City Of Singapore Research Articles

Monitoring and assessing of sustainable development in the urban area of Ouagadougou based on SDG 11.3.1 indicator and the city biodiversity index

Urban growth can induce changes in the use and transformation of urban land. In the context of rapid urbanization, monitoring key indicators of sustainable development is essential. The aim of this study was to monitor and assess the level of sustainable development in the city of Ouagadougou between 2002 and 2022, based on global indicators such as Sustainable Development Goal 11.3.1 indicator and the Singapore City Biodiversity Index. A remote sensing and Geographic Information System approach was used to acquire and analyze open-source geospatial data. The results show an increasing inefficiency in land use, with excessive consumption to population growth until 2013. Between 2013 and 2022, this trend declined, but urban biodiversity nevertheless decreased significantly, with a 40% loss of natural areas between 2002 and 2022. Fragmentation of natural areas, due to infrastructure development, has amplified this degradation, posing ecological risks to the city. This study underlines the importance of strengthening the ecological connectivity of urban spaces to improve their sustainability and resilience. It also recommends reorienting urban strategies by integrating nature-based solutions and placing biodiversity preservation at the heart of sustainable urban development policies.

Children’s everyday lifeworlds out of school, in Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Singapore: Family, enrichment activities, and local communities

Children’s everyday lives beyond school need to be considered holistically, in a way which moves beyond time use. In this article we draw on our adaptation of Sarah Pink’s (e.g. 2012) video re-enactment methodology for considering children’s out-of-school lifeworlds with Year 4 children (9 and 10 years old) in the global cities of Hong Kong, Melbourne, and Singapore. The data presented and discussed here was part of a larger Global Childhoods Project with children in the three global cities of Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Singapore. We use video re-enactment methodology to ‘think with’, to open up lines of inquiry and create conversations about children’s lives in and between the cities. Through these we consider the specifics of each city context, as well as socioeconomic and sociocultural contexts and factors that may impact differently on children’s everyday lifeworlds out-of-school within the same city. In order to focus the scope of the article, we consider family routines, enrichment activities and local communities, as aspects that we find useful to reflect on when exploring what children’s lives look like, in and across locations. We focus on these as we are interested in how they might add to the complexities of thinking about children in each location. We move between thinking about the re-enactments themselves and broader literature to explore children’s out-of-school lifeworlds in the three cities, painting a picture of children’s lives and considering the contexts which make particular activities and practices possible and desirable.

Combining Foodscape and Touristscape: International Tourism Marketing for Singapore and Batam

The cities of Batam and Singapore are centers for tourist lovers, but official government authorities and destination marketing organizations tend to underestimate the potential of these destinations to be revisited by international tourists. In particular, there is little empirical research on international tourism, culinary tourism, and international marketing. This article aims to explore the scope of promotion of Batam and Singapore as culinary destinations. For the purpose of this research, A descriptive qualitative methodology using content analysis was developed to ascertain the relationship between food and tourism in the two places observed. using content analysis was developed to ascertain the relationship between food and tourism in the two observed places. The research method was carried out by conducting interviews and field observations. Data sources were obtained from interviews with Pokdarwis in Batam and tourists in Singapore. The research results stated the integration of Foodscape and Touristscape presents a promising avenue for international tourism marketing in both Singapore and Batam. These destinations possess rich culinary landscapes and diverse attractions that appeal to a wide range of travelers. By leveraging the synergy between Foodscape, which encompasses the culinary offerings reflective of their multicultural societies, and Touristscape, which includes the physical environment and attractions, Singapore and Batam can create compelling marketing strategies to attract international tourists. The combination of authentic culinary experiences, vibrant cultural attractions, and modern amenities positions both destinations as premier tourist destinations in the region.

