We sat down with Liu Thai Ker, former master planner at the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore and delve into what urban planning truly means. He tells us the unique challenges Singapore faces, and how to incorporate the ever-changing human and social needs into urban planning.
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Watch more: https://www.asiaone.com/video
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I get nervous.
00:01Do you like Singapore?
00:03Yes!
00:09Hi Dr Liu!
00:09Thank you so much for taking the time to speak to me today.
00:14People feel that I have contributed to the development of Singapore today.
00:20So they often call me as the father of urban planning.
00:24Wow, you must be very proud.
00:26Yeah, but behind that there's a lot of hard work.
00:29That's why, you see, although I'm a young man,
00:32I look so old because I put in too much hard work.
00:36So actually tell us, what does urban planning mean?
00:41It's about creating an urban system so that the city can develop.
00:46If you want to write a book, you must know what are the chapters,
00:51and then within each chapter, what are the sections.
00:55You have to plan that before you write a book.
00:57What kind of considerations do you have to have when you're building this city?
01:01And also, how do you get feedback or input from this population about what their needs are?
01:08I often tell people, the purpose of urban planning is for people and for the land.
01:14People, to create an environment that is livable for them,
01:20and also to create an environment that gives people a sense of belonging, a sense of community.
01:27When I first started to work in HDB to develop public housing,
01:32I told myself that I have a huge, huge responsibility.
01:36Because if I did well, I would help to give people good quality of life every second of the day.
01:46If I did poorly, I would really create a horrible life for everyone.
01:52I have to really find the real answer to good planning.
01:59So, for example, in HDB, I had planned 20 new towns out of the current 24 new towns.
02:07A lot of people tell me that the way I plan a new town,
02:11they can actually let their young kids to walk for 10 minutes to go to the primary school.
02:17All these things are not by accident, it was carefully calculated.
02:20So, a planner needs to think about many things all at the same time.
02:26So, Dr Liu, you've been previously quoted as saying,
02:30form follows function, follows fact, follows fun, which is a great tongue twister.
02:35And also, can you explain what that means?
02:37It's a fun statement, right?
02:39It's hard to say.
02:40Form follows function, follows fact, follows fun.
02:44You see, when you plan a city, you want to create a city that helps people enjoy, that is fun.
02:53But what are the factors that will create the enjoyment?
02:58It's not just creating sexy images, you have to find out the facts.
03:02And after you find out the facts, then you have to translate into function.
03:07Function means different land uses, parks and gardens, the road system.
03:14Once you know the facts, you know what function you need to put in.
03:17After you know this, then you create the city form.
03:20So, form follows function, follows fact, follows fun.
03:24Wow, but essentially fun and enjoyment of the city is at the heart of everything.
03:28And having been in this field for so long,
03:31do you see any changes to the principles of urban planning from when you started as opposed to now?
03:35A lot of planners tend to believe that since the world is changing very fast,
03:41we have to plan for change.
03:42I don't subscribe to that because I feel that if you build for change,
03:49you have to keep building up and then pull down and change.
03:52You can imagine the amount of money wasted and also how it could contribute to global warming.
04:00So, I believe that the job of a planner is to find out what are the fundamental,
04:06unchanging needs of human beings,
04:09capture those and incorporate those needs into the plan.
04:16What do you hope to see in Singapore's urban planning in the future?
04:19I really hope that we plan long term,
04:24create some new master plans for the new needs,
04:28like a master plan for aged population housing,
04:33a master plan for maybe medical services for the aged population,
04:39and hopefully a master plan to create bicycle paths for the whole city.
04:45Yeah, thank you so much, Dr Liu.
04:48Thank you, it's been such a privilege talking to you today.
04:50Well, thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain the planning thinking behind Singapore.