Did You Know

The World Development Report has been produced annually since 1978, and is the World Bank’s major analytical publication. In the 2009 version, titled “Reshaping Economic Geography”, the report hailed Singapore as a model country for charting a nation’s move from slums to world-class city.

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A “Study on Affordable, Adequate Housing” by international research company, Gallup Organisation in 2010 revealed that Singaporeans were the least likely in the world to report struggles with affordable and adequate housing. The study found that only 1% of Singaporeanshad insufficient money to provide adequate shelter or housing for themselves or their families. The study ranked Singapore 1st out of 128 countries in 2010.

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The A.T Kearney Global Cities Index provides a comprehensive ranking of the leading global cities around the world. The Index compared how much these cities were integrated with the rest of the world as leaders in globalization. In 2010, the Index ranked Singapore 8th out of 65 cities.

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The Global Power City Index evaluates and ranks the major cities of the world according to their power to attract creative people and excellent companies from around the world amidst an environment of increasingly strong urban competition worldwide. Singapore was ranked 5th out of 35 cities in 2010.

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Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey evaluates local living conditions in 420 cities. Living conditions are grouped into 10 categories: Political and social environment, Economic environment, Socio-cultural environment, Health and sanitation, Schools and education, Public services and transportation, Recreation, Consumer goods, Housing, Natural environment. In 2011, Singapore was placed 25th in terms of quality of living. This made us the highest-ranking Asian city in the survey.

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The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Awards were created in 2008 by the Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network to recognize and reward excellence for those making significant contributions to innovation, implementation and communication of energy and environmental solutions. In 2010, BCA won the “Government” category, becoming the first government agency outside North America to take the award.

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The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Liveability Ranking is part of the Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. The ranking assesses living conditions in 140 cities by assigning a rating of relative comfort across five broad categories: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure. In 2011, Singapore ranked 51st out of 140 cities, and 4th most liveable in Asia.

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Since 2007, lifestyle magazine Monocle has been publishing an annual list of liveable cities. Important criteria in this non-scientific survey are safety/crime, international connectivity, climate/sunshine, quality of architecture, public transportation, tolerance, environmental issues and access to nature, urban design, business conditions, pro active policy developments and medical care. In the 2010 “Quality of Life” survey, Singapore was ranked amongst the 25 most liveable cities.

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Knight Frank World Cities Survey ranks world cities according to their economic activity, political power, knowledge and influence and quality of life. Overall, Singapore was ranked 7th out of top 40 cities in 2010 (6th in Economic Activity; 8th in Knowledge & Influence).

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In the Asian Green City Index study, the Economist Intelligence Unit analysed the aims and achievements of 22 major Asian cities in eight categories: energy and CO2, land use and buildings, transport, waste, water, sanitation, air quality and environmental governance. Singapore came out tops among 22 major Asian cities in 2011.

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Euromonitor International’s Top City Destinations Ranking covers 100 of the world’s leading and most dynamic cities in terms of international tourist arrivals. Singapore took 3rd place out of 100 cities in 2011.

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ECA International’s Location Ratings system is used to assist International HR departments establish expatriate allowances which compensate staff for the difficulties in adapting to living in their assignment location. The ratings are based on an analysis of living standards of more than 400 locations globally. Singapore was named best location in the world for Asians to live in.

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The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) rankings cover meetings organised by international associations which take place on a regular basis. These meetings rotate amongst a minimum of three countries. Singapore was ranked top Asian convention city and 5th Top Global Convention City.

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The Ease of Doing Business Report by the World Bank Group provides a quantitative measure of regulations for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, etc. Singapore was placed 1st among 183 countries surveyed.

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The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is the world’s leading body in the field of tall buildings and the recognized source of information on tall buildings internationally. It is the arbiter of the criteria upon which tall building height is measured, and thus the title of “The World’s Tallest Building” determined. The Pinnacle@Duxton won the 2010 Best Tall Building Asia & Australasia.

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The Habitat Scroll of Honour award was launched by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in 1989, and is currently the most prestigious human settlements award in the world. HDB won the 2010 UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour Award.

“It’s really quite impressive for a country to provide adequate shelter and home ownership for so many. (HDB) won for being such an excellent example that other countries can learn from.”

– Mrs Jane Nyakairu, Chief of Information Services, UN-Habitat

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Climate change movement Earth Hour is moving its global headquarters to Singapore.

The global movement, which has been based in Sydney, Australia since it launched in 2007, is expected to move to Singapore in May.

Earth Hour encourages individuals, businesses and communities to switch off their lights for one hour on the last Saturday of March every year.

The Singapore headquarters is expected to lead the campaign’s outreach to businesses.

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By 2020, Knight Frank’s Global Cities Survey projects that Singapore will be the 6th most influential city in its list of top 20 global cities. The study is designed to monitor “city-level power shifts” by assessing global markets for investment opportunities and influence on business leaders worldwide.

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Jurong Lake District is intended to support Singapore’s economic growth for the next 10 to 15 years. It will be the largest commercial node and regional centre outside of the central business district, and will become one of the city’s new sustainable high-density districts.

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Singapore maintained its No.1 position in ECA International’s global ranking for quality of living for good air quality, solid infrastructure and healthcare facilities, low crime and low health risks.

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The prestigious American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE) award accredits the best in environmental engineering. The panel selected My Waterway@Punggol for the way it integrated environmental sustainability, stormwater management and community spaces. My Waterway@Punggol is one of the few international projects to win the award, with Singapore being the only Asian country on the list.