Discontent in the world city of Singapore

A burgeoning literature on ‘left behind’ places has emerged that captures the backlash against globalisation and highlights the locales that lag world cities. This paper integrates the ‘left behind’ and world cities literatures through the lens of discontent in the context of Singapore, using sentiment analysis and topic modelling as well as interviews with local professionals to unpack the multidimensional aspects of discontent. Focusing on the Singapore–India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement that spurred discontent directed at foreign Indian professionals, we show that the worlding generated by transnational flows has accentuated intra-urban inequality through racialisation and spatialisation of financial business and suburban residential hubs. Discontent from intra-urban inequality unsettles years of efforts by the state to cultivate cosmopolitan spaces aimed at reducing social exclusion and difference in the world city of Singapore.

Beyond just green: Explaining and predicting restorative potential of urban landscapes using panorama-based metrics

Amidst the growing concerns about mental health issues among urban dwellers, there has been increased attention to the restorative potential (RP) of urban landscapes. However, research into the relevant landscape features tends to lack the integration of quantifiable methodologies, which are essential for practical implementation in urban planning and management. To address this gap, our study employed panorama-based metrics relying on computer vision to quantify the features of urban landscapes. We established an explanatory (generalized linear mixed model, GLMM) and a predictive (Random Forest) model to comprehensively elucidate the relationship between these landscape features and RP. The RP outcome was derived from an online survey of respondents (n = 1500) with diverse socio-demographic characteristics, where each respondent was randomly assigned panoramic images from a pool of a hundred landscape scenes taken across the city of Singapore. The GLMM regression identified sky, tree, water, and depth as the primary influences of RP. Furthermore, the Random Forest model demonstrated commendable predictive performance and was used to visually showcase the scenes within the testing dataset with corresponding RP outcomes. To illustrate the potential application of this predictive tool, we also performed spatial mapping for RP prediction, taking the Singapore Botanic Gardens as an example. The subsequent discussion underscored the simultaneous effect of tree, sky, and depth on RP from a quantitative perspective using LOWESS curves. By employing metrics and models that explain and predict the RP, this study contributes evidence-based insights that underscore the pivotal role of trees and openness (sky and depth) in enhancing the psychological benefits of urban landscapes and provides an effective predictive tool that contributes to urban landscape planning and management.

889. The age of RSV cases changes consistently over the course of annual epidemics: potential insights into RSV transmission dynamics based on surveillance data from seven countries.

Abstract Background RSV infections affects people of all ages but the seasonality of RSV among different age groups have not been thoroughly examined. In this study, we investigated changes in the age distribution of RSV cases during the course of annual epidemics. Methods We analyzed surveillance data (2008-2019) from the Netherlands, the city of Lyon (France), Portugal, Singapore, Ecuador, South Africa, and New Zealand using the Global Epidemiology of RSV (GERi) study database. We defined annual RSV seasons as the period from July to June in the Northern hemisphere, or the calendar year in the tropics and Southern hemisphere. Within each season, we divided the data into “epidemic quartiles”, corresponding to each quartile of RSV cases in the season. We used multilevel multinomial logistic regression models with season as the higher-level variable to assess whether the likelihood of RSV cases being aged < 1 year or ≥5 years (vs. those aged 1 to < 5 years) changed over time during the season. Results A total of 27,391 RSV cases were included. Across all countries, the odds of RSV cases being aged < 1 year (vs. 1 to < 5 years) were significantly higher in the fourth epidemic quartile compared to the first quartile; the relative risk ratio (RRR) ranged between 1.35 in Lyon, France, and 2.56 in the Netherlands. Similarly, the odds of RSV cases being aged ≥5 years (vs. 1 to < 5 years) were significantly higher in the fourth epidemic quartile compared to the first quartile (except in Singapore); the RRR ranged from 1.75 in Ecuador to 6.70 in Lyon, France. The results were consistent when stratifying the data by level of care (primary vs. secondary) or using a lower cut-off of six months of age. Conclusion The age distribution of RSV cases changes over the course of a season, with infants (< 1 year) and older children (≥5 years), adults, and elderly people constituting a higher proportion of RSV cases in the later phases of annual epidemics. These findings provide potential insights into the transmission dynamics of RSV and may inform prevention and control measures, e.g. the implementation of targeted age-specific interventions. Funding: This research was funded by a collaborative agreement with Sanofi / AstraZeneca and is part of the RODEO research program for RSV disease. Disclosures Mathieu Bangert, PhD, Sanofi: Staff member Rolf Kramer, n/a, Sanofi: Stocks/Bonds John Paget, n/a, Sanofi Pasteur: Grant/Research Support

