Good morning distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

I am happy to join you for this second International Conference on Quality of Life in Cities and would like to extend a warm welcome to all delegates, especially those from abroad.

One of the major forces shaping land-use decisions in cities is the growing recognition that the physical environment must help enhance the quality of life. There is a pressing need for planners to create a conducive, vibrant and sustainable environment in our cities. The challenge is to create a cityscape that is both functional and economically competitive for business, yet at the same time pleasant and enriching for residents. And in this age of globalisation, it is all the more important to ensure that our cities have a distinctive identity, each with its own charm and character.

This morning, I would like to focus on the challenges that Singapore faces in developing a vibrant and attractive global city with a pleasant quality of life.

The concept of "quality of life" has different connotations to different societies, and even to different people within the same society. Increasingly, however, as societies progress and cities become more global in outlook, more common ground is being established. Quality of life, by and large, would encompass good education and job opportunities, proper healthcare and social support services, a safe and clean living environment, and adequate opportunities for an enriching and enjoyable life.

In the Singapore context, "quality of life" for our increasingly affluent population means having a variety of affordable housing to choose from, good schools and quality healthcare, efficient transportation, clean air, and varied leisure and recreational facilities in a liveable, exciting and safe environment. Moreover, Singaporeans increasingly appreciate the importance of having a city with a distinctive identity and sense of place.

But first, what are our key constraints? Singapore is a medium-size city, somewhat like Melbourne or Zurich. Yet, unlike these cities which are part of huge nations, Singapore is a city as well as a nation. This means that within a land area of 647 sq km, we have to meet all the critical needs of a nation – defence, water catchment areas, industries, offices, housing, recreation, etc. Some of these needs occupy large tracts of land and impose constraints on the use of surrounding areas.

Reclamation has enabled us to add land but there is a limit to how much land we can reclaim. As a major world port, we must keep our fairways open for maritime traffic. Also, there is a technical limit of 15 to 20m below mean sea level for reclamation, after which it becomes uneconomical.

So, the overarching challenge for Singapore’s planners is to meet the competing demands for land in this land-scarce nation without compromising the quality of life of our people. That’s a delicate balance. Let me take you through some of the challenges our planners face in trying to achieve this balance, and the strategies we have adopted to create a vibrant, conducive and sustainable environment for urban living.

First, let us look at the challenge of housing a population whose aspirations keep rising with their growing affluence. The average Singaporean today wants to have more than just a roof over his head. In his search for a home, he wants quality and varied choices. Therefore, notwithstanding our dense living environment, a key planning challenge is to cater to this aspiration.

Singaporeans today live in a wide variety of low, medium and high-density homes, primarily in suburban new towns. And in the future, other forms of housing along waterfronts and even on idyllic offshore islands like Sentosa will be in the offing. Aside from providing more private housing to meet Singaporeans’ desire to upgrade, public housing is also being differentiated in terms of quality -- there are "standard flats" as well as "premium flats". People buying public housing can thus choose the flat-type to suit their lifestyle and budget.

At the same time, housing costs must also be kept affordable. In a recent issue of Asiaweek magazine, the Japanese city of Fukuoka was named as 1999’s best Asian city to live in. How did Fukuoka manage to pip Tokyo, the previous year’s winner? According to Asiaweek’s scoring, affordability made the difference. Residents in both cities have comparable income levels. But the average price of housing in Tokyo is 10 times that of the average annual income, whereas in Fukuoka it is only 7.6 times. More affordable housing has made Fukuoka a more attractive place for young Japanese professionals to settle in, and today, the city has the second youngest city population in Japan.

Singapore sees the need to maintain a reasonable cost of living, including housing costs. The Government facilitates this through its public housing programme and by ensuring a steady and sufficient supply of land for private housing and other needs, based on projections of medium and long-term supply and demand. This promotes market stability, which in turn contributes to keeping housing affordable for Singaporeans, 90% of whom own their own homes today.

The second challenge we face is to provide enough land for leisure and community facilities. We need more open spaces, sports and recreational facilities and world-class retail, arts and entertainment to satisfy a more sophisticated population, and also to attract foreign talent to our shores. These facilities typically occupy vast spaces. Yet they are a necessity, being the people’s playgrounds that enhance the quality of life.

To cater to this need, our development agencies adopt a collective perspective, seeking to provide a high-quality living environment while optimising land use at the same time. For example, different agencies co-operate to share sites and facilities, both to save land as well as to promote community bonding. Community clubs are being integrated with a greater range of facilities such as libraries, neighbourhood police centres and other social services. Similarly, primary and secondary school fields are open for public use after school hours, thereby increasing the availability of recreational spaces within our towns.

Arts and entertainment add life and colour to a city. More is being done in this area as well. For instance, an Entertainment District with cinemas, theatres, music and dance halls, arts and cultural activities, thematic shopping and exquisite dining is being planned at the downtown Bugis area. And at the mouth of the Singapore River, the new "Esplanade --Theatres on the Bay", complete with state-of-the-art facilities, will soon complement the existing art galleries and museums in the historic civic district to provide greater cultural offerings in the city.

We also treasure areas of rustic charm and beauty. Efforts are made to improve the basic infrastructure to render these tranquil spots more accessible to the public. For example, not far from Changi Airport, at Changi Point, more beaches, waterfront walkways, park connectors and boardwalks will be provided to bring people closer to the seafront so that they can soak in the pleasures of living on a tropical island.

The third challenge is to meet the transportation needs of a growing economy and population without allocating more and more land for building roads. The key here is to integrate land use planning with transportation planning. In the upcoming Punggol New Town, for example, the majority of residents in the 85,000 dwelling units will live within a 300 to 350-m radius of a light-rail transit (LRT) or mass rapid transit (MRT) station. At the same time, our existing rail network is being further developed. In the next five years, five new MRT / LRT lines totalling 65 km will be provided to further improve the rail network to make travel by public transport even more convenient.

But having more rail lines also means setting aside more land for viaducts and other infrastructure. In this regard, we have begun to optimise land use by co-locating the transit stations with other uses. For example, the LRT depot in Bukit Panjang is on the 3^rd level of an integrated building which has commercial uses on the first two levels. And in the future, dwelling units will be built on the upper 18 floors of this building.

Our fourth challenge is how to make our city distinctive in this era of globalisation where people and businesses have unprecedented mobility. Singapore is a multi-racial, multi-cultural society. We aim to conserve the built environment that is reflective of our rich cultural heritage so that Singapore can be a "cosmopolis" or world city, but with a unique Asian identity.

We have conserved and revitalised areas of historical significance and architectural merit. Examples include Kampong Glam, Little India, Chinatown and Joo Chiat, as well as the banks of the Singapore River -- Boat Quay, Clark Quay and Robertson Quay. We have also implemented projects integrating old and new uses, such as in China Square. I hope that the foreign delegates would have the opportunity to visit some of these areas which help give our city a character of its own.

Ladies and gentlemen, I have sketched out some of the challenges Singapore faces in trying to improve the quality of life for its citizens. Indeed, ensuring a good quality of life is essential for Singapore’s continued success in the wake of globalisation and a borderless world. Living in Singapore must be made not only rewarding and enriching but also enjoyable and relaxing if we are to retain our homegrown talents and attract foreign corporations and talents.

Similarly, cities around the world will have their own challenges to address – some similar to those facing Singapore and some different. These challenges or dilemmas cities might face include:

The diversity of cities represented at this conference promises an enriching experience for all participants. I encourage you to make the most of this opportunity to share your ideas and concerns so that we may all gain additional perspectives that could help improve the quality of life in our cities.

Thank you.