Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

      It is my pleasure to join you this afternoon for the launch of the book "Managing Asian Cities" by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

2.   Over the last two days, you would have heard various experts and thought leaders share their views on the many challenges of managing cities. The launch of this book "Managing Asian Cities" is thus very timely to add to the exchange of insights and expertise among cities on how to tackle the challenges facing us today.

Key Challenges for Urban Development in Asia

3.   In particular, a key common challenge facing cities in Asia is to pursue economic growth while ensuring environmental and social sustainability. Economic growth has vastly improved the welfare of the population in Asia over the past decades, and will continue to be of great importance. However, there is now greater realization that we cannot be pursuing unfettered growth at the expense of our quality of living.

4.   The imperative for sustainable development is even greater now. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), there would be over 1.1 billion more Asian urban residents in 2030 as compared to 2005. This additional 1 billion urban residents will be adding to the cities’ demand for energy and water, competing for space to live, and require access to good sanitation and other facilities. Rapid economic and population growth will thus surely exert pressures on limited resources as well as stress the environmental quality within these cities.

5.   While economic growth can bring more wealth and resource to cities, the distribution of wealth may be uneven. Economic growth can also widen the income disparity among the population and stress the social fabric that underpins economic and social stability.

6.   If we do not address these twin challenges adequately, they could potentially undermine future economic growth.

7.   I believe that Asian cities share the same aspirations – to be economically vibrant, environmentally sustainable and socially harmonious. However, there is no single model or solution to city management, as cities in Asia are vastly diverse in their circumstances. Nevertheless, I share the optimism that with good management, cities in Asia can sustain their economic success stories and yet provide a even higher standard of living for their population going forward.

Singapore’s Experience

8.   I say so because Singapore has been able to achieve a balance between growth and a good quality living environment for the past 40 years of its development, despite extreme resource constraints. As a small island state of 700 sqkm housing a population of more than 4.5m now, we have to plan our land use judiciously and put in place robust environmental regulations, as different uses have to be located in close proximity. We have also invested in a comprehensive public transport infrastructure to encourage a more efficient mode of travel, cleaned up our waterways, built water-recycling plants and made continuous efforts to green our city. Compared to 1960, our population has nearly tripled, but today, our people has access to clean air, clean water and a health, clean and green environment, and we have gained international recognition as a liveable city.

9.   Beyond infrastructure and facilities, as a multi-racial young nation, we placed great emphasis on creating an inclusive society where no one is left behind. For instance, our public housing programme plays a key role in forging an inclusive and cohesive society. Our public housing subsidies have helped the vast majority of Singaporeans to buy their own homes. By owning their homes, all Singaporeans, including the lower income can have a tangible stake in Singapore’s economic progress.

10.  To keep home prices affordable, we ensure sufficient supply of public housing in new towns, build smaller flats that are affordable for the lower income, as well as put in place monetization schemes for the elderly to unlock some of the value from their properties while ageing in place.

11.  We have also deliberately designed our public estates, where the majority of Singaporeans live, to be inclusive and to facilitate community building. Each estate has a good mix of residents of different race, background and age, and through the public housing programme, they share a common experience and forge a common identity. As our economy grows, we share the gains by re-investing in the rejuvenation of our public housing estates, including upgrading the facilities within these estates. During the rejuvenation process, we also seek to retain significant landmarks or community institutions that are critical to the collective social memory of our people.

ADB’s Contribution to Urban Development

12.  Despite some of these past successes, balancing the economic, social and environmental objectives of city development will continue to be a challenge for Singapore. We too, will have to develop new innovative solutions as our future economic and population growth exerts greater pressures on our living space and our environmental quality.

13.  It is heartening to know that governments are not tackling the challenge alone. Organizations such as the ADB have been actively contributing to urban development in Asia. ADB’s urban lending, totaling over US$12 billion to date, has helped to facilitate numerous infrastructure projects across Asia, involving water supply and sanitation as well as ‘multi-sector’ interventions covering sanitation, solid waste management, and slum upgrading. I take this opportunity to applaud ADB for its contributions.

14.  There is scope in fostering greater collaboration between cities and the ADB to jointly develop new solutions that are relevant to the context of Asian cities. Singapore and ADB have developed a successful partnership, particularly in water and urban management sectors. If the people, public and private sectors can form more inter-sectoral partnerships at both the national and international levels, the challenges facing Asian cities, daunting as they may be, can be overcome.

15.  With that, I wish you a fruitful discussion and a successful book launch. Thank you.

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