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Urbanization
By Md. Nafis Khan December 2021 long-term comprehensive planning of the
Singapore: city of the future, the country has been able
to overcome its geographic disadvantages
and become a leader in global commerce.
But what exactly is it like to live in
Singapore? How does a 4-hour flight from
50 Years into the Future Dhaka take you 50 years ahead to the
future? We explore, one by one, how the
city has pushed its limited resources
beyond its limits and turned it into
something grandiose.
Modern Housing
Tasked with the responsibility of creating
sustainable and manageable housing
spaces for 5.7 million people, Singapore’s
Housing and Development Board (HDB) has
already provided living solutions to many.
But now they want to step up a gear and
search for complex, hi-tech solutions for a
better environment. Dr. Cheong Koon Hean,
Chief Executive Officer of HDB, emphasizes
on design decisions that incorporate large
openings for increased ventilation.
Singapore has also reclaimed parts of the
sea to increase its land mass. The
ever-famous Marina Bay is one of the most
successful engineering projects of our time.
It attracts businesses and Michelin star
restaurants to strike official deals amidst
the grandeur of the city, and tourists to
behold in awe, the progressive emotion the
city has to offer.
Over the years, experts in Singapore looked
for alternative ways to expand its land.
With precise engineering and architectural
technology, the city is opting for expansion
over and under the ground. The Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA) of
Singapore wanted to build a business
district that would not only serve official
purposes, but also serve as a multipurpose
precinct where activities would be carried
out 24/7. This meant infrastructural
development was required round the clock
for the Marina Bay Model to work. The plan
outlines undergrounds to be used for
With the world moving faster than ever, urbanization has Among all these debates, Singapore stands at the transportation infrastructures, electrical
become a part and parcel of our lives. The United Nation pinnacle of success as a glaring example of tunnels, pedestrians, and commercial
projects that in the coming decades, hundreds of millions urban life and futuristic development. A small spaces with precise designs for the next 50
of urban dwellers will swarm into cities, especially country with minimal natural resources, the years.
within Asia and Africa. Accommodating this many urban city-state of Singapore was a charming pocket of
dwellers efficiently and equitably may be an arduous urban chaos and scruffiness even in the 1960s. Transportation of the
task, and brings additional concerns of detrimental of But, today it has developed into a city of
technology over-use, environmental degradation and loss towering high-rises and immaculate cleanliness. Future
of biodiversity arising from rapid urbanization. From an Singapore’s ascension to one of the strongest An even futuristic idea hailing from the city
optimistic perspective, the growing numbers could economies in the world over a span of five is the use of drones to travel. Professor
contribute to economic prosperity. However, official decades is nothing short of remarkable. By Jason Pomeroy from Pomeroy Studio
attitudes towards rapid urbanization remain broadly embracing globalization, free market capitalism, believes that cities of the world will soon
negative. education, pragmatic policies and, as a whole, a
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run out of spaces to expand. They will then take on vertical Blockchain
expansion. The mode of transportation in such cases will be by Technology in Finance
air. The Government of Singapore has already started testing
To smoothen the development trajectory, a
the prospect of advanced drone programs for the future.
well-functioning financial market is a
Drones are already being used for cargo delivery. These drones
must. Without the provision of bank loans
are built with multiple aerospace grade navigation systems so
that if one of the drones malfunctions, the others can reach and transaction facilities, investors might
deem a site unprofitable. For Singapore,
the destination properly.
the financial sector alone makes up 12% of
Vertical Farming
GDP. To make the process faster and well
protected from hackers, Singapore has
has come up with innovative, self-sustaining solutions.
While the whole world ponders upon food scarcity, Singapore started using a blockchain technology
named Project Ubin. Blockchain technology
‘Sustenir’, a controlled agricultural farm in Singapore,
simulates outdoor environments inside concrete buildings. is fast, save, and convenient for overseas
transaction. Traditionally, banks keep their
Plants grown inside this closed artificial ecosystem receive transaction records on their own
neither sunlight, nor soil. Instead, scientists control the centralized ledger, but Ubin keeps them in
humidity, temperature, carbon-dioxide saturation etc. and a blockchain making identical copies of the
produce different kinds of plants that vary in tastes. It is record and distributes them through a
predicted that this type of farming is the future, and that the network of computers around the world. If
idea will be replicated in all in any case a copy does not match with
developed cities. others, it is rejected. For a hacker to break
But these advancements will into the system, they would need to
be futile in the long run if simultaneously attack all the computers in
people are unable to live a life the blockchain network, which is virtually
long and healthy enough to impossible.
enjoy the amenities the city
has to offer. One of the most Medical and
major health concerns the city
has been increasingly dealing Technological
with is diabetes. An ageing Advancement
demographic further
exacerbates the problem. The Singapore has estabilished itself as a
city, however, has brought global medical hub, housing innovative
science to its aid. Dr. Lee Mun technologies, well-trained doctors, and
Wai, a bioengineer, is top-tier hospitals. For example, an
conducting research to create automatic, low-latency, high-precision
food that provides exact needle targeting mechanism allows for
nutritional values adjusted for safer and faster microsurgery procedures.
individuals. The process will During crises like the South-Asian haze,
include a smartwatch to Singapore's medical and technological
monitor health issues and a 3D capabilities allowed them to quickly design to the modern world, Singapore has incorporated technology
printer that prints out the plasma masks for children and adults. education in school curricula. The lessons are not merely
nutrient requirements for the Advanced technology is being used in education - they are interactive, playful, and communicative.
person in a jelly-like monitoring and making life better for Through trial and error, the kids are developing
substance. Such innovative solutions can provide a longer life everyone, from newborn babies to the communication, language, and analytical skills. But digital
to the citizens, gradually increasing their standard of living. elderly. A startup named ‘TransferFi’ has literacy does not stop here. The benefits of digitization will
come up with a technology that transfers only be realized when the citizens are well-adapted to it. The
Water Desalination electric power wirelessly through Info-Communications Media Development Authority is tasked
radiofrequency. Such innovation can with the responsibility of making the process easier for older
As global temperatures spike, fresh water has become revolutionize industries reliant on people as well.
increasingly scarce. Up until now, Singapore depended on electrical devices. This will also benefit
rainwater to cater to their needs. But a modern city needs an electronic devices used in hospitals, Singapore really is a city of the future. Not only have they
even modern solution. A desalination plant named ‘Tuas’ uses alongside facilitating other industries. achieved commendable economic growth over the last few
reverse osmosis to turn sea water into potable water. But this decades, but they have also reached new heights of success in
too comes with challenges as it uses a lot of energy. Thus, a Preparing the Next multiple industries. Their digital adaptability, and spirit of
company named Evoqua came up with electrodialysis to use Generation for the growth is still going strong. The rapid urbanization that we
electricity to remove salt from the sea water. The plant has a Future are currently facing in Bangladesh can be tackled and used to
capacity of desalinating 3,800 cubic meters of water per day, our benefit if we take Singapore as an inspiration. The process
with hopes of increasing the capacity to 100,000 cubic meters To make children better prepared for a can be complex, but proper planning with frequent monitoring
per day. highly digital workspace and well-adjusted and evaluation can make it happen.