Puff and Pull: Rickshaw Pullers through the Lens of Human Capital

This article examines the lives of rickshaw pullers around the Indian Ocean Rim in the first half of the twentieth century, with a particular focus on the cities of Singapore and Durban. It analyzes the rickshaw puller as a species of “human capital.” This unorthodox approach highlights how human beings were treated like capital goods: machines for the production of profit. Their costs of living could be understood as investments in more productive bodies. A focus on the consumption of food, shelter, and narcotics also reveals how capitalists sought to profit from the making of more productive human bodies. It finally suggests that economic theories of human capital have neglected the profound yet dehumanizing effects that this economic paradigm imposes on those who have no financial capital to invest in themselves.

An open-data based framework to estimate EV demand and attainable flexibility and application to the case of Singapore

The electrification of the transport sector will have consequences that go beyond the transportation system itself, for example by also impacting power distribution networks and their operation. This both comes with potential threats and opportunities, such as sharp stochastic load changes that further burden already stressed power transmission and distribution systems. But opportunities arise from the flexibility that the vehicles batteries charging process could provide, eventually helping in better managing such infrastructures. This paper presents a framework that leverages openly available vehicles mobility-related data sources to define and simulate scenarios of electric mobility adoption, quantifying load and available demand flexibility in such scenarios. In particular, demand flexibility potential is assessed according to different charging strategies, including vehicle to grid, and different vehicles stationing behaviours. The goal is to provide a framework that is potentially of use to a set of different stakeholders, from city planners to grid operators and aggregators, to assess flexibility sources towards several applications. These range from planning for resilience by evaluating flexibility sources for provision of services to the grid, to enabling participation in ancillary services markets. The framework leverages a set of data sources, particularly carparks’ occupancy data in the form of live availability information at high temporal resolution.The framework is applied to a test case in the city of Singapore with the goal to estimate the consumption flexibility available from electric vehicles in carparks throughout the city. Maps that visualize the availability of such flexibility both in space and time are generated based on this assessment.

The Effect of Compensation and Motivation on Employee Performance at PT Melbe Tata Boga (Reddog) Surabaya City

The aim of the research to investigate how motivation and pay affect PT employee effectiveness. Melbe Tata Catering (Reddog) Singapore City. The participants in this study are all PT staff. Melbe Tata Catering (Reddog) Surabaya City. Determination of the sampling in this study using saturated sampling technique and There are 43 responders in the samples that were used. Information utilized is primary data and data collection is done by distributing questionnaires to employees of PT. Melbe Tata Catering (Reddog) Surabaya City. Then PLS, or partial least squares, is the analysis method employed. Research findings have shown that The motivation and performance of PT personnel are impacted by pay. Melbe Tata Catering (Reddog) Surabaya City.

Dynamic variations in and prediction of COVID-19 with omicron in the four first-tier cities of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in late 2019, has resulted in the devastating collapse of the social economy and more than 10 million deaths worldwide. A recent study suggests that the pattern of COVID-19 cases will resemble a mini-wave rather than a seasonal surge. In general, COVID-19 has more severe impacts on cities than on rural areas, especially in cities with high population density. In this study, the background situation of COVID-19 transmission is discussed, including the population number and population density. Moreover, a widely used time series autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model is applied to simulate and forecast the COVID-19 variations in the six cities. We comprehensively analyze the dynamic variations in COVID-19 in the four first-tier cities of mainland China (BJ: Beijing, SH: Shanghai, GZ: Guangzhou and SZ: Shenzhen), Hong Kong (HK), China and Singapore (SG) from 2020 to 2022. The major results show that the six cities have their own temporal characteristics, which are determined by the different control and prevention measures. The four first-tier cities of mainland China (i.e., BJ, SH, GZ, and SZ) have similar variations with one wave because of their identical "Dynamic COVID-19 Zero" strategy and strict Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs). HK and SG have multiple waves primarily caused by the input cases. The ARIMA model has the ability to provide an accurate forecast of the COVID-19 pandemic trend for the six cities, which could provide a useful approach for predicting the short-term variations in infectious diseases.Accurate forecasting has significant value for implementing reasonable control and prevention measures. Our main conclusions show that control and prevention measures should be dynamically adjusted and organically integrated for the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the mathematical models are proven again to provide an important scientific basis for disease control.

Application of a Semi-Empirical Approach to Map Maximum Urban Heat Island Intensity in Singapore

Differences in land surface characteristics across a city produce great spatial and temporal variability in air temperature. This fact is particularly pronounced between urban and surrounding rural areas giving rise to the canopy-layer urban heat island (CL-UHI) phenomenon. In the present study, we apply the dimensional analysis technique to develop a simple semi-empirical equation to map daily maximum CL-UHI (UHImax) intensities during nighttime over the city of Singapore for specific weather conditions. By adopting the methodology proposed by Theeuwes et al., but selecting meteorological and morphological parameters that affect UHImax intensity most for Singapore, evaluation of the developed equation shows good agreement with observations (RMSE = 1.13 K and IOA = 0.76). Model performance depends strongly on wind conditions and is best during weak winds when ‘ideal’ conditions for UHI development are approached (RMSE = 0.65 K and IOA = 0.85). Results using the simple equation developed to map UHImax intensities in Singapore under dry weather conditions are comparable to those obtained from more sophisticated numerical models, which demand significant computational resources, and the complex parameterizations involved require expertise to carry out the simulations. The resulting maps of the present study can be used to investigate less favorable thermal conditions and assess population vulnerability to a certain temperature excess, as well as provide insights for urban planning strategies of mitigation measures according to the land cover and morphology of a location.

What Motivates Audiences to Report Fake News?: Uncovering a Framework of Factors That Drive the Community Reporting of Fake News on Social Media

The circulation of fake news on social media platforms has drawn increasing concern. At this point, the community reporting of fake news remains a key mechanism used by these platforms to identify information to block or label as misleading. Yet, little is known about the factors that motivate or dissuade the use of this mechanism and its perceived effectiveness to combat fake news. This study utilises focus groups of social media users aged 21 to 60, located within the global city of Singapore. Results showed that six factors influenced the decisions of audiences to report the news they perceived as fake, namely the nature of the post, nature of the source, reactions from and impact on others, subject interest and knowledge, cultural norms, and consequences of reporting; they also perceived low effectiveness of this mechanism to curb fake news spread. Findings reveal that not all perceived misinformation encountered by users will be reported, signalling issues with the community reporting of fake news mechanism, and that this function will only have optimal outcomes if supplemented by news literacy programmes that include “misinformation reporting” and managing its hurdles as a key component.

Asessing the Impacts of Paradiplomacy on Batam-Singapore Cooperation: A Case Study in Tourism, Economic Growth, and Infrastructure Development

Paradiplomacy is a concept that enables sub-national entities to establish relationships with counterparts in other countries. One form of paradiplomacy is sister cities, where local governments of one country collaborate with regional governments from other countries to jointly develop their respective regions. The partnership between Batam and Singapore City as sister cities focuses primarily on promoting tourism, while also enhancing cooperation in the development of Batam across various sectors, such as investment, transportation, tourism, labor, and agribusiness. Additionally, they collaborate on projects like the development of Funtasy Island. This research adopts a qualitative methodology, drawing from a range of sources, including research articles, journals, and the latest news updates from all involved parties. The theory of international cooperation is applied to establish correlations between the concepts of paradiplomacy and sister cities, aligning with the study's objectives and discussion. Batam's paradiplomacy efforts operate within the scope of Indonesia's Free Trade Zone (FTZ). Notably, investment emerges as a key focal point, with Batam selected as a primary and priority target for future investments in the region.

Urban Wind Corridors Analysis via Network Theory

We develop a new model for urban wind corridors analysis and detection of urban wind ventilation potential based on concepts and principles of network theory. Our approach is based solely on data extracted from spatial urban features that are easily obtained from a 3D model of the city. Once the spatial features have been extracted, we embed them onto a graph topology. This allows us to use theories and techniques of network theory, and in particular graph theory. Utilizing such techniques, we perform end-to-end network flow analysis of the wind potential across the city and, in particular, estimate the locations, strengths, and paths of the wind corridors. To calibrate our model, we use a dataset generated by a meso-scale climate model and estimate the model parameters by projecting the wind vector field of the climate model onto a graph, thus providing a meaningful comparison of the two models under a new metric. We illustrate our modeling approach on the city of Singapore and explain how the results are useful for climate-informed urban design.

The Changi-Marina Bay Corridor: green strategies for Singapore’s soft power

Singapore’s city-making strategies are seen by many Asia Pacific cities as a model to achieve today’s desired ‘world-class city’ status. They represent a source of innovation to design alternative configurations and rethink established norms of urban and social standards. This article looks at the urban landscape of the city of Singapore through infrastructural systems instead of individual design masterpieces, focusing on the urban corridor defined by the connection of Changi Airport, East Coast Parkway (ECP), and Marina Bay as a single urban entity, unified by a visual and experiential choreography. At a time of intense global competition in the aviation industry, Changi has deployed new strategies to sustain its reputation as an innovative transportation hub. The leg between Changi Airport and Marina Bay is an integral part of Singapore, experienced by the majority of its annual visitors arriving in the city-state. The 19-kilometre route, a major infrastructural project begun in the 1970s and still in progress, is a highly landscaped and scenic artery of the island, through which the airport has injected its hyper-urbanism into the city. While conveying the history of the developments of the Corridor, we consider the soft power strategies used by the city state to develop a form of transnational elite urbanism based on leisure and recreation, where urban planning, design, and green infrastructure play a key role. We reflect on the global and local dimension of Singapore, discussing how the ECP corridor reveals only one side of the city’s double character.On the one hand, this article critically analyses the rhetorical use of landscaping ingrained in the Corridor to attract foreign investment and tourism, where the artificialisation of green interventions has overwritten the presence of the native vegetation and morphology. On the other hand, we reflect on the less evident but nonetheless split that the Corridor has generated between the city’s southern residential areas and foreshore. While cutting through the urban tissue of part of the island seamlessly and without interruption, the Corridor does in fact separate out substantial residential areas, turning Singapore successful green strategies into a form of urban injustice. The twofold nature of the corridor – at the same time, that of the ‘connector’ and ‘divider’ – thus reflects Singapore’s intrinsic ambiguity: its manifestation of global ambitions set against its local realities. This article unpacks the planning mechanisms used to design this development, including the land reclamation powers of the state and the government land sales programme. It also discusses the strategies and choices underpinning the urban sequence of the ECP’s infrastructural nodes, from the Jewel (2019) to the Conservatories (2012). Drawing on official documentation from Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), field research, and using a multidisciplinary lens, this article interpolates architectural and planning studies with insights gleaned by onsite investigation.

Branding the Creative City of Design: Lesson from Singapore

Over the last two decades, creative cities have become an issue of interest as governments in several countries have worked to develop ecosystems where the creative class can innovate and share ideas. Many city governments focus more on developing creative cities and pay less attention to their city's branding. This study aims to see Singapore as a newly appointed UNESCO creative city brand, even though it already has a destination brand. There are challenges about which brand should come first or how to strategically brand a city and ensure all interests are accommodated in the branding process. This study uses a qualitative method with in-depth interview data collection techniques with the Head of the Singapore Polytechnic Department of Architecture and Design, literature studies through books, journals, newspapers, and related matters, as well as observations in the city of Singapore. The results of this study show that Singapore's branding as a creative city of design is a component of the city-state's leading branding. First, the city branding process includes identifying the uniqueness of the city brand. In this case, the emphasis on Singapore is built and grown by design. Next is the development of a brand identity that differentiates Singapore from other UNESCO design creative cities. Finally, the delivery of brand messages to all relevant stakeholders. This research contributes to the development of branding concepts related to creative cities.

Walkability Assessment of First Mile Last Mile Public Transport System of Neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore for Persons with Disabilities: A Comparative Study

Information on public transport infrastructure factors affecting mobility and walkability within neighbourhoods among PWD in cities of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore is limited. The study objective was to explore the accessibility of numerous facilitators and barriers in built environment within first mile last mile (FMLM) public transport in naturally occurring retirement community (NORC) neighbourhood within Kuala Lumpur and using Singapore as a benchmark. The research using Direct Observation technique was conducted through Access Audit on six routes at two locations, namely Malaysia (i.e., MY1, MY2, MY3) and Singapore (i.e., SG1, SG2, SG3), with a particular focus on five groups of PWD (Physical, Learning, Blind, Deaf, Elderly). The collected data were analysed for various environmental facilitators and barriers concerning connectivity, comfort, attitude, legibility, and safety of the FMLM public transport in the neighbourhoods. Four FMLM access to public transport determinants emerged and described in order of occurrence frequency in Malaysia case study: transportation service determinant, built environment characteristic, social environment determinant and individual attributes determinant. Different PWD groups had different vulnerabilities and prone to environmental barriers of FMLM in public transport system in Kuala Lumpur as opposed to Singapore. Therefore, it is proposed that walkability of FMLM neighbourhood to be integral component of PWD accessibility, connectivity, and safety when designing built environment in Malaysia.

Urban-Metabolic Farming Modules on Rooftops for Eco-Resilient Farmscape

The scarcity of land resources and food security challenges have prompted more effective uses of the rooftop as well as façade spaces in the urban city of Singapore. Urban rooftop spaces are used for mechanical and electrical (M&E) amenities such as air-conditioning cooling units and water tanks, so the spacious span of the roof area on HDB flats in Singapore is not available. Urban-metabolic farming modules (UmFm) built on 1.5 to 2 m terrace-step terrains have been modelled using BIM Revit to mimic such constraints in rooftop spaces. CFD simulation was conducted for the structure with consideration of the prevailing wind directions at different months of the year. The airflow with the inclusion of mesh netting and varying tiltings of the polycarbonate side façade was simulated to understand their impact on airflow in the growth envelope of the UmFm units under different prevailing wind directions. The amount of solar irradiance received by the crops at different heights in the UmFm due to the sun’s path, and shading of crops grown on the A-frame, was studied using Climate Studio. A comparative verification was done with a scaffold modular unit mounted with temperature, humidity, airflow, and Photosynthesis Photon Flux Density (PPFD) sensors. The digital model of the UmFm unit enables a prior assessment of site feasibility before actual physical implementation on an existing rooftop. It also facilitates plug and play for the UmFm unit to generate an eco-resilient farmscape for an urban city.

Liveable City Centre: Livability through The Lens of The Singaporean Experience (Case of Singapore City Center)

Liveable City Centre: Livability through The Lens of The Singaporean Experience (Case of Singapore City Center)

Meeting The Needs of The Muslim Communication Community During The Pandemic

This paper serves as an analysis and a review based on an exploratory two sharing session amongst Muslim teachers in Singapore. This paper seeks to dismantle the multifaceted effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, thereby allowing room to explore and analyse how different layers of the Singaporean population grapple with these unprecedented challenges, specifically within the Muslim population. This paper will also review and explore various government policies and measures that were taken to ring fence these issues, thereby adding to the current literature that are in tandem to assist countries with better preparedness in future. In conclusion, this paper aims to provide some valuable insights on how individual especially Muslim teachers can choose to positively respond and adopt self-care to nurture their holistic well-being in a cosmopolitan city of Singapore.