Neo and Mr Li’s analysis also found that when social distancing measures were the strictest in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, the average distances travelled by Tampines residents dropped the most among the three regional centres, while the reduction in distances was the smallest for Jurong residents.
Beyond meeting the functional needs of residents, the authors argued that effective regional centres need to exhibit a strong sense of place and identity, which will resonate with residents and keep them rooted in place.