Innovation in Action: The Blueprint

With efforts to tackle the basics of housing and employment, the Singapore we know and love today was beginning to take shape.

The 1970s formed the blueprint for modern day Singapore, with these early innovations informing the foundation that would shape much of Singapore’s trajectory in the following decades.

The first Concept Plan, developed in 1971, laid out strategic land-use and transportation plans that would prove vital to Singapore’s development today. Key transport hubs such as Changi Airport, our MRT system and expressways, were all outcomes of strategies put forth in the 1971 Concept Plan.

The plan involved over 100 local and overseas urban planners, architects, civil servants and academics between 1967 and 1969.

HDB shifted from building basic homes to developing comprehensive towns with a wide range of amenities, such as schools, shops and parks, to create a convenient and quality living environment for residents. Ang Mo Kio, which started development in the 1970s, adopted this planning approach.

Ang Mo Kio was comprehensively planned based on the neighbourhood concept – to create a self-sufficient environment conducive for living, working, playing, and learning.

Today, there are a total of eight neighbourhoods planned within Ang Mo Kio Town. Each of them is served by their Neighbourhood Centres and a large Town Centre spanning over a 29-hectare site. Apart from residential developments, land is also used and planned for a full range of complementary developments including commercial, educational, recreational, institutional and industrial development.

In the 1970s, we began implementing technology to control traffic across more streets and to ease manpower. The first 36 traffic signal controllers were linked by cables laid under footpaths, to create “corridors”. Two pairs of one-way streets were connected to a master controller device that used an assumed vehicle speed and fixed intervals between green lights.

By the late 1970s, microprocessor controllers were the latest tech. With no need for physical cables to connect the traffic lights, more ‘corridors’ could be linked across more junctions and streets.

The 70s laid much of the groundwork for the Singapore we know and love today. To find out more on how we build upon these foundations and continued to innovate, watch this space!

Innovation in Action: The Journey Begins

Singapore’s journey since independence is the story of an underdog, one with few resources beyond its people and their innovative spirit.

Over the past 60 years, Singapore has grown from a small trading island into a first world nation that is now making its mark on the global stage. One that is at the forefront of cutting-edge discoveries. Innovation has played a key role in this.

Here’s how Singapore’s first chapter of innovation began, all the way back in the 1960s!

In the early 60s, less than 10% of Singaporeans lived in government flats, with many living in kampungs, haphazardly constructed squatter housing, and overcrowded shophouses. Building structures were often unsafe, and living conditions were far from ideal.

This was the backdrop for the development of what would be one of the world's most ambitious and successful public housing programmes.

The Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) was set up in the 1920s, and its first project, Tiong Bahru Estate, began in the 1930s.

The Housing & Development Board was set up in 1961 to take up this mantle and address the post-war housing shortage.

HDB flats were designed to be simple yet functional, so they could be built quickly. With limited land, HDB began building homes upwards, and within five years, close to 55,000 high rise flats were built.

By the end of the 1960s, Singapore’s post-war housing crisis was largely resolved. To see how HDB dealt with key issues in those early years, click here.

In addition to creating safer, better-quality housing, Singapore also began looking to create better quality jobs, and set out on a massive undertaking to build up infrastructure and economic development.

Set up in 1961, one of the Economic Development Board’s first tasks was to turn Jurong into an industrial estate. EDB also began work establishing Singapore as an attractive destination for foreign investment.

As Singapore ramped up its industrialisation plans, Jurong Town Corporation (now JTC) emerged from EDB as the specialist agency to spearhead the planning and development of industrial infrastructure for Singapore's economic development.

The Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) was established in 1964 to take over from the Singapore Harbour Board and manage all port operations, planning, and marine services.

Jurong Port was opened in 1965 to support the new Jurong Industrial Estate, while Tanjong Pagar Container Terminal, launched in 1972, marked Singapore’s entry into global container shipping.

By 1988, Singapore had become the world’s busiest port. Later, in 1996, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was formed to assume PSA’s regulatory and developmental functions when PSA was corporatised.

The 60s were a time of rapid change in Singapore, with newly set up Government agencies leading the charge in industrialisation and public works. To find out more about Singapore’s innovation journey, watch this space!