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The Henderson Waves Bridge was voted the second ‘Top New Bridge’ in T+L Magazine’s “2012 Best New Landmarks” survey. The bridge also came in 52nd overall in the ‘Most Visited Landmarks’ category. The bridge gained rave reviews for its sculptural wave of steel ribs that follows the walkway, periodically curling up and over the edge to create little coves of sheltered seating.

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Developed by HDB, the mixed development project located within Clementi Town Centre displayed distinction in aspects such as architecture & design, development & construction, community benefit, and environmental impact. The project received a runner-up award in the Master Plan Category.

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Singapore moved up two spots to 4th place in the report that surveyed 2,353 people globally. The improvement was attributed to Singapore’s popularity as a destination for multinational corporations over the past few years. The island-city has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and offers a clean and healthy environment free from traffic pollution.

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HDB was recognised for its collaboration with private architects on several public housing projects, while BCA was honoured for promoting the architectural profession through initiatives such as the Green Mark and Universal Design Awardsty has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, and offers a clean and healthy environment free from traffic pollution.

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The Built Environment Leadership Platinum Award was awarded to HDB for demonstrating excellence and leadership in shaping a safe, high quality, sustainable and friendly built environment in Singapore.

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The Botanic Gardens is the only Asian nominee in the category, edging out gardens from Canada, Europe and the USA. Winners are selected based on their tourism performance, based primarily on the quality of the garden experience.

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For its Contractors Registration System, BCA won the 2^nd place in Asia for promoting accountability in the procurement of public projects.

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From slums to top-quality public housing in a generation – Singapore orchestrated a long-term solution to the severe housing shortage the country faced in its early years. In the process, Singapore developed high-quality public housing on a massive scale, acquiring expertise that has even been packaged as consulting services to other governments.

Today, more than 80% of Singapore’s population live in publicly built flats. Judged by nearly every standard, including scale, cost, affordability, community-building, and even design, Singapore’s housing experiment must be considered a remarkable public-works success.

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The ‘Dragon’ was built in 1979 by HDB’s in-house designer Khor Ean Ghee, and is one of just four playgrounds from Asia selected by the website.

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In the report by KPMG, Singapore’s two projects selected by the judging panel were:

• Tuas II Desalination Plant, and
• the Deep Tunnel Sewerage System from Kranji to Changi.

These projects emerged tops in the ‘Water’ and ‘Recycling and Waste Management’ categories.

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MND was recognised with the Leading HR Practices Awards for the “E-Human Resource Management” and “Learning & Human Capital” categories.

The Ministry also received a special mention for the “Manpower Resourcing & Planning” category.

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The Global Liveable Cities study ranked 64 Asian, European and American cities for the following five categories:

• economic vibrancy and competitiveness;
• environmental friendliness and sustainability;
• domestic security and stability;
• social-cultural conditions, and
• public governance

Singapore was ranked amongst the top 5 countries in all categories, except for the environment segment where it came in 14^th.

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Singapore is the first Asian country to clinch this prestigious award since its inception in 2006.

The award is the highest honour conferred by the International Water Association, based on the following criteria:

• excellence in water engineering;
• originality and innovative use of technology;
• future value brought to the engineering profession;
• social, economic and sustainable design considerations; and
• complexity of situation

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The Downtown Pinnacle Award is presented by the International Downtown Association (IDA) and recognises outstanding projects and programmes which are innovative, impactful and enhances the image and vitality of downtown locations around the world.

iLight Marina Bay 2012 is Asia’s first sustainable light art festival. More than half a million visitors visited Marina Bay to enjoy the light art installations and take part in events and activities over a three-week period.

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The Architectural Heritage Awards exemplify the highest standards within the conservation movement, rewarding projects who have gone beyond what is necessary to sensitively restore their heritage buildings for continued use. It also promotes public awareness and appreciation of quality restoration of monuments and buildings with preservation and conservation status in Singapore.

The winning projects are:

• The Sultan
• Bukit Timah Campus
• Maxwell Chambers
• Space Asia Hub
• 51 Joo Chiat Terrace

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The HDB Design Awards acknowledge architectural consultants for their outstanding design of public housing projects, and is an important benchmark for future HDB projects.

The winning projects are:

• Mixed Development at Clementi Town Centre
• My Waterway@Punggol
• Skyline I & II @ Bukit Batok

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For the 2^nd year running, HDB emerged as the biggest winner at the FIABCI Singapore Property Awards.

FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation, recognised HDB’s leadership in real estate development in terms of design, aesthetics, functionality, and contribution to the built environment and community at large.

The winning HDB projects are:

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My Waterway@Punggol was honoured by the Institution of Engineer Singapore (IES) for its engineering innovations, as well as social and commercial impact to the society.

As Singapore’s first man-made waterway, the development overcame many engineering challenges. One of which was to construct and transform a wall which protects the integrity of the existing MRT structure, into an aesthetically pleasing green wall with waterfall and vertical greens.

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Built by Sky Greens Farms, the vertical farm is made up of 120 aluminium towers that stretch 30 feet tall. The new farm is able to produce 1 ton of fresh vegetables every other day, which are sold in local supermarkets.

Looking like giant greenhouses, the rising steel structure will help Singapore grow more food locally, thus reducing its dependence on imported produce and provide a fresh new source of sustainable produce for Singapore.

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HDB was conferred the prestigious award under the Project Built section for its “My Waterway@Punggol” project, based on the following criteria:

• Enhancement of the natural and Built Landscape,
• Arts,
• Culture and heritage,
• Environmental best practices,
• Community participation and empowerment,
• Healthy lifestyle, and
• Strategic planning

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