Planning for Communities: Lessons from Seoul and Singapore
Learn more about how Seoul and Singapore benefited from government-led urban planning and development processes since the 1960s, to successfully transform into two of the most advanced cities in the region within a few decades.
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Lecture details
Planning for Communities: Lessons from Seoul and Singapore
21 November 2017
3.00pm - 5.00pm. Registration from 2.30pm, seated by 3.00pm
MND Auditorium, MND Annex A, 5 Maxwell Road Singapore 069110
Lecture video
Synopsis
Seoul and Singapore benefited from government-led urban planning and development processes since the 1960s, to successfully transform into two of the most advanced cities in the region within a few decades. In recent years, both cities also share similar aspirations to interweave greater citizen participation in shaping the urban environment.
The Centre for Liveable Cities and The Seoul Institute have completed a joint publication, “Planning for Communities: Lessons from Seoul and Singapore”, which examines case studies on citizen participation from both cities and their experiences.
As part of the book launch, Dr Miree Byun, Senior Research Fellow at The Seoul Institute, would be in Singapore to share ideas behind the latest citizen participation initiatives in Seoul. A panel consisting of experts from both Seoul and Singapore will contribute their ideas and experiences in planning with communities.
Lecture report
To commemorate the completion of this study on citizen participation in both Singapore and Seoul, researchers from CLC and the Seoul Institute, as well as civil servants from Singapore’s People’s Association, Housing & Development Board and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, gathered to discuss the key findings and the role of the community in urban planning.
Kickstarting the session, the president of Seoul Institute Seo Wang-jin noted how community participation has become vital with the rise of communication technologies such as social media and the internet. This has meant Seoul’s old way of top-down urban planning to achieve efficient economic development has had to open up for the people who can now express their opinions anytime and anywhere.
Source: Centre for Liveable Cities
“In Seoul (now), not only is it difficult to get things done without citizen involvement, but planners have realised that citizens can in fact offer valuable advice. Through this study, we have come to understand the possibilities, potentials, difficulties and limitations of community participation. It will be interesting to see the similarities and differences in our experiences of participatory planning,” he said in his opening remarks.
Elaborating on this, Remy Guo of CLC and Dr Hyunchan Ahn of Seoul Institute said Planning for Communities demonstrated the important role public policies and planning systems have in creating room for citizens to contribute. After examining case studies from both cities on the basis of how governance and planning frameworks can facilitate community involvement, and how community involvement can generate better outcomes, the study found that well-designed engagement processes are needed to produce constructive and inclusive outcomes.
Source: Centre for Liveable Cities
But even before citizen participation can happen, it is crucial to align the various stakeholders within the government said Dr Ahn. One example is how Our Tampines Hub in Singapore brought together 12 different agencies to meet the various needs of residents. “The diversity of our cities is increasing, and urban planning needs to incorporate such diverse perspectives and encourage the cross-fertilisation of ideas to deal with complex urban challenges that government alone may not be able to resolve,” said Dr Ahn. This can be achieved by making planning processes accessible to everyone so as to attract more diverse participants, he added.
Even as planning becomes more inclusive, urban professionals still have an essential role to play, said Guo. Communities may possess in-depth local knowledge, but they often do not have the technical skills to create feasible solutions. This is where experts can bridge the gap between local needs and broader planning considerations, as well as provide more objective and professional perspectives that balance the diverse voices within the community
Source: Centre for Liveable Cities
“Having said that, not all issues at the local level actually require government or expert intervention. Given the right skills and social connections, there is often scope for communities to develop their own solutions, especially for day-today issues,” he said. One example was how Seoul incorporated detailed local plans into wider-context masterplans to encourage citizens’ participation.
Offering context to Seoul’s recent push towards participatory governance, Seoul Institute’s urban sociologist Dr Miree Byun said that demographic and social trends were behind this “paradigm shift”. Faced with an ageing population, low birthrate and social issues such as income inequality, integration and social mobility, the city has had to involve citizens more to achieve inclusive growth and build social capital.
Source: The Seoul Institute
This sentiment was echoed by representatives from Singapore’s government agencies during the dialogue session. As the provider of homes for over 80% of Singaporeans, the Housing & Development Board acknowledged the importance of participatory planning as a “powerful tool and a good platform to bring residents together”, said the agency’s head of policy and planning, Eileen Neo. She added: “Through discussions such as focus groups and design workshops, residents can talk about local issues, understand each other’s perspectives and hopefully see the better good.”
“When you have that perspective in mind, you stop thinking about public engagement as another government project,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s really about the benefit to the community.”
Source: Housing Development Board
This report first appeared in the Dec 2017 Better Cities newsletter.
About the Speakers
SPEAKER
Dr Miree Byun
Director,
Senior Research Fellow,
Future Research Center,
The Seoul Institute
Dr Miree Byun‘s research area lies in social changes, IT policy and urban monitoring for enhancing the quality of citizen’s life. Her work focuses on international comparative study on government policy for urban competitiveness. Her publications include Framework of the Inclusive City Indicators and the Inclusiveness of Seoul (2017), The Quality of Life in Megacity and Seoul-Specific Happiness Indicator (2015), and Building the Neighborhood and Social Integration in Seoul (2011).
PANELLIST
Dr Hyunchan Ahn
Associate Research Fellow,
The Seoul Institute
Dr Hyunchan Ahn’s research interests cover community building, community spaces, and participatory neighborhood planning. Recent projects focus on preparing and evaluating community empowerment policy. His publications include New Policy of Seoul: Local Community (2016), Analysis and Implications of Community Support Programs (2017) and Improvement of Community Space Support Programs in Seoul (upcoming).
PANELLIST
Eileen Neo
Director,
Policy & Planning,
Community Relations Group,
Housing & Development Board
Eileen Neo’s department pursues HDB’s strategic thrust of building active and cohesive communities. Her team conducts research studies on community engagement strategies and implements community participatory projects to co-create solutions with residents under HDB’s programmes.
PANELLIST
Tan See Nin
Senior Director,
Physical Planning,
Urban Redevelopment Authority
Tan See Nin supervised the completion of the Concept Master Plan and a preliminary design of the Rail Corridor. The plans are to transform the former railway line into a 24 km long community space spanning across Singapore from Woodlands in the north to Tanjong Pagar in the south.
PANELLIST
Tan See Nin
Senior Director,
Physical Planning,
Urban Redevelopment Authority
Tan See Nin supervised the completion of the Concept Master Plan and a preliminary design of the Rail Corridor. The plans are to transform the former railway line into a 24 km long community space spanning across Singapore from Woodlands in the north to Tanjong Pagar in the south.
MODERATOR
Dr Limin Hee
Dr Limin Hee focuses on research strategies, content development and international collaborations. Dr Hee’s own research focuses on urban liveability and sustainability and their agenda for architecture, urbanism and public space. Recent book publications include Constructing Singapore Public Space (Springer-Nature, 2017) and Future Asian Space (NUS Press, 2012